That Boss Who Set Minimum $70,000 Salaries for All Employees? Here’s How That’s Working Out So Far

The Blaze

Dan Price, after the big announcement in April. (Image source: New York Times screenshot)

. . . "Apart from the hit his own salary took — $1 million down to $70k — Price began renting out his house to help with his diminished income. He also had to hire a dozen new employees at much higher wages to handle new clients intrigued by his stance. And then some older clients backed out believing fee spikes were around the corner, while others walked away because they took Price’s announcement as political.

"More from the Times:

Two of Mr. Price’s most valued employees quit, spurred in part by their view that it was unfair to double the pay of some new hires while the longest-serving staff members got small or no raises. Some friends and associates in Seattle’s close-knit entrepreneurial network were also piqued that Mr. Price’s action made them look stingy in front of their own employees.. . . 

 The new pay scale also helped push Grant Moran, 29, Gravity’s web developer, to leave. “I had a lot of mixed emotions,” he said. His own salary was bumped up to $50,000 from $41,000 (the first stage of the raise), but the policy was nevertheless disconcerting. “Now the people who were just clocking in and out were making the same as me,” he complained. “It shackles high performers to less motivated team members.”

 Pretty much as I found it to be in a labor union for 50 years. TD