Strikes at McDonald's, Wendy's to pay employees $15 hour.
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I'm not 100% so please don't quote me on this, however I do believe that being involved in a labor dispute (i.e picketing and/or striking) is considered grounds for disqualification from Unemployment benefits; at least in PA where I live.0
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However, that doesn't disqualify them for food stamps, cash assistance and other forms of assistance.0
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While I still don't agree that people who can't do something as simple as count back change (which I learned how to do at the mom and pop fast food burger joint I worked for in college and can still do it 10 years later) should be making as much as skilled/degreed individuals... I'm starting to rethink this... perhaps if they start paying fast food workers $15, then the dollar menu will become the $2 (or 3) and all "value" meals will double as well... then no one could afford it and it may solve the obesity epidemic because they wouldn't have the excuse that it's "cheaper".0
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While I still don't agree that people who can't do something as simple as count back change (which I learned how to do at the mom and pop fast food burger joint I worked for in college and can still do it 10 years later) should be making as much as skilled/degreed individuals... I'm starting to rethink this... perhaps if they start paying fast food workers $15, then the dollar menu will become the $2 (or 3) and all "value" meals will double as well... then no one could afford it and it may solve the obesity epidemic because they wouldn't have the excuse that it's "cheaper".
People would boycott and those employees making $15 an hour will get replaced by automated equipment and high school student. This will drive the prices back down. Or they'll just replace these employees now before the needs for a price hike.
The funny thing is the majority of McDonald's are franchises and I doubt the owners get any money from coorporate for upkeep and expenses. Hence they couldn't pay the employees that much unless they get A LOT of business. And at that point it would make more sense for the owner to re-invest the money anyway.0 -
While I still don't agree that people who can't do something as simple as count back change (which I learned how to do at the mom and pop fast food burger joint I worked for in college and can still do it 10 years later) should be making as much as skilled/degreed individuals... I'm starting to rethink this... perhaps if they start paying fast food workers $15, then the dollar menu will become the $2 (or 3) and all "value" meals will double as well... then no one could afford it and it may solve the obesity epidemic because they wouldn't have the excuse that it's "cheaper".
People would boycott and those employees making $15 an hour will get replaced by automated equipment and high school student. This will drive the prices back down. Or they'll just replace these employees now before the needs for a price hike.
The funny thing is the majority of McDonald's are franchises and I doubt the owners get any money from coorporate for upkeep and expenses. Hence they couldn't pay the employees that much unless they get A LOT of business. And at that point it would make more sense for the owner to re-invest the money anyway.
That bolded part is kinda funny, because they already have some automated machines (the fryers anyway, there are timers on it that raise the baskets out after the alotted time) and the jobs should be for primarily highschool students in the first place... for the simple reason that the wages AREN'T living wages, (nor should they really be IMHO).0 -
I also agree that they're asking for too much based on education and skill. I worked at McDonalds and I can say that unless it was lunch time or dinner time, we were just loafing. I was paid $5.25/hr as a NYC highschool kid. But let me ask; if the person who did have a 2-4 year degree, who was just laid off from whatever job and is working a burger joint because there is nothing else, should they be paid the $15/hour if they couldn't get a manager position within said establishment? I guess it would depend on the franchise owner.0
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I also agree that they're asking for too much based on education and skill. I worked at McDonalds and I can say that unless it was lunch time or dinner time, we were just loafing. I was paid $5.25/hr as a NYC highschool kid. But let me ask; if the person who did have a 2-4 year degree, who was just laid off from whatever job and is working a burger joint because there is nothing else, should they be paid the $15/hour if they couldn't get a manager position within said establishment? I guess it would depend on the franchise owner.
They'd have to take the lower pay or not be hired from being "over qualified".0 -
I personally feel that the minimum wage should be lowered.
Not sure I agree with that statement, but I am honestly curious as to why you feel that way. :flowerforyou:
As for the OP, I agree with most everyone on this thread- $15/hr is far too much for a fast food employee. I understand that times are tough, and that there are many adults working in an industry that was previously perceived as something just for teenagers... but, no. Just no.
I had to work my butt off for 4 years to be making that kind of money. I make a bit more than $15 and I'm salary, but I'd be livid if someone could just waltz into McDonald's and be handed that kind of paycheck in return for such little effort.0 -
I had to work my butt off for 4 years to be making that kind of money. I make a bit more than $15 and I'm salary, but I'd be livid if someone could just waltz into McDonald's and be handed that kind of paycheck in return for such little effort.
It's likely because the majority of these people are uneducated and feel entitled to money they don't deserve due to the misconception of corporate greed. Yeah corporations make a lot of money, but most of us don't deserve a chunk of that just because we're capable of breathing. Not to mention most are franchises and the owners likely aren't millionaires in liquid assets.
