On a somewhat more hopeful note

There's a good article in the Seattle Times' weekend magazine about two local companies that treat their employees well, and (shock and horror) it actually helps their bottom line. You may recognize one of them:

MARY GRAHAM'S morning shift usually starts at 5:30, but some days she's in the food court by 2 a.m., ponytail tucked in her regulation hairnet, spraying cleaner on the crud in the ovens and scrubbing until they gleam, work she must finish by dawn when the bakers come in.

So why is this woman smiling?

How about $13 an hour, waaay-fat for fast-food work in Washington? Full medical and dental benefits for herself and her five children under the age of 14? A scholarship program, and two weeks' paid vacation? A boss who helped arrange a schedule so she could be home to meet the school bus? "They are very respectful, they've been here before," she says of her managers — most of whom are promoted from within.

A single parent with a GED, Graham is no stranger to the lowest (legal) rungs of the economy. She's been a part-time receptionist for $7 an hour, no benefits; a waitress at a franchise diner where she had to share meager tips and couldn't afford the health-care plan. At 44, she has, as a service assistant in Costco's Issaquah food court, her first taste of the American dream.

"It's not minimum wage. I can afford a car. I can afford my kids' school clothes without help. I don't have to go to the food bank. I'm not on welfare. I appreciate it. I've never been able to do that before."

One reason, of course, is her employer.

Economists will tell you there are at least two reliable, legal ways to make money in America.

One is to fleece the workers, taking not only their wool but their skin. A proven model resulting, the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., tells us, in CEOs earning in a day and a half what took their beleaguered flock a year to earn in 2003.

Or, there's the Henry Ford model: Pay people well enough that they stick around, cutting both turnover and training costs while boosting efficiency. Better yet, pay them well enough so they can even go out and buy something. Witness Mary Graham, this year able to afford a flute for her daughter in band at school. She took a first-ever vacation at the beach with her kids last summer. Before, it was rides on the state ferries or walking around Seattle Center. She's even started saving in a 401(k) retirement account — which Costco contributes to, even if she doesn't.

Check out the rest of the article... it's nice to see that the handbasket isn't moving as fast as it could be.

Of course, it's not all roses: The other reason Costco does so well is because American consumerism is rampant. We don't shop there because they don't carry any of the recycled or organic or free-range foods we prefer to buy. But still... neither does Wal-Mart, and they lock their workers in at night.

I can't say enough nice things about the other company Lynda profiles in that article, a local burger chain called Dick's Drive-in. Check out their benefits package... it's stunning.