Page 8A
BUSINESS
East Oregonian
Wal-Mart raises could help lift pay
in lower-wage industries nationwide
PENDLETON
Photo by Antonio Sierra
Govinda’s Garden owner Surya Das made extensive
renovations to his Court Ave. restaurant, which opened
Feb. 12 and serves an Indian vegetarian cuisine.
Steakhouse becomes
vegetarian buffet
authentic Indian experience.
“We don’t want to com-
Govinda’s Garden owner promise anything,” he said.
Govinda’s Garden, which
Surya Das scoured the globe
to bring his vegetarian cuisine opened Feb. 12, features a
to Pendleton and open the full salad bar with several
Indian dressings. Lunch and
city’s only Indian restaurant.
The cooks’ previous jobs dinner options include multi-
were in Memphis, Tennessee ple varieties of rice, soup and
and Baltimore, Maryland, a curry.
The restaurant also in-
tandoor oven was shipped
from the United Kingdom cludes a full menu that serves
and the buffet bars were Indian dishes such as naan
and mango lassi.
bought out of Indiana.
Govinda’s Garden is lo-
All of these additions
GRQ¶W LQFOXGH WKH VLJQL¿FDQW cated at 103 S.E. Court Ave.
renovations Das made to the RQ WKH JURXQG ÀRRU RI WKH
restaurant space, which was Knight’s Inn, which Das also
home to Stetson’s Steakhouse owns. The restaurant is open
for 14 before its move to Wednesday through Monday,
from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for
Hermiston in September.
Das said all of these ef- lunch and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
forts were made to ensure an for dinner.
East Oregonian
BRIEFLY
Umatilla seeks
Former lobbyist
award nominations still advocates for
UMATILLA — There’s
working class
still a little time to submit
nominations for Umatilla’s
Distinguished Citizen Award
banquet.
Nomination forms for
Citizen and Business of
the Year are available at
Carlson’s Umatilla Drug
Store, Java Junkies and
the Umatilla Chamber
of Commerce & Visitor
&HQWHURI¿FH7KH\PXVWEH
submitted by Friday, Feb. 27.
The banquet, which has
an Oscar night theme, is
Saturday, March 7 at 6:30
p.m. at Quality Inn, 705
Willamette Ave., Umatilla.
Tickets are $30 each or $55
for two. The meal includes
a choice of tri-tip or crab-
stuffed salmon, baked
potato, Caesar salad and
dessert served by Sharon’s
Sweet Treats.
For more information,
FDOOWKHFKDPEHURI¿FHDW
541-922-4825.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
HERMISTON — Chuck
Sheketoff, a founder of the
Oregon Center for Public
Policy, is the guest speaker
for the upcoming Business
to Business luncheon.
Sheketoff, who lobbied
the Oregon State Legislature
on behalf of legal aid clients
(1993, 1995) and the Oregon
Law Center (1997), will
share how the OCPP works
with businesses across the
state, how they help set
policy that helps working
class people and what their
legislative priorities are.
The no-host luncheon
is Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. at
the Hermiston Conference
Center, 415 S. Highway 395.
The cost is $10 for members
and $13 for non-members.
To RSVP for the luncheon,
contact 541-567-6151 or
info@hermistonchamber.
com.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The mod-
“They really set the standard across
est raises that Wal-Mart has said it will the retail sector,” said Claire McK-
give its lowest-paid workers provide enna, a policy analyst at the National
a glimmer of hope for
Employment Law Proj-
lower-wage workers in
ect, which advocates
other companies and in-
for low-wage workers.
dustries.
