TJ Maxx, Marshalls to follow Wal-Mart in raising pay

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

NEW YORK (AP) — The owner of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods stores said Wednesday that it will boost pay for its U.S. workers to at least $9 per hour.

The announcement by TJX Cos. comes a week after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would increase wages for its employees and is a sign that more competitors may follow suit. Low-paying retailers are having a harder time retaining workers as the job market improves.

"This pay initiative is an important part of our strategies to continue attracting and retaining the best talent," CEO Carol Meyrowitz said in a statement.

TJX spokeswoman Doreen Thompson declined to say what workers currently earn. A recent Credit Suisse report estimates TJX's current hourly pay at about $8.24. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

FULL story at link.



FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2009 file photo, a customer walks past a T.J. Maxx store in Boston. TJX Cos., the owner of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods stores, on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015 said it will boost pay for U.S. workers to at least $9 per hour. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole, File)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150225/us--tjx-worker_pay_raise-868d745aa5.html

[lark]

1. Good news

While it's not great, and should be $10 instead of $9, it is better than now and I'm glad for the workers and future workers.

[father founding]

2. Good Times

This will surely boost Yacht sales.

[Sherman A1]

3. Super!

Long overdue.

[herding cats]

4. Every little bit helps.

This is good news.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. OMG, don't they know they're going to cause the collapse of the economy and

of the country!

[mountain grammy]

6. Good news, but ya gotta love the CEO who says this:

"This pay initiative is an important part of our strategies to continue attracting and retaining the best talent," CEO Carol Meyrowitz said in a statement.
Yeah, right!!

We all know the pay raise is a result of a push to unionize retail workers and a push to raise the minimum wage. The "strategies" of these retailers is to pay the least possible, and they are only raising wages because they are forced to.
They're so short sited, they don't even see that the effect of higher wages will be to increase their sales..

[stillwaiting]

10. Corporate spin is almost always hiding an unspoken agenda.

It's very transparent usually, and it is both frustrating and disgusting (often).

[dembotoz]

7. good news--not great news but good news

and long overdue


who is next......

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Oregon Minimum wage stands at $9.25 an hour, so I hope their local staffs get a bump as well....

nt

[romanic]

9. I'm skpetical

Even with the (slight) wage bump, this won't stop these companies from skimping their employees out of more work hours. I expect their part-time workers will go from an average of 16-20 hours per week, down to 12-16 hours a week to "save money".

[GOLGO 13]

11. I think it might be having an affect in other job markets...

My wife went on 2 job interviews yesterday, and she asked for more $$ than what she might have gotten a year ago and the HR people didn't even blink at her salary demands. She got, " I think we can work with that" at both interviews. Both with full benefits, 401k, raise in 6 months, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Also, she's getting a lot of nibbles on her resume on line. Hopefully, the worm has turned for job seekers.