Fast Food Workers Want $15/hr

[Fairy1]

It's a 20 oz bottle of soda and in America, you could buy a 16 oz at the store for 1.53 plus tax.

Your job sounds horrible, I am sorry. I hope you find a better place to work soon. One that makes you truly happy!

My job is fine and I've been there for almost 20 years. So were a lot of people who lost their jobs in the cutbacks.

The point is, some of those folks who did lose their jobs are now working at fast food restaurants. And they are not paying $1.25 for a can of soda. Perhaps they would be if they were being paid higher wages and you, your employees and your child would all benefit!

 

[momrids6]

I admit I'm no good at judging age by looking at someone... but I sure come across many cashiers who have no clue how to make change without the computerized cash register helping them.

Ever say "Wait, I have a penny" after they've already rung it up and noticed the blank look on their faces?

All I'm saying, is, that for $15/hour, they're going to expect someone who can calculate change in a millisecond... in their head. Not to mention good credit, a stable job history, etc.

And the domino effect I see is this: Skilled workers who are unemployed (thus on unemployment, and qualifying for the incentive), will be taking these jobs. Then the unskilled worker will be without a job, and end up on public assistance.

I can totally see McDonalds then requiring a college education to work the drive-thru window, because they can, and they're going to want people who can eventually move up into management.

Then are people going to demand free college?

They get the most money in tax credit $ from the long term TANF recipients.
The almighty dollar will win out over customer service until their bottom line is affected.

 

[T4Tide]

I started out my job in 1999 making $15.75 an hour, and left 10 years later almost up to $22. As a registered nurse, saving people's lives.

It's a darn good thing I didn't screw up as many medications or blood transfusions as the times I get onions on my burger when I requested none.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Roxye]

You are assuming it is an issue of RESPONSIBILITY. If it were that simple, then yes, I wholeheartedly agree that obtaining health insurance should be non-negotiable. But there are myriad reasons and obstacles which pretty much ENSURE that people cannot pay for health insurance. One of those reasons is that their employer doesn't provide it or pay them enough. People lose their jobs and with their jobs, their health insurance. People have pre-existing conditions (soon to not be an issue thank goodness). One can't assume that the uninsured are willfully putting their lives and their families lives at risk. That's a huge generalization. The ACA will level the playing field for everyone and take a lot of the pressure off of struggling families. But if people made a fair wage, a lot more people would be able to contribute to a plan.

True, but not so much. ACA, as you call it, will make things worse then you are currently think it will.

Already we have seen lay offs, demotion to part time, firings.

ACA will floor all areas of everyday life for EVERYONE, and not in a positive manner.

There will be more part time people then there were before, there will be harder requirements to be hired full time.

Just now in my state, more doctors are denying certain insurance. Children, who have been with their doctors for 10 years are getting turned away because they are no longer taking THAT insurance, because Obama Care is about to take effect.

These DR don't want to be a part of that and will take NO patients with them not matter how long they have treated them.

This all sounds like a bad deal for all those people who were responsible enough to get and pay for their own health insurance.

Because of this, I will be paying 3 times as much for insurance for my son and me, even though I have been paying the same price since the day he was born 12 years ago.

How is that fair to us?

 

[Charlie09]

I rest my case. Other countries are doing it, and surprise, surprise, commerce continues!!! Business owners in this country have to realize that if they cannot give their employees a fair wage and provide for their health care, then perhaps they need to rethink their chosen business ventures. As for being sold "a bill of goods"?? I believe health care is a human right, and it should be paid for by the government. Again, other countries have figured out how to do it, and surprise, surprise, they have higher qualities of living, lower infant mortality rates, and overall happier, healthier citizens.

They don't have a higher quality of living.
We can talk about lower infant mortality rates on another thread and really, they have happier, healthier citizens? That is a rather romantic thought.
You missed the point, the minimum wage is very close to ours, it's certainly not at 15.00/an hour.

Based on what do you believe the government should pay for individual's health insurance?

 

[Charlie09]

You are assuming it is an issue of RESPONSIBILITY. If it were that simple, then yes, I wholeheartedly agree that obtaining health insurance should be non-negotiable. But there are myriad reasons and obstacles which pretty much ENSURE that people cannot pay for health insurance. One of those reasons is that their employer doesn't provide it or pay them enough. People lose their jobs and with their jobs, their health insurance. People have pre-existing conditions (soon to not be an issue thank goodness). One can't assume that the uninsured are willfully putting their lives and their families lives at risk. That's a huge generalization. The ACA will level the playing field for everyone and take a lot of the pressure off of struggling families. But if people made a fair wage, a lot more people would be able to contribute to a plan.

