Fast Food Workers Striking?!?!?

red_road

kuroi19

The wage on Fast Food should be low, that means that it will be an employment for young people, 16-24 be it school leavers or college goers. A staff turnover to let them all have a shot. It's not a job you're supposed to stay on for life, and if you do treat it as then accept the wage. it's manual and requires no skills, yes it's not the most pleasant work but again, you are entitled to leave and seek a better job, and even prompted to, there are hundreds of young people that would love to work it instead.

ModernNerd

Something I'm amused about in this thread. The lack of logic. People working in fast food at minimum wage can't afford to even support themselves and their family. So what's the solution being suggested? Get an education. Yes, because people who can't afford to pay rent can certainly afford the thousands of dollars it takes to go to college.

You are obviously unaware of how much assistance is available, and how easy it is to get, for education. Student loans are no problem if you don't qualify for anything else.

And you are obviously unaware of how common it is to rack up thousands in student loan debt and STILL be unable to find a job that pays well. And I'm not just talking about the degrees that are essentially useless, either.

There is a lot to be said about being diligent with your choices, researching market demand, and picking a degree with high demand and forecasted growth.

And I agree wholeheartedly with that. But not every person is suited for the jobs that are in demand. I hate math, for example, so engineering and finance (two jobs that are conceivably always in demand) are not something I could/would pursue. Does that mean I should be regulated to fast food/hospitality? Of course not. I researched my degree and the required further education (MS,PhD etc) needed to get the job I want. I'm not in it for the money, necessarily. I just want a job that I actually enjoy and feel useful in doing. Both parents work at jobs they despise so that their kids wouldn't have to. Spoiler alert: they both currently do. My brother recently graduated from his sheet metal apprenticeship and makes as much as my husband, who is a pharmacist. The only difference is that one of them is 150 grand in debt and the other isn't.

So the implication is that your husband shouldn't have pursued pharmacy, a field that is absolutely critical, because it took hard work and money?

I hate math too, shucks not many people love it. But I'm decently good at it and understand that working in the engineering industry puts my talents in the best possible arena to help people. If I could make as much flipping burgers as I could as an engineer, would I bail on engineering because it was easier? Absolutely not.

Just mah $0.02 :flowerforyou:

That wasn't the implication at all! The point of my response is that some people don't have the aptitude for the jobs currently in demand, so they don't pursue an education in those fields.

My husby pursued pharmacy because he loves it, and has the intelligence/skill set/drive to. My brother got his apprenticeship because he's good at whatever it is tin knockers do all day (sadly, I really don't know the intricacies of the different categories of apprenticeship). Both fields require years of work to achieve anything in. In fact, they took about the same amount of time.

*I* don't pursue a career in engineering because I just don't have the aptitude for it. Trust me, I'm the LAST person you want designing a bridge you have to drive over.

It's not at ALL about what's easier, but what you have the aptitude for.

Kudos on your career in engineering, btw :flowerforyou:

hey thanks much:) and *high fives* to your brother and hubby. And you! And all you delightfully sassy folks on this thread because different opinions make the world go round :flowerforyou:

NinjadURbacon

Time to tick someone off.

Irritates me a little they are striking. Fast food has always been known as a minimum wage job. That is why it use to always be high school students working it when in school. It is not meant to be a career job. All these people complaining about not making enough AT A FAST FOOD place should be happy they even have a job because there are tons of unemployed people who would take their job OR they should try to get a better job and better themselves rather then working a brainless job and going nowhere but complaining.

On the news today i saw a lady who said she needed more money because she was a single mom working at McDonalds. While I respect single parents and their struggles to support their kids. But she needed more money because she was a single mom and pregnant with #2. Seriously if you are already having money problems......USE PROTECTION why be dumb and have a second kid if you are not making ends meet financially. Reminds of the movie Idiocracy.

Oh boy. I love when the "don't have kids if you're poor" argument comes up.

