Hourly workers still have leverage as US hiring booms

A sign advertises for help The Goldenrod, a popular restaurant and candy shop, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in York Beach, Maine. America’s hiring boom continued in July as employers added a surprising 528,000 jobs despite raging inflation and rising anxiety about a recession. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Chelsie Church was working as a manager at a Colorado Taco Bell when she found out workers at a nearby Pizza Hut were earning more than $1 an hour more than she was.

Her attempts to negotiate a raise were unsuccessful, so she kept hunting for another job, eventually finding one at Laredo’s Tacos, a chain connected to 7-Eleven.

“Even my Taco Bell manager said, ’If they’re gonna offer you $20 an hour — take it,’” Church said.