Dole Packaged Foods will pay all its U.S. employees a minimum of $15 an hour within a few months, the company’s CEO said in an interview.
Pier Luigi Sigismondi told CNN Business that “we’re very close” to the $15 threshold and that an announcement should come in “a few more weeks or months.” Dole employs about 1,100 people in the United States – part of its global workforce of about 27,000.
The $15-an-hour wage has become a touchstone of progressive politics, with some urging the Biden administration to make it the federal minimum wage. Several major companies have adopted it, including Amazon, Target and Costco. Walmart recently announced a round of wage increases that will raise the average salary to $15, although starting pay will remain at $11.
On the other hand, efforts to mandate higher minimum wages have generated some pushback. Kroger is closing stores in Washington state and California after those states mandated “hazard pay” for grocery workers.
In the CNN interview, Sigismondi also mentioned the difficulties of tight supply chain, and named reducing costs for Dole products as a priority: "Once we satisfy the need of our shareholders, we will also need to be aware that good nutrition needs to be available as many people as possible."