What exactly is a fair wage?
Dollars and cents what is a universal fair wage?

 

[momrids6]

All this demanding and protesting is going to do is cause a change to computerized ordering at fast food restaurants, and more self-checkouts at the retail stores, imo. They'll hold onto their sub par employees until their tax credit term runs out- and fire them.

 

[Ausgirl]

Just on the free college comment - until a couple decades ago, University courses here -were- free, aside from some relatively very small term fees.

My entire college education (with two majors) was Govt-funded. People here used to take courses after courses, because they -could- and it was awesome.

Free education, for the win. Somehow, we had much higher standards back then too...

Coming from a country where education's still pretty cheap, where we have Medicare and bulk billing hospitals and GP's, where every adult is entitled to 16 bucks an hour min wage and people on welfare are not considered scum of the earth, where even a disability pensioner like me can afford a decent house 20 mins from a major city, if they manage thier money well.... and well, that doesn't suck. People still work hard here, and many work two jobs too, because our cost of living IS a bit higher. But there's a lot of support for those who cannot do so, and for low income workers, and everyone's better off for it.

I find American values a little bit skewed, when it comes to "deserving", too. Like, the harder you have it, the better the person you are. Good work ethic is one thing.. but not wishing a higher standard of living for all is a bit odd. IMO.

Mind you -- nurses and teachers still get relatively crap wages here. WHY does that happen? These are the people who -ought- to be getting better pay. Support higher wages for them, I say!

 

[Gardenlady]

Ayn Rand had it exactly backwards. In the US the moochers are at the top, and Atlas is the rest of us working people who support them. Atlas might be shrugging (I hope), but it's not the executives, it's the workers.

See how far they get when ALL the workers wake up.

 

[Gardenlady]

Nice piece in the Guardian from a woman employed by Burger King who is striking:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/29/fast-food-worker-protest-minimum-wage

Wanted to pull out this small 'graph:

Burger King says they can't pay employees like me higher wages because it would force them out of business. Yet last year it made $117m in profits and its CEO took home $6.47m. It would take me 634 years to earn that much.

 

[21merc7]

Minimum wage has not been a living wage since I was born. Probably before then.

The number crunching, lay offs, part-time, ship work over seas started long before the concept of the now labeled "Obamacare" was thought of. This isn't even Obama's plan, that began long before he got into office, and has been pushed for many years, even though it is greatly flawed, it is a beginning. It is not the cause of lost wages, jobs, increasing prices.

Moo

 

[Gardenlady]

Minimum wage has not been a living wage since I was born. Probably before then.

The number crunching, lay offs, part-time, ship work over seas started long before the concept of the now labeled "Obamacare" was thought of. This isn't even Obama's plan, that began long before he got into office, and has been pushed for many years, even though it is greatly flawed, it is a beginning. It is not the cause of lost wages, jobs, increasing prices.

Moo

Yep, started long ago, mid 60s, probably even before then.

I wish we'd gotten a universal, single payer system back in Clinton's first term. Alas, we have ended up with the watered-down "Obamacare", but as you said, it's a start, at least. Interestingly, you could really call "Obamacare" "Romneycare", as its very similar to the state-level system we have in Mass from when Romney was gov. But you don't hear that too much, since Gov Romney was much less conservative than presidential candidate Romney (you have to be less conservative if you are a republican who wants to get elected in Mass lol )

Anyway yeah. Since the 60s or 70s minimum wage has not kept pace with cost of living. And the ability to jump into a decent job at entry level has similarly declined. I laughed back in the early 90s when all the Boomers were telling us GenXers to "just get a job!" As if it were so easy, and as if any job would allow you to live on the meager wage you earned. Things have only gotten worse in the last 20 years, and yet theyre still saying "Just get a job!", or "just get a better job!" Or "just work hard and you'll move up!". Nope, hasn't worked that way for most people in a loooonnnng time.

 

[Sonya610]

I think that the fast food industry is a place that is meant as a starter job or a move up job.

The bottom line if, by some miracle, the big fast food players decided to agree to pay $15 per hour do those workers realize what would happen????