Well, it worked for me. I took advantage of the educational and health resources that are offered to every high schooler so that I could actually reach the age of 17 without becoming pregnant and so that I could graduate high school. And then my husband put me through college by serving his country, then I put him through college with the help of the veterans' benefits he earned by serving his country, and now two poor kids turned themselves into middle-class adults by opting out of the breeding game.

But somehow, magically, all the other poor people have had that option taken away from them?

That is awesome that you two were able to improve yourselves. i think the military is an awesome way to help people. The college help and all is great. I am trying to see if the airforce is an option for my cousin. he is 16 and struggling. I know he can not get into college right away and lives in the country where there are no jobs. The military will also help him get away from a broken home.

ElliottTN

I just did the math and at a full 40 hours a week at $7.50/hour if you're a single person and need a 1 bedroom apartment, you can live off that no problem.

if you can get 40...lets not forget there is a huge push for PT hours now. I dont know my math says it's pretty tight financially so you make $1200/mos before taxes. Lets say 20% for taxes, SSI, and medicare how does $960 take home sound? I live in rural California and I think you could find a place for about $600-700/month more if you lived in southern probably closer to $800-900. Are we driving to work or taking public transportation? Food $150...that would be terribly slim here because of the area I live a gallon of milk cost $5. Utilities we are all off propane and that is now $4/gal a small place let's assume $100/month to heat. Electricity easily $100. So without a car I'm getting a grand total of $10 left to spend.

To be acurate, a person making 7.50 hr isnt going to pay taxes. Hell they will probably get back more than they paid in because of the earned income credit.

i remember paying into taxes back when i made that much as a single person, no chidren and only getting a partial amount back also you continue to pay into SSI and medicare. I dont know the amount now, but I'm pretty sure something is still being taken out of your paycheck.

Yeah but do you remember what your tax return looked like?

SyntonicGarden

Anyone who thinks minimum wage is not MORE than a fair wage for making a big mac is a few fries short of a happy meal themselves.

A fair living wage is important to everyone, however, I find this offensive! I find it offensive that the fast food workers could potentially make more than me, a degreed paramedic (Paramedicine, BS Bio-Chem, BA Military Studies (history/poli-sci hybrid), BA English Lit and a smattering of AS/AA degrees (just for fun)) still paying off student loans and trying to live on $13/hour, at my HIGHEST paying job, out of the 4 jobs that I have. Or, more than teachers in most systems. Get an education and educate our children. Get an education and work to hold the Grim Reaper to a 'zero day.' Worth LESS than a Big Mac and fries? I just want to scream, "PRIORITIES PEOPLE!" to those threatening to strike. (getting off my soapbox now.) :blushing:

As an EMT (volunteer, not paid), I have to support the medic here. She went through intensive training and delivers care that in some instances makes the difference between life and death. Yeah, I think she (and her peers) should be making enough as a medic to not have to worry about needing to get 3 other jobs just to survive or provide for a family.

Most squads I know run 12 hour shifts and most medics I know pull 2 - 3 shifts at a time. At some point, something's got to give from the lack of sleep trying to juggle that. I wouldn't want myself or my loved ones to be the one on the litter (stretcher) when that happens...

My guess would be that those at the bottom run of McDonald's and are there for the duration of their careers probably don't have the skills to succeed in other roles. Do the lack of skills come from lack of aptitude? Lack of exposure to those skills? I'm not sure. But if you're making $8/hr, that's $320/week at a 40 hour week, before taxes. It's $1280 a month, before taxes. I'm not a CPA, but I'm guessing it's less than $975 net after taxes, for the month. Good luck providing for yourself or your family at that point.

As far as fast food goes, I'm sure I'm going to get kicked here, but maybe we need to re-evaluate why folks "feel entitled" to have a $0.99 value menu? In a perfect utopian world, if a "fair market price" was charged for the goods and services, then a fair wage would be easier to defend. If a value meal is "all you can afford" maybe financial priorities need to be re-evaluated.

