Long, but advice-seeking:
I'm going to send an email to my supervising manager and cc the business owner requesting a meeting to discuss a raise. Anything about the following I should avoid?
It's an indie bookstore (maybe 40 employees, mostly over-40 and part-time), been there 2.5 years, came in with experience as a former receiving manager for Barnes & Noble, assigned as a part-time receiver at first and the everyday driver of the company vehicle to deliver product and money (!) to and from a second store location (only two other managers are emergency backup). Within 3 months, I was the only receiver as the other two quit/was fired. Since I began, there have been 6 receivers who came and went, so I can point to longevity and reliability. I'm often the first one people come to when there is a one-off job to be done, the unofficial IT guy, unofficial trainer of new receiving hires, the heavy lifter, and now handling four new jobs that used to be handled by four part-time people (some pandemic-related), so I have the workload of nearly 3 people. I'm one of the few workers there Monday-Friday, with reduced hours due to pandemic, so less time to finish the extra work.
Last year, they gave me a "raise" which I put in quotes because I found out a book receiver, who had only been there a few months, was earning more than me, despite him only being a receiver, having none of the extra job responsibilities that I already had. Even being only 50 cents/hour, the raise only brought me to parity with his salary, which was still insulting. This came up suddenly because yesterday I overheard that the store is hiring new people again, starting Monday, and their starting salary is what I am earning now, which is again, insulting. They do not do performance reviews, or at least I've never had one in person, which is when raises were handled at previous jobs.
I'm considering asking for a raise of "at least $2/hour" describing how many jobs I'm handling and how I'm still cheaper than hiring 3 new part-time employees. I'd hope they see the value I bring and offer more, but I doubt they would offer more than a nominal 50 cents, which I can claim makes it seem they value me "barely higher than a brand new hire." I'm willing to negotiate other benefits if they don't agree to the $2 minimum, such as raise plus more vacation time, but if all they offer is that 50 cents, take it or leave it, I might have to leave it. I'd rather not lose a job over this, but accepting the minimum offer makes it seem I'm willing to put up with being severely undervalued. Obviously, it's best to have another job before asking for a raise so you can compare offers, and in case they decide to drop you right then, but I only found out about the new hires yesterday. I've been trying to find a job in research/laboratory science again, as that is my background, but it's been years of sending applications with no response.
TL;DR, my talking points will be the increasing amount of responsibilities I have and trust/reliability of past performance. How being underpaid and/or equally paid to new hires makes me feel undervalued. Should I make my $2 request or leave it out and see what they offer first? I'm thinking if they were just planning on 50 cents and I counter with 4x that, it's an instant deal-breaker. This way, they can see how I value myself and they can agree or not, and hopefully be open to alternative benefits.