James Sinegal

“Obscene salaries send the wrong message through a company. The message is that all brilliance emanates from the top; that the worker on the floor of the store or the factory is insignificant.”

“One of the strengths of our nation has always been a strong middle class who could afford their own homes and send their children to school.”

“Everybody is watching you every minute anyways. If they think the message you're sending out is phony, they're going to say, 'Who does he think he is?' It's again good business. But it is also an obligation.”

“If you hire good people, give them good jobs, and pay them good wages, generally something good is going to happen.”

“The message is that all brilliance emanates from the top; that the worker on the floor of the store or the factory is insignificant.”

“We are a company that promotes 100% within the company.”

“You destroy the initiative of the working people if they don't feel they have a fighting chance to be a part of the American Dream.”

“In the final analysis, you get what you pay for.”

“We've always been in favor of improved wages for workers. When you have a strong middle class, they want to buy more stuff at Costco.”

“We would rather have our employees running our business.”

“I say at our management conferences that the amount Wal-Mart grows in just one year is the equivalent of Costco's size.”

“Paying good wages is not in opposition to good productivity.”

“We always strive to be the best in the wage package.”

“We want to turn our inventory faster than our people.”

“If we take care of the business and keep our eye on the goal line, the stock price will take care of itself.”

“If you've got to work for the rest of your life, you'd better do something you'll enjoy.”

“If somehow a proclamation were made that C.E.O.'s could only make a maximum of $300,000 a year, you would not have any shortage of very qualified men and women seeking the jobs.”

“When employees are happy, they are your very best ambassadors.”

“Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do but it makes for good business.”

“You don't have a very motivated working class, it starts to affect the dynamics of the economy. If workers are disenchanted and disenfranchised, productivity losses will go along with that.”