OT: Minimum Wage Strike Looming - Fast Food Workers
shailynn
They never tell you what you need to know.
I read last night that fast food workers are planning another 1 day walk-out/strike coming up soon for their $15 wage.
Is it just me or do you find that totally insane? Now, I have no problems with raising the wages for anyone, but how is it even remotely fair that someone salting my fries at Burger King could possibly earn more in a year than a teacher who at the minimum has to have a bachelors degree? Maybe that's a bad example since some asshole will say teachers have the summer off, but let's look at other professions. Very few college graduates start at jobs making more than $30K as well as most people will a skill trade such as pipefitter, plumber, etc unless they are working on their own as a contractor.
To me fast workers are mostly college students, high school kids with part time jobs, kids just out of high school that are trying to figure out their next step in life, high school drop outs or adults that totally fucked up in life and think they are owed something since they decided to show up for work.
Maybe I'm way off base and if I am please correct me, but I've also read where in west coast states this has totally backfired as higher wages took employees off assisted living and they didn't want that, as they had it better with lower wages and assisted living, so to achieve that again they asked to work less than 40 hours a week dropping their wages below the ceiling to qualify for assistance.
Maybe everyone's wages should essentially be doubled - yeah that sounds great, you do that and prices for everything remain unchanged, then I will quickly stop bitching!
Is it just me or do you find that totally insane? Now, I have no problems with raising the wages for anyone, but how is it even remotely fair that someone salting my fries at Burger King could possibly earn more in a year than a teacher who at the minimum has to have a bachelors degree? Maybe that's a bad example since some asshole will say teachers have the summer off, but let's look at other professions. Very few college graduates start at jobs making more than $30K as well as most people will a skill trade such as pipefitter, plumber, etc unless they are working on their own as a contractor.
To me fast workers are mostly college students, high school kids with part time jobs, kids just out of high school that are trying to figure out their next step in life, high school drop outs or adults that totally fucked up in life and think they are owed something since they decided to show up for work.
Maybe I'm way off base and if I am please correct me, but I've also read where in west coast states this has totally backfired as higher wages took employees off assisted living and they didn't want that, as they had it better with lower wages and assisted living, so to achieve that again they asked to work less than 40 hours a week dropping their wages below the ceiling to qualify for assistance.
Maybe everyone's wages should essentially be doubled - yeah that sounds great, you do that and prices for everything remain unchanged, then I will quickly stop bitching!
Got something to say?
Start your own discussion
26 comments
That's why I make 350k bitches lmao!!!
After 12 years, I'd like to think that I've *earned* something more than minimum.
Plus their is no good reason why crazy joe needs $15 an hour that fool would kill himself lol
If you're working a real job at a factory the going rate for entry level is between $10-$15/hr these days. A lot of places use temp services in factories and people have to work a minimum of 3 months or more before they can hope a full time position opens up. Some factories just straight up use temps full time and just work them 30-40 hrs/wk at most for around $8-10/hr.
Then you've got retail. Walmart, Target, grocery stores, hardware, sporting good stores, all your mom & pop stores, gas station employees.....the list is endless. It is EVERY industry in the nation where people are lucky to be making between minimum wage and up to say $10 to start. Every single employee in the nation will have to be bumped to $15/hr as well just like fast food. Do you really think every employee is going to get around a 25-33% bump in pay overnight without massive layoffs? What about all the people who have put in 4 or 5 years or more and have gotten up to the $15-20 range in whatever job they're in? if you suddenly bump minimum wage up $7.75 (more than doubling the current minimum) do you really think everyone already making $15/hr or more are going to just be happy making the same as the new employees starting out at the wage they've worked years to get up too? Hell no! The only fair thing to do would be to bump EVERYONE'S pay up an add'l $7.75/hr which is just financially crippling.
These fast food people just aren't smart enough to see the big picture. Don't they realize that suddenly pulling in $600/week means no more food stamps or other gov't assistance programs? They'll be pissed when they realize they have to start paying for their food. Then they won't get subsidized phone service either. They also won't qualify to live in gov't subsidized apartments. Plus, they have to start actually paying taxes now and not getting it all back at the end of the year. No more $4000 "free money" refund that they can go blow on a 100" tv.
In theory it's a great idea to give every non-salaried employee across the country a massive raise but it just doesn't work that way. It costs money to make money. The more you make the more it costs. Wouldn't it be great though if the welfare system and food stamp program suddenly dwindled by 90% or more? The problem is now fast food workers suddenly making $15/hr and no longer qualifying for any gov't assistance would start another bitch fest demanding more gov't help. It's never ending IMO.
If you want hi value pay increase your skill set so you can perform a hi value job otherwise you will find yourself in the same position a year or two down the road when cost of goods and services are increased to cover the ability to produce these things. Raising the minimum wage will only lead to inflation not prosperity.
When I was a kid grocery stores used to have bag boys that would bag groceries and help customers to their cars. That was an entry level job that taught you how to show up, do your job and was willing to put up with low work ethic until you learned better so you could move up to a better job.
Now colleges have classed that teach how to do the minimum to get by! No baggers at stores and you have self checkouts and bagging! I have been in fast food places that you now place your order on a touch screen. Your drink is dispensed automatically and instead of 4 or 5 servers behind the counter there is 1 maybe two and all they do is place orders onto the tray and place them onto the counter. At Olive Garden you now can place your order on a wifi terminal on your table that takes your order and payment. The wait staff now only bring out trays, throw the plates onto the table and leave to throw the next order onto the next table.
Bottom line is minimum wage causes unemployment because it takes away the bottom half of the ladder making it difficult if not impossible reach the ladder to climb out of poverty.
The first thing that struck me was that far less than 1% of full time employees made less than $8.00 an hour. I think the number was less than 500,000 people. Notably (if I remember correctly) more than half of those people had been on the job for less than 1 year. The other point worth repeating was that over 85% of all minimum wage jobs were part time, unskilled, entry level positions.
I have no doubt that thousands of fast food workers would rather demand $15.00 an hour than learn a skill and actually work full time!
How much of a hand do the unions have in this? I'm sure their dicks get hard at the idea of unionized fastfood workers.