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Broward Small Business Owner Gives Big Raises, Says Other CEOs Should Follow Suit

gnerk on Flickr

A Broward County small-business owner is giving his employees hefty raises.

Andrew Green is the owner and CEO of Green Solutions in Fort Lauderdale. He recently decided to give his workers raises of between 35 and 50 percent.

“The responsibility lies on you to make sure that they can have a living wage without stressing day to day if they can make ends meet," says Green.

Green was inspired by the CEO of Seattle-based Gravity Payments, who made national news when he took a 90-percent pay cut to give all of his 120 workers a base salary of $70,000 a year.

Green’s not going that far. His business only employs three people, and the raises will trim his profits by 12.5 percent. But he says it’s well worth it. His decision comes amid calls for the government to raise the minimum wage, but he says he doesn’t expect the government to lead on this issue.

“Most CEOs believe in less government, less taxes," says Green. "And if they took care of their employees better and provided them a higher living wage, we wouldn’t have the problems we’re having today.”

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