Wegmans, for all its honorifics as one of the America’s best employers, is a minimum-wage company.
It’s not unusual for employees to spend half of their paychecks on groceries, which means the money goes straight back to their employer. I bite my tongue when I see younger workers pay top dollar for high-priced snack foods during their breaks. The half-hour lunch is costing them more than a half hour of labor.
Based on a limited survey of job postings, Indeed reports that the average wage for a Wegmans cashier is $12.92. The average for a warehouse worker is $10.90.
For the many part-time workers, who don’t qualify for benefits such as health insurance, the paycheck-to-payout ratio undoubtedly differs from that of full-timers. One can only eat so much, when doctors and landlords are knocking at the door.
(Wegmans employees do not receive discounts on grocery purchases. The company does grace them with a limited supply of employee-only coupons, giving them free cakes on their birthdays and lower prices on Wegmans-labeled items being phased out, promoted or introduced.)
There was a time when America’s best jobs were to be found in manufacturing sectors such as steel and automotive. Now, according to Fortune magazine, these positions are to be found in service and retail.
Compensation seems to have been dropped from the equation. Wegmans is not one of the best employers in America. It is, at best, one of the best minimum-wage employers in America.
This is the new normal.