![Staff Walks Out of Minnesota Store Over Wage Dispute](http://townsquare.media/site/66/files/2021/11/attachment-Hot-Topic-sign.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Staff Walks Out of Minnesota Store Over Wage Dispute
There has been so much talk over wages, worker shortages and businesses closing because of the pandemic.
Now, there is an issue at a store in a Rochester mall called Hot Topic. We do have one of those stores here in the Crossroads Mall as well, but this one was in the Apache Mall in Rochester. There was a sign placed on the store front that went viral over the weekend.
It simply stated that since they won't pay a "living wage" they aren't going to work there anymore. This is giving the idea that they have gone elsewhere to find higher paying jobs. This is coming after several other signs were placed on store fronts and food court restaurants in the Apache Mall stating that "we're closed because no one wants to work anymore". This one might be worse.
Bring Me the News says that they did try and reach out to the California-based company, but so far they have not responded.
I have heard several small business owners saying that if they pay $15-$20 an hour to all of their employees, they would have to close down. So what they do is run short staffed and pay the employees that they do have those wages. This is only in some cases.
This particular store, Hot Topic, has about 700 stores nationwide. One would think, without going over their financials, that they could afford to pay more than what I'm guessing is probably about $10-$11 an hour. But still in recovery mode from the pandemic, who really knows what the situation is? One thing is for sure- the employees aren't happy. These are mostly part-time employees, some full-time, but this is what most retailers pay. This needs to change, or people just will continue on this trajectory of not working or finding other jobs. This is also a place where you aren't going to work for tips like in the food industry. So any extra pay would have to come from regular pay increases.
The last time I was in the Crossroads Mall in St Cloud, Hot Topic was still open. Stay tuned...
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