Having owned my own construction company for many, many years I can honestly say that I do not remember ever paying anyway minimum wage for more than the first week. Anyone who is willing to work, shows that they are dependable and willing to listen and learn always earned more than minimum wage. Those who thought they "deserved" more than minimum wage just by showing up whenever it fit their schedule did not continue to fill the slot better offered to someone who really wanted to work. Everyone deserves an opportunity to show what they are worth and get the experience needed to move up but it is a two way street. It was always amazing to me the number of employees that we had who were good workers but never had the desire to take on more responsibility to move up. Those same people were the first ones to complain when they did not get a raise down the line.
When did the minimum wage become the "living wage". I'm probably showing my age now but when I began my career minimum wage was the rate used for those with absolutely no work experience who wanted to work. Even those who decided to drop out of school and were too lazy to learn a trade never had the guts to "demand" that they deserved $30,000+ a year to start.
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