Remember Dan Price, the CEO who cut his own pay to raise the minimum annual pay at his company to
$70,000? Turns out, that wasn't just a morally good thing to do, and Price doesn't have to wait for the longer-term payoff of increased productivity and reduced staff turnover—he's seeing
an immediate payoff for Gravity Systems, his credit card processing company:
Price said the news has brought in dozens of new clients, making it the best week for new business in the company's 11-year history.
The firm has about 15,000 clients and handles about $10 billion in payments every year.
If the burst of new clients continues, it could create new jobs—new good jobs—and let other businesses know that treating workers well can pay off. But it's important to remember that
workers shouldn't have to get lucky with an amazingly good boss to make a decent living and be treated well. Good bosses go viral, but for more workers, this is
the reality:
While Price is cutting his own pay, most chief executives are continuing to see hefty compensation hikes. CEO pay rose more quickly in 2014 than in other recent years, with median compensation rising 6.9 percent to $12.2 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, American workers have been suffering from stagnating and, in some cases, declining wages.
That's a reality we need to fight to change.