Raleigh, N.C.-based Coastal Credit Union will raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour from $12.50 per hour, effective March 14.
The increase will affect 50 out of Coastal’s 500 employees, the $2.9 billion credit union announced today.
The federal and North Carolina state minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, according to the United States Department of Labor.
“Our employees are a critical component to our success, and taking care of them is the first step in corporate responsibility,” said Coastal’s President and CEO, Chuck Purvis. “Back when we first implemented an internal minimum wage, our primary goal was to ensure we’re doing our part to help anyone working here to avoid poverty. Today, we’re taking that a step further. We find ourselves in a highly competitive jobs environment and need to set ourselves apart in order to continue to attract and retain talent at all levels of the organization. We offer a very generous compensation and benefits package, but the we know that the biggest difference we can make for an employee, particularly at the entry level, is in their wages.”
Coastal is the latest credit union to boost its starting wage to better reflect rising costs of living and the nationwide push for a living wage. Earlier this week, $2.2 billion Truliant Federal Credit Union based in Winston-Salem, N.C.
