While I was in school, I worked part time at an artisanal Ohio-based ice cream shop. Let's call it Shleni's. 95% of the time, it was a lovely job. I worked with some great managers, I loved (most of) my coworkers, and I'm still kind of obsessed with the product. I also loved the whole ethos of the product: the company really did care about sourcing ingredients ethically. (I definitely know and acknowledge, however, that not everyone who worked for the company felt/feels the same way, especially those who tried climbing the leadership ladder.)
But Shleni's paid minimum wage. There were opportunities to get raises, but let's be honest, an extra 50 cents an hour is borderline insulting, ya know?
About 2 years into my time with the company, we were invited to an all-staff meeting with the founder, Shleni herself. Don't get me wrong: I love Shleni. She's passionate about her ice cream, and she's damn good at making it.
At this point in time, I was feeling a little peeved about the fact that they cut a lot of people's hours due to the then recent ACA legislation requiring companies to offer health insurance to full-time employees. So a lot of people were capped at 39 hours a week. (And, a salty side note: Shleni's may or may not have actually hosted then Vice President Biden when he gave a speech talking about labor laws. So do what you will with that irony.)
They opened up the floor for questions. I came prepared.
I asked, “When are you going to start paying your scoop shop employees living wages?”
Shleni gave the diplomatic answer I was expecting and talked about how the concept of “living wages” is subjective.
But I had done the math. I responded that someone on shift leader pay could be working their allotted 39 hours a week and still qualify for welfare benefits.
I share this story because I think it reveals something important. Even the b-corps that do things like source fair trade vanilla, buy only local milk and cream, and support other small artisans can still be decades behind in their own ethical labor practices. We need a modern labor movement. We need to demand worker inclusion in otherwise “ethical” companies.