Perron

“We don’t have a problem with it; we think it’s good for the employees. We don’t have many people below the minimum wage. Some employees in the past may have been below it, but they have gotten above it fairly quickly. It might cause some price adjustments along the way. We have to see how it impacts us economically. Those just above the minimum wage will have to see a little bit [of an] increase for their wage to reflect their experience, their time with the company and the difference between their current wage and the minimum wage.”

— Robert A. Perron, president, Guahan Waste Control Inc., which does business as Mr. Rubbishman

Bendo

“The minimum wage has affected me in a way where, as a max part-time employee, I was getting paid more than a minimum wage worker. Now that the minimum wage is going up $1, I’ll be getting paid lower than a full-time minimum wage worker, which, for me, doesn’t seem quite right because of the work that I do and the work that a minimum wage worker is expected to do or is going to actually produce. So I think it’s a bad thing.”

— Jonathan Bendo, events coordinator, Harvest Ministries

Vitkovitsky

“[…] We’re not increasing any wages. Our minimum wage rate is above the new wage rate, so it hasn’t impacted us. We had a few temps out in other jobs that were below that rate at the request of the company, but it has been increased and the time limits of those jobs end before the new rates come into effect.”

— Jeffrey L. Vitkovitsky, special projects manager, Pacific Human Resource Services

Hertslet

“The bottom line is, it’s going to cost us more to provide the same cup of coffee, and we need to make it up by providing better value for the customer’s dollar. We’re re-working our brand and preparing more intensive customer service and product knowledge training for our employees, and we’ll have to be more selective on who we invest in if we want a good [return on investment]. Our profit margin is also lower, so we may end up compensating by spending less in other areas of the operation.”

— Denise M. Hertslet, owner, Guma’Tasa Coffee House and I.P. Coffee Co., and Women in Business program coordinator, Guam Small Business Development Center

Wood

“The minimum wage increase is very challenging for ministries like Harvest. Just with our Bible college alone, the Micronesian students that we help and employ here at Harvest — it’s about a $130,000 additional per year to cover those wages. While I’m certainly glad for the people that work hard and need those funds, minimum wage hikes — especially on ministries who are reaching out and trying to help workers — can make a big negative impact on the bottom line.”

— Robert Wood, minister of finance and strategic planning, Harvest Ministries

Evaristo

“We have been planning for the increase in minimum wage for some time now. We do anticipate a significant increase to our labor costs starting [in January]. McDonald’s strives to provide comparable or better wages and benefits to all our employees. At the same time, we provide quality developmental training and valuable benefits as incentives for advancement and to strive for and succeed in a management position.”

– Divina A. Evaristo, marketing consultant, McDonald’s of Guam