East Anchorage business shows the value of taking care of employees
by matt acuña buxton / The alaska current
We’ve seen countless stories about worker shortages and employers complaining that nobody wants to work anymore.
At Waffles and Whatnot in East Anchorage, there aren’t any of those complaints. There, owner Derrick Green prides himself on taking care of his employees. He hasn’t seen turnover in two years. “COVID taught me that taking care of the people was the most important thing, making sure that they’re not worried if they get sick … or making sure that they can make the payments for their mortgage and utilities and all that stuff without issue,” Green said.
Green is part of a coalition backing Ballot Measure 1 in the general election. The measure would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027, with annual inflation adjustments afterward and paid sick leave for most employees. Along with a living wage and sick time, Green’s employees can own part of the business. He says this is so everyone can share its success. They also conduct annual reviews to ensure employees are growing and happy.
Green said his treatment of his workers and support of Ballot Measure 1 are rooted in his desire to uplift his community and his experience growing up in poverty. His mother struggled to pay bills despite working long hours and multiple jobs. They had to choose which bills to pay, keeping a drawer of candles for when the electricity bill went unpaid.
“The reason why I’m supporting Ballot Measure 1 is I’ve seen what happens when people aren’t making a living wage, and we’re in a society now where I feel that the greatest needs, or one of the greatest needs, is a need for connection and a need for providing some sort of stability,” he said. “That living wage is just to be able to say, ‘Hey, you can take care of yourself, you can afford a sitter, you can afford to put gas in your car. You don’t have to decide whether you can only eat one meal a day or two meals a day, or things like that.”
Green talks with other businesses and wishes they understood the importance of meeting employees’ needs. He said the cost of higher pay and sick leave may seem daunting to business owners, but it pays major dividends in the long run.
“I think it’s scary,” he said when asked why more businesses don’t operate like his. “As a small business to think of paying somebody a minimum of $15 an hour is a scary proposition because you’re looking at the bottom line. But I think it’s also limited vision and limited thinking. They don’t understand that by paying a minimum wage, you get what you pay for.”