(On the flip side, if this WAS the case, I'm sure Starbuck's baristas would be making more than they make too. $5 for a hot drink? Really?)

hbrittingham

I just did the math and at a full 40 hours a week at $7.50/hour if you're a single person and need a 1 bedroom apartment, you can live off that no problem.

Not sure where you live but a one bedroom apartment here is anywhere between 1000-1800 dollars a month (admittedly I live in one of those areas with a ridiculously high cost of living). If you're making ~15,000 a year you're hardly covering rent alone.

I got a very nice apartment for $425/month all utilities but electric and phone were included. My electric bill was never higher than $20/month and my phone was a cell phone for $30/month. It wasn't large by any means but it was me and my son. No cable, no internet.

Michigan has a fairly low cost of living, comparatively. A nice 1 bedroom apartment in my town in NC would cost anywhere from $650-1000. Electric would be more expensive, too, probably around $40 per month, minimum.

A lot of the true working poor in our town don't have vehicles, they ride bicycles or take the bus, or even walk. They don't have cell phones. They don't have computers, which I know is hard for some of these posters here to believe, so taking online courses or googling job skills isn't really an option. They may be able to use the computers at the library, but the nearest library is a bus ride (with changes) away. That also costs money. $.50 isn't much to someone making a decent wage. For some people that can be the difference on whether they can get to work or not.

WeepingAngel81

woahohohoho

I worked in the service industry in high school. So this isn't an elitist, "us vs them" viewpoint by any means, and it insults my intelligence that you would assume such. Then *poof* I'm a college student. Guess what, that *poof* isn't luck or a handout or me sitting around waiting for someone to give me a bucket o' cash. This is hard work and aspirations.

Typically I wouldn't make this personal, because anecdotal evidence is useless. But chose to use yourself as an example, soooo...

Ok. Do tell. You went to college. Was it because:


A. Your parents paid for it
B. Student loans paid for it (government assistance)
C. You earned the money through your service industry job


Because A is luck, B is a handout, and C is nearly impossible.

So which is it?

Everyone loves to take all the credit for their accomplishments. They tend to forget all the help they received along the way.

How is B a handout? A loan is something you pay back with interest.

NinjadURbacon

Fast Food is not a job for someone to live off of. People should use it as means to find a better job and leave it to part time workers like high school students and college students.

There is an increase in the amount of unskilled adult labor force with the number of trade and manufacture jobs lost, some college graduates coming out with no marketable skills, and general lack of education. I would venture to say that what was once though of as a high school summer job is no longer the case. Next time you go into your local fast food take notice of the people behind the counter. Where I live there are many immigrants poor english speaking usually older adults, there are some townies hired most didnt finish high shcool all have children, and occasionally I'll see a teen behind the counter.

Let me ask you this, when was the last time you saw americans out picking vegetables or fruit on farms? People think they are above these kid of jobs and leave it to immigrants to work. I have yet to see "college graduates" at a fast food place. I have seen there working to help put them selves through college but not after. I do not eat fast food but here its high school students STILL with a few adults.

AmykinsCatfood

I just did the math and at a full 40 hours a week at $7.50/hour if you're a single person and need a 1 bedroom apartment, you can live off that no problem.

Not sure where you live but a one bedroom apartment here is anywhere between 1000-1800 dollars a month (admittedly I live in one of those areas with a ridiculously high cost of living). If you're making ~15,000 a year you're hardly covering rent alone.

I got a very nice apartment for $425/month all utilities but electric and phone were included. My electric bill was never higher than $20/month and my phone was a cell phone for $30/month. It wasn't large by any means but it was me and my son. No cable, no internet.

I pay $600 for a small one bedroom, no heat or lights in a bad neighbor hood. You've got it made. You have no right to complain about what others are being paid and that they should be able to afford necessities on $7.50/hr.

