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With help from the GOP tax cuts, Rod’s Harvest Foods in St. Ignatius, Montana raised wages 3-5% and increased the starting wage to $11 per hour. The family-owned grocery store also awarded $1,000 bonuses to full-time employees and $500 bonuses to part-time employees. Rod’s Harvest Foods is listed on ATR’s Montana list of good news arising from the tax cuts.

In a phone call with Americans for Tax Reform, store owner Rod Arlint said:

I looked at a lot of happy faces when we handed out bonuses and announced raised wages. It wouldn’t have been possible without tax reform. It also enabled our business to keep some employees because the economy is doing very well, unemployment is low, and they might have gone elsewhere. The job market is very competitive – everyone’s hiring.

In a note to his employees, Rod Arlint wrote: 

We are happy to share with our employees the anticipated tax saving for 2018 realized by the Tax Reform bill recently passed by the US Congress and signed by President Trump. We are excited about the benefits it will provide for our country’s economy, our store, and our employees. As a result of the tax savings expected in 2018, we will be passing these savings on to our employees. We will be raising wages 3-5% and entry wage to $11 an hour (non-student). Also, please accept this bonus as a gesture of appreciation for your hard work and loyalty to Rod’s Harvest Foods. You are our most valuable resource! 

Americans for Tax Reform has built a national list of examples of pay raises, bonuses, benefit increases, utility rate reductions and other good news arising from the tax cuts. A state-by-state list of such examples can be found here. The Montana list can be found here.