Many would LOSE THEIR JOBS! There are a lot of unemployed professionals in the current economy and if those fast food jobs paid $15 plenty of experienced professionals that need work badly would decide they are more than willing to flip burgers in a pinch. The competition for those jobs would increase fast and the most of the current employees could not compete against the applicants that want their jobs.

Many fast food places have an incredibly high turnover, many do NOT perform background checks etc....often people that can't get hired anywhere else (because they have very little education, they are not legal immigrants, or they have a criminal background) realize fast food is one of the few places that will hire them.

Plus most of the fast food places are franchised, NOT corporate owned. Unless the laws changed those franchise owned businesses would not be obligated to change their pay rates just because corporate got pushed into doing it for the corporate stores.

 

[Peliman]

When there is a lack of workers not willing to accept the pay they are offered a company would be required to pay more, it's economics. Nobody's forcing people to work at these companies. Who needs them anyway, with the invitations going out to come live in America there will be plenty of low wage workers to fill those jobs Americans won't do.

 

[blue22]

Nice piece in the Guardian from a woman employed by Burger King who is striking:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/29/fast-food-worker-protest-minimum-wage

Wanted to pull out this small 'graph:

There are a lot of questions one could ask her. The biggest, since she says she is fighting for what she deserves...

What is it that she does, that deserves an automatic doubling of pay? What has she done in 15 years, to improve her situation? Has she tried to gain other skills, that would allow her to do more than menial work? Did she inquire with her workforce commission about learning skills in their free programs? Did she check her library, salvation army, and multitude if other charities for free classes and advice? Did she have children in spite of not being able to afford them? (I know not every pregnancy is willing and can be conceived out of harm.) There are many more questions.

 

[longtallcold]

$8 an hour will get you food, shelter, tranportation, clothes

IMO it won't provide: internet, cable TV, gaming systems, Iphones, new cars, toys, brand name clothes...etc which many people feel entitled to.

I work for a small business owner, we used to get bonuses, and he has shown me his tax bills, they have gone up extraordinarily. If I demanded double my pay, well, first he would probably drug test me, then fire me.

However, if I walked in with a plan on how I could do additional work to bring added revenue to his business, and ask for increased pay...well then he would be all for it.

 

[Charlie09]

Nice piece in the Guardian from a woman employed by Burger King who is striking:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/29/fast-food-worker-protest-minimum-wage

Wanted to pull out this small 'graph:

I would expect more from this quote. For instance, which CEO is she talking about there have been buy outs, and changes in management?

The previous CEO took the company public
the CEO raised share prices by 23%
He was responsible for 12,000 restaurants in 73 countries and more than 40,000 jobs (most of those being franchisees responsibilities)
They've struggled as a brand, and have over 3.1 billion dollars in debt.

It might take her 634 years to make the kind of money that the CEO makes, but let's be completely fair, she doesn't have the experience that he does either.

 

[Odyssey]

The restaurant chains wouldn't close. The prices wouldn't skyrocket. There would still be jobs.

Respectfully snipped...

You're probably right... although one of our big food manufacturers (Hostess) recently did just that. They were the makers of the most popular bread in the US. There was a strike and workers were demanding better pay, so Hostess shut down.

So I don't think the idea that they could go out of business is all that far-fetched.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

$8 an hour will get you food, shelter, tranportation, clothes

IMO it won't provide: internet, cable TV, gaming systems, Iphones, new cars, toys, brand name clothes...etc which many people feel entitled to.

I work for a small business owner, we used to get bonuses, and he has shown me his tax bills, they have gone up extraordinarily. If I demanded double my pay, well, first he would probably drug test me, then fire me.

However, if I walked in with a plan on how I could do additional work to bring added revenue to his business, and ask for increased pay...well then he would be all for it.

The $8 an hour pay is relative to where you are. Here, in South Florida, $8 an hour wouldn't cut it. 1 bdrm/efficiency are going for AT LEAST $900 a month (that is if you don't want to live in a neighborhood where you and your abode won't be shot at on a nightly basis). Then you want at add food, transportation and clothes? Not likely.

Its a dog eat dog world out there right now. I can understand both sides of this - but still.......people have to survive somehow.

 

[Charlie09]

In reality, $15.00/hr still doesn't "cut" it for rent, groceries, child care, clothing, car insurance, car payments, and gas...not to mention anything fun you'd like to do, in many areas.
So why the $15.00 mark? Why not $30.00 if it's truly a liveable wage that is desired, and not based on anything other than being able to breathe and show up to do the work more often than not?