A Halifax bike shop made a bold move last week when it boosted the pay of every full-time employee to match the living wage.
Cyclesmith says the change represents a critical investment in the long-term prosperity of its staff—and the organization as a whole.
According to the Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives, which Cyclesmith cites in its policy, the living wage in Halifax is $21.80 an hour.
That hourly pay represents how much each working member of a household should earn to cover basic necessities and allow the family “to live in dignity and enjoy a decent quality of life.”
Andrew Feenstra owns Cyclesmith. He tells Huddle some of his staff received raises of as much as $8 an hour thanks to the new policy.
He says he’s been thinking about putting a living wage policy in place for a while but recent events in Halifax were the push he needed.
“Everything just started to make a lot more sense with the things that were going on around Halifax. There were the housing issues and other issues and, all of a sudden I just said, alright, let’s just do this,” he says.
“It’s a good opportunity to do it and it’s a good opportunity to be the good corporate citizen I believe we are as a business.”
Before he owned CycleSmith, Feenstra was just an employee at the shop.
He remembers being at parties or gatherings with people who were mostly professionals, working as teachers or lawyers or nurses.
“They would ask, ‘what do you do?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m working in a bike shop.’ And you just kind of put [yourself] down, like working in retail is something to be embarrassed about,” Feenstra says.
Since he took over as owner 20 years ago, Feenstra has striven to make working in a bike shop, in retail, a profession—from the dress code to the time and care put into displays to the professionalism he expects from his staff.
“That’s always been my driving force with this business: it’s a profession,” he says. “And, you know, at this point, finally, I can kind of put the money where my mouth is.”
Feenstra says he’s already had a few employees tell him they had felt pressure to leave the jobs they love for a “real” career with better pay and that now that pressure is gone.
“Ultimately, they’re going to be less stressed at home because they don’t have to worry about making that next payment or whatever it is, whether it’s a mortgage or rent or groceries,” he says.
Feenstra believes paying a living wage is the right thing to do for his employees. But he’s also convinced it’s the right business decision.
There’s no question his new wage poly will cost him. And it will cost him a lot.
Cyclesmith has 20 full-time and seven part-time staff, and some just got raises of as much as $8 an hour. All told, Feenstra says the new salaries will cost him an extra $250,000 a year.
But he says the long-term benefits will offset those costs.
With staff members that are more committed and less stressed, he believes and he can hire fewer people. And the people he does hire will perform better.
“Because they’re all trained and committed and they see that we’re invested in them… and everybody brings up their game,” he says.
He also believes most people want to support a local business that does the right thing. So when word gets out about what he’s doing sales will go up.
He’s already heard about people he doesn’t know, or who never shopped at Cyclesmith, that plan to buy from him because of the living wage policy.
“The amount of money in advertising I would have to pay to make that happen is huge. Or, I could invest in my staff and then get all these other benefits,” he says.
Feenstra also says he hopes his new policy will encourage other businesses to consider their wages as well. Even if they don’t come all the way up to a living wage, some movement would be a start.
“Because, ultimately, it’s the right thing to do. And then in the long term, it does make financial sense.”
Trevor Nichols is a staff writer with Huddle in Halifax. Send him feedback at: nicholst@huddle.today. To read more stories like this, sign up to receive Huddle’s free daily newsletter.