“What they do really
Other retailers and
matters.”
some fast food restau-
Josh Bivens, re-
rants may now feel
search and policy direc-
compelled to follow suit
tor at the liberal Eco-
to retain their workers
nomic Policy Institute,
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said Wal-Mart’s move
openings, economists
also reduces the pres-
said.
sure on other retailers
Wal-Mart’s
move
to keep labor costs at
follows a sustained
rock-bottom levels.
campaign for higher
“It at least takes away
wages by some of the
the excuse from other
company’s employees
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and a nationwide de-
to raise wages, but we
AP Photo/Gareth Patterson
bate over whether to Doug McMillon, Wal-Mart can’t because we have
raise the federal mini- President and CEO
to compete with Wal-
mum wage. Given Wal-
Mart,”’ Bivens said. “It
Mart’s position as the nation’s largest could possibly give some competitive
private employer, its decision to yield, breathing space to other retailers to
even in a limited way, could embolden raise wages.”
more employees to seek raises.
On Thursday, Wal-Mart said it
would increase its minimum pay to $9
an hour in April and to $10 by Febru-
ary 2016. The move will mean raises
for 500,000 of its 1.3 million employ-
ees. The average full-time wage will
tick up to $13 an hour from $12.85. For
part-timers, the average will go to $10
from $9.48.
Wal-Mart’s decision follows simi-
lar steps by other companies. The Gap
has raised its minimum wage to $10 an
hour. Swedish home furnishings retail-
er Ikea raised pay for thousands of its
U.S. workers this year by an average
of 17 percent to $10.76 an hour. Health
insurer Aetna has said it will pay a
minimum of $16 an hour. That’s more
than double the federal minimum wage
of $7.25.
All of which means that many peo-
ple who earn less than $10 an hour will
now have more options.
“If you work at a fast-food restau-
rant” for $7.25 an hour, “you are going
to want to leave that job and work at
the Wal-Mart nearby,” said Sylvia Al-
legretto, an economist at the University
of California, Berkeley.
PENDLETON
Sykes brothers re-brand printing business
East Oregonian
Originally known as Rap-
id Print when it opened 27
years ago by David Sykes
of Heppner, Sykes Brothers
Printing recently renamed its
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The shop became a sec-
ond-generation family busi-
ness in 1998 when Sykes’
son, Chris Sykes, came on
board and was later joined by
his brother, Andrew Sykes, in
2006.
Sykes said he realized it
was time for a name change
recently when answering the
phone for the print shop. The
customer, David said, didn’t
know the name of the busi-
ness.
“He said, ‘Is this the
print shop run by those two
brothers?’” Sykes recalled.
“I realized, that’s how peo-
ple knew this business, not
by the name, but by the two
brothers.”
With that, the idea of
re-branding Rapid Print to
Sykes Brothers was born.
The brothers, who both
Contributed photo
Sykes brothers, Andrew and Chris, hold up the logo
designed by their sister, Allison Sykes Hayes. For-
merly Rapid Print, Sykes Brothers Printing recently
re-branded its downtown Pendleton business.
live in Pendleton, work on
each of their strengths. Chris
handles in-house printing, ad-
vertising and sales. And An-
drew, who holds a degree in
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RIWKH$UWVLQ6HDWWOH¿OOVWKH
role of business manager, as
well as production and cus-
tomer service.
Keeping it in the family,
the brothers called on their
sister, Allison Sykes Hayes,
to create a new logo.
Hayes, who has a bach-
elor’s degree in art from the
University of Oregon, is a se-
nior graphic designer for Pel-
icon Iconic Services, based in
Manhattan Beach, California.
Hayes, who works exten-
sively with company brand-
ing and logos, said she was
happy to put her expertise to
work for the family business.
She designed 15-20 logos for
consideration.
In the spirit of family
cooperation, Chris and An-
drew used the democratic
process to make a selection,
with voting rights also given
to parents David and April
Sykes, Hayes and husband
Matt, and sister Camille
Sykes. The winning logo is
now displayed on signs, print
products and a large area rug
in the Sykes Brothers lobby.
The brothers say the
re-branding process has gone
well, with positive feedback
from the community. Chris
said the company hasn’t
changed, just the name in
front of it.
“The company was name-
less and faceless,” he said.
“Now it represents who we
are.”
Sykes Brothers Printing
is located at 25 S.W. Emi-
grant Ave., Pendleton. For
more information, call 541-
276-2152.
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