I don't know about that, Tom.
Every job I've worked in before my current one paid well under $16/hr. Those were typical manufacturing jobs in this area. Most factories around here now hire people through temp services such as Randstad, Manpower, Staffmark, etc. They usually start off around the $6.50 - $7.00 an hour and the workers have to work for several months to a year or more before having a chance to get hired directly through the company. Then they'll probably make around $10.00/hr.