An American burger chain opening several new restaurants in B.C. this year says it will serve employees a beefed-up starting wage of $15 an hour.
Canadian developers are bringing the Johnny Rockets franchise, known for its classic burgers, fries and milkshakes, is opening locations in Victoria and Vancouver later this year.
The company says it’s offering the higher pay to retain workers with a livable wage – and send a message to the restaurant industry.
“If you do it right, you can actually afford to pay people better,” said Lewis Gelmon, President and CEO of JR Canada Restaurant Group. “We’d like that message to get out. If it’s important to them, you can make it happen.”
Gelmon said all employees at Johnny Rocket’s, from hosts to counter staff to cooks, will make at least $15 an hour with managers making up to $23 an hour, and all will be given medical benefits.
He said he hopes the wage will also mean something to customers – and promised they won’t be paying more because of it.
“They’re certainly not going to be paying for it. Our product is the best quality you can find in the industry and our costs to our customers are going to be competitive,” he said. “You’ll be able to get a hamburger, French fries and a drink for under $10.”
The chain is also implementing a no-tipping policy – meaning debit machines won’t prompt customers to chip an extra 10 to 20 per cent on their bill.
“We don’t believe in that,” Gelmon said. “It’s our job to pay our employees and to look after them properly, not our customer’s.”
B.C.’s minimum wage is currently $10.85 and will rise to $11.35 in September, but advocates in the province have long pushed for a $15 minimum wage.
The NDP ran in the recent provincial election on a platform that included a pledge to raise the minimum wage to $15, but it remains unclear who will form government until a final count of votes takes place May 22-24.
Minimum wage advocates are applauding the franchise’s decision, saying even though $15 an hour isn’t quite a living wage in expensive cities like Vancouver, it lifts workers above the poverty line.
“There are 500,000 workers working for less than that, so I think a major employer coming into the fast-food industry and setting this example is very important,” said BC Federation of Labour President Irene Lanzinger. “They’re giving a good challenge to other employers. They’re saying it’s a good thing for workers to earn a decent wage. They spend that money in their community, that’s actually good for restaurants and good for this industry.”
She said it’s increasingly harder for small businesses to compete with large-scale conglomerates that pay workers smaller wages to increase profit.
“These small businesses, they’re competing with the McDonalds, with the Tim Hortons, with the Wendys,” she said. “At least the $15 gives us an even playing field and says we’re going to demand that everybody pay their workers [above] poverty wage, and if you’re business plan can’t support paying people above the poverty line, then maybe it’s not a good business plan.”
Gelmon says hundreds of people have already applied for jobs at the Victoria locations, and the company will hire about 50 people for each restaurant.
Johnny Rockets will open locations in Victoria at the Bay Centre and Hillside Mall, and in Vancouver on Nelson Street, between June and mid-July. Another Vancouver location is slated to open later this year.
