TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The cakes, cookies and loaves of bread are in the oven at Dedicated Gluten Free Bakery and Coffee Shop early in the morning. By 4am, the bakers arrive to get everything baked for the day. It's a team of 11 employees and owner Jennifer Kinkade said they're tight knit.
For the employees, Kinkade said they never make less that $15 per hour.
"The expectation is that my employees should never make less than $15 per hour," she said. "I require a lot of my employees because they need to know food allergies and talk to people about it and that’s not something you have to do at a major chain.”
But starting on January 1st, employers across Tucson will pay their employees $15 per hour, which is an increase of 65 cents and was approved by voters in 2021. After 2025, the minimum wage will increase each year based off of the cost of living. Across the rest of Arizona, the minimum wage will increase by 35 cents to $14.70 per hour on January 1st.
Kinkade said while they already pay their employees $15 per hour, it will still impact her bakery.
“It’s going to increase the competition for us to hire good employees,” she said. "We’ll end up probably seeing the prices increase at Dedicated because cost of goods are going to go up.”
She encourages people to continue to support local businesses as they adjust.
“To keep those employees who wanted to make more when you voted this in, to make sure that they can actually keep their jobs," she said.
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Tina Giuliano is a reporter for KGUN 9. She is a native Arizonan and grew up in Scottsdale. Tina is passionate about storytelling and is excited to work telling Tucson's stories. Share your story ideas and important issues with Tina by emailing tina.giuliano@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