These same people don't realize how markets work. There are two possible situations here, people get paid more so prices go up and the business expenses go up. Or people get replaced by others willing to work the same job and get paid the same, or less. Which makes the most sense for a business?0 -
@robdel, I totally agree with you. Just because they can't live off $7.25/hr as adults, a lot of them with kids shouldn't automatically mean they get to make more money.
Even though I make good money for my age, I struggle paycheck to paycheck every now and again due to personal circumstances. I work for a very profitable company as well (not as profitable as McDonalds, but still). You don't see me throwing a hissy fit and going on strike- I recognize that in order to make more money I need to put more time in, work on my education level, and do my job to the best of my ability. The lack of logic in these people astounds me.0 -
Americans lol.
Our minimum wage is $15.96 here.
Our unemployment is around 5.4%
Our work week is 38 hours.
We get 4 weeks paid vacation a year plus everyone gets health care.
Hmmm looks like you guys are doing something wrong.0 -
Americans lol.
Our minimum wage is $15.96 here.
Our unemployment is around 5.4%
Our work week is 38 hours.
We get 4 weeks paid vacation a year plus everyone gets health care.
Hmmm looks like you guys are doing something wrong.
Sounds like you're referring to Australia, cost of living is higher there than the "average" US worker. Hell if I was paying $40 for a case of local brewed lagers like bud lgiht, I'd have to rob liquors stores for the liquor.
Then there's the dreaded drop bears...0 -
But let me ask; if the person who did have a 2-4 year degree, who was just laid off from whatever job and is working a burger joint because there is nothing else, should they be paid the $15/hour if they couldn't get a manager position within said establishment? I guess it would depend on the franchise owner.
If you get laid off (which happens to me all the time as I work on contract - no benefits, no paid days off etc..) then you have to make the choice to wait until you can find work in your field for a reasonable rate or leave and go take another job just to get by. If you choose to work somewhere you are basically agreeing to their rules (including what you get paid) You can't just say.. oh but I was making 25$/hr on my last job so you have to pay me the same...
I am offered jobs for 12$/hr in IT. I have a degree AND 10+ YEARS of experience. If someone can make 15$/hr doing a job that requires no education, experience or training that is just wrong on so many levels. We are taught by society and our parents that in order to succeed you have to work hard and get a good education.. not anymore it seems.
Minimum wage is exactly that.. a minimum. It is not a wage that you can be 'comfortable' on. You CAN have an apartment assuming you have a room mate (or 2) to help share the expenses. You can eat - but it will not be anything fancy. You can have clothes from the second hand store and will have to find free ways to entertain yourself. As a teenager/young adult this is perfectly doable (heck I lived on minimum wage in exactly this way for years in my late teens until I was 27 and decided to go back to school so I could get a 'good' job).0 -
But let me ask; if the person who did have a 2-4 year degree, who was just laid off from whatever job and is working a burger joint because there is nothing else, should they be paid the $15/hour if they couldn't get a manager position within said establishment? I guess it would depend on the franchise owner.
If you get laid off (which happens to me all the time as I work on contract - no benefits, no paid days off etc..) then you have to make the choice to wait until you can find work in your field for a reasonable rate or leave and go take another job just to get by. If you choose to work somewhere you are basically agreeing to their rules (including what you get paid) You can't just say.. oh but I was making 25$/hr on my last job so you have to pay me the same...
I am offered jobs for 12$/hr in IT. I have a degree AND 10+ YEARS of experience. If someone can make 15$/hr doing a job that requires no education, experience or training that is just wrong on so many levels. We are taught by society and our parents that in order to succeed you have to work hard and get a good education.. not anymore it seems.
Minimum wage is exactly that.. a minimum. It is not a wage that you can be 'comfortable' on. You CAN have an apartment assuming you have a room mate (or 2) to help share the expenses. You can eat - but it will not be anything fancy. You can have clothes from the second hand store and will have to find free ways to entertain yourself. As a teenager/young adult this is perfectly doable (heck I lived on minimum wage in exactly this way for years in my late teens until I was 27 and decided to go back to school so I could get a 'good' job).
Well said.0 -
But let me ask; if the person who did have a 2-4 year degree, who was just laid off from whatever job and is working a burger joint because there is nothing else, should they be paid the $15/hour if they couldn't get a manager position within said establishment? I guess it would depend on the franchise owner.
If you get laid off (which happens to me all the time as I work on contract - no benefits, no paid days off etc..) then you have to make the choice to wait until you can find work in your field for a reasonable rate or leave and go take another job just to get by. If you choose to work somewhere you are basically agreeing to their rules (including what you get paid) You can't just say.. oh but I was making 25$/hr on my last job so you have to pay me the same...
