Baxters: Attend launch in Mesa of Fight For a Living Wage nonprofit

When my wife, Shannon, and I opened Beanchain Coffee seven months ago, it was the manifestation of a very big dream. We wanted to create the kind of business that was about worker respect, community respect and prosperity. Today, we have a brick-and-mortar building located in a thriving business district in Mesa.

Our dream grew out of my own experience as a person who had worked hard for many years to pull myself up out of poverty. When your support and resources are slim, this is nearly impossible. Did you know that the homelessness rate in Mesa increased by a whopping 92% from 2018 to 2022?

At Beanchain we believe that everyone should be able to live a good life, save money and feel a sense of control over their destiny. The first goal of the Beanchain is to get wages up to a living wage and keep up with the living wage as it changes.

Our workers have a say in how Beanchain operates. They have access to many forms of worker direction within the Beanchain. Everything from voting on holidays to take off, proposing changes to our work environment that we all can debate and all the way up to being given the opportunity to become a member of our leadership team. Those that want to make it a career to work at the Beanchain can eventually get voting, profit sharing and equity in the company. We have a shared work set-up open to the community, with three offices and a conference room, so budding entrepreneurs or jobseekers can learn from one another.

A new nonprofit, Fight for a Living Wage, will launch its ambitious statewide efforts at Beanchain, 1110 W. Southern Ave. No. 8 in Mesa on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m. Fight for a Living Wage has identified our organization as an example of how one person can fight income inequality. We hope you’ll join us this Saturday for a great cup of coffee and to learn more about Beanchain and Fight for a Living Wage. One lucky person will win a $100 gift certificate.