Guest column off-base on the minimum wage

The Guest Views article by Erin Shannon on Feb. 18 was so out-of-touch with reality, I felt it my obligation to enlighten her of the present day reality of employment in a “right to work” state such as Washington.

Wake up and smell the coffee, Erin, and crawl out from under the rock you’re apparently living under. For a nonprofit research organization, the Washington Policy Center has not done its research effectively.

Erin suggests how implementing a $15 minimum wage would affect employers and employees. I am a sales associate with Home Depot, which currently operates under the same conditions and business practices she asserts will happen if the minimum wage were implemented.

Home Depot already restricts part-time employees and limits employee work schedules at less than a “livable wage.” Home Depot offers benefits to only full-time employees, but will only hire for part-time positions.

Go figure — a great way to protect the company’s profit margin by avoiding to have to provide benefits.

Part-time employees do, however, receive profit-sharing every six months of less than $100 while Boeing employees (with union representation) recently received a $7,000 profit share.

Talk about the decline of the middle class in America.

Indentured servitude is the business model today, and implementing the $15 minimum wage won’t hurt employers.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 9:24 AM with the headline "Guest column off-base on the minimum wage."