I am offered jobs for 12$/hr in IT. I have a degree AND 10+ YEARS of experience. If someone can make 15$/hr doing a job that requires no education, experience or training that is just wrong on so many levels. We are taught by society and our parents that in order to succeed you have to work hard and get a good education.. not anymore it seems.
Minimum wage is exactly that.. a minimum. It is not a wage that you can be 'comfortable' on. You CAN have an apartment assuming you have a room mate (or 2) to help share the expenses. You can eat - but it will not be anything fancy. You can have clothes from the second hand store and will have to find free ways to entertain yourself. As a teenager/young adult this is perfectly doable (heck I lived on minimum wage in exactly this way for years in my late teens until I was 27 and decided to go back to school so I could get a 'good' job).
People are "entitled" to get paid what the market is willing to pay. There is nothing inherently "right" or "wrong" about what someone gets paid based on some arbitrary set of values/definitions about education, "hard work", etc.
Ironically enough, our economy and society would be 100X better off if there WERE jobs that unskilled, uneducated folks could find that would pay $15 an hour---or $20 or $30 for that matter.
The American middle class was built on relatively high-paying (and union) jobs that allowed large numbers of people with little formal education and job skills to reach a standard of living that was comfortable and that would give their children a chance at an even better life. It's no coincidence that, as the world has changed and those jobs have disappeared, the middle class has been eroding at the same pace.0 -
If Americans start getting paid more, cost of living will just go up to reflect this. Ecenomics has proven time and again that when people get paid A, they're willing to pay so much for B. When A goes up, so does B.
If we pay these people more they're just going to get bigger debts and still live paycheck to paycheck. It's not the pay that is the problem, it's the fact that people are not financially educated.0 -
First, I am NOT condoning or advocating $15/hr for entry-level fast food workers. However, I did want to clarify one point. A lot of people assuming that doubling wages would double (or more) the cost of the product. Totally not true. Worker wages are a relatively small piece of the expenses 'pie' for fast food establishment. I have heard of 2 studies that said that if large corporation fast food chains were to double the workers wages and pass 100% of those costs to the consumer, it would raise the price of the dollar menu item by roughly 17 cents. One of these studies actually asked a couple of mega chains to provide expense-type information to contradict the study, none of them did. Of course, they hid behind the lame excuse of "proprietary information" but these are publicly-traded companies, sooooo, I dunno....
You do realize that the price of the food at those restaurants would have to triple or quadruple to make up the labor costs, and the inevitable lost customers that refuse to pay $20 for a Big Mac.
Do I want to instant pay 17% more for my (rarely-eaten) fast food? No. However, I can help but wonder what would happen if one chain advertised it exactly as such. "Valued customers. We're raising our price 5% across the board to fully-fund a 20% increase in our workers wages. <insert touchy-feely marketing stuff here>..." If it were put to me that way, I might frequent that chain specifically for that reason and I think others would as well. Maybe a majority of customers, maybe not, but it would be an interesting "free market" experiment.0 -
The funny part to me is that if they strike they can be replaced by anyone with a few hours of training.0
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Sounds like you're referring to Australia, cost of living is higher there than the "average" US worker. Hell if I was paying $40 for a case of local brewed lagers like bud lgiht, I'd have to rob liquors stores for the liquor.
Then there's the dreaded drop bears...
Can't buy much beer with no job though. People aren't bankrupted if they get sick because they don't have health insurance.
Beer is included in the national health plan here. ...
A living wage is paid so there is a large middle class here which is how it should be.
Minimum wage should be a living wage.0 -
Minimum wage should be a living wage.
That's a matter of opinion. A high minimum wage would cater to the lazy portion of populations that would get the most pay out of the least amount of work. Why would someone bother with college if they could live off of a job with just a high school education or drop out entirely? The problem here is that these people feel entitled to better pay in a job where it isn't warranted. When people are paid more, they spend more. Demand for everyday goods will go up and likely exceed supply. How does business counter this? By raising prices; people who get paid will pay more.
So one small portion of our national workforce gets a raise but the entire country ends up paying more out of our wallets for this. Everyone else who already makes a decent wage ends up paying more for everyday goods. This is going to cause even more of an uproar since we're "content" with cost of living as it currently stands. And if our pay goes up (it won’t) then the poor will be poor all over again. The only way to offset this is by the government forcing prices down but the Federal government specifically doesn't like to do that unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. That's the difference between socialism and capitalism. Yes capitalism is driven by a money market but it’s also the easiest market to get in business and become rich.0