Did I say I was living there now? No. I was living there when I was making $9/hour with a kid and making ends meet. I thankfully wasn't paying daycare but I did have to pay for diapers and wipes and laundry and I made it work. No, you don't have the kind of money to go out to eat or go have a drink or pay a babysitter so you can go out with friends or go out and buy a steak but you make it work. I'm not going to say how much I make now but I will say it's not much more and I have 2 kids and rent that's $200 more and a baby daddy that ran out and can't be found to pay support and because it's a bigger place a bigger electric bill and daycare costs now. I'm still doing it on my own with my job because I went out and found one that's paying more. I don't know where some of you are living that say no one is hiring because there's always a company looking to get rid of someone if the right person comes along. It doesn't hurt to try.

What do you consider "trying?" For 4 months I filled out every single application and handed out every single resume I had to companies that weren't even hiring. In many places the front desk staff came to know me personally. And yet I still ended up in a retail position. There literally were and still are very very very jobs here.

How far did you go to look? I work 45 mins away from where I live because that's where I could find a better price on rent.

Without means of transportation I had to look within city limits. See, my two college educations left me with debt so large I can't afford a car and there is no inter-city bus or metro to take me anywhere, and I'm not going to walk 2+ hrs to get to the next community each day. I did consider the option of moving to another city but that also takes money.

gmhaggie06

I just don't get it, McDonald's looks at the position and says "Okay, this mcjob requires a very low set of skills, BUT at $7.25/hr we can afford to pay someone who would be otherwise unemployable to do this job and still generate value to the company" So McDonald's has a job fair, Sally the Striker comes in and says "hi, i'd like a job" McDonald's says "great, it pays $7.25/hr", McDonald's says "you're hired", later Sally says "hey this isn't a living wage, I want $15/hr" McDonald's says "that would screw everything up, then I would have to give everyone else a raise as well, since I can't have the fry girl making more than the manager, no I'm sorry you're only worth $7.25 to us" then Sally strikes citing unfair pay since it's not a "living wage" Newsflash: the cost of an apartment, the cost of food, of water, of clothing is not germane to a wage. Jobs pay only what they're valued at in the marketplace, that's it.

NinjadURbacon

Does anyone complaining about this have a rudimentary understanding of economics or human resources? Jobs pay what they're valued at. If McDonald's doesn't think you're worth $15/hr, you're not worth $15/hr, if these people are worth $15 why don't they go find a job that pays them $15/hr?? Because they can't, minimum effort, minimum education, minimum motivation get you minimum wage. Instead we say "golly this person wants to make $15/hr, why don't we just MAKE mcDonald's pay them $15/hr? even though they're not worth it"....then McDonald's fires all of their worker except for a few cooks and a manager, and replaces them with robots and then we get to hear about "greedy big business replacing humans with machines" Honestly I swear, read a book sometime! I recommend Atlas Shrugs or Wealth of Nations.

*thumbs up* For the guy who broke it down into layman's terms.

IMO fire all those workers and hire people who actually want a job. There are plenty of people out there will to take any job they can get.

Derpes

One point to consider is the cost to taxpayers when corporations do not pay higher wages......workers have to utilize social services, food stamps, etc...it is a form of corporate welfare.....tax payers subsidize their workforce.

$15 per hour is very high for that type of work, however, they are probably aiming for 9 or 10.

Fullsterkur_woman

Well, it worked for me. I took advantage of the educational and health resources that are offered to every high schooler so that I could actually reach the age of 17 without becoming pregnant and so that I could graduate high school. And then my husband put me through college by serving his country, then I put him through college with the help of the veterans' benefits he earned by serving his country, and now two poor kids turned themselves into middle-class adults by opting out of the breeding game.

But somehow, magically, all the other poor people have had that option taken away from them?

That is awesome that you two were able to improve yourselves. i think the military is an awesome way to help people. The college help and all is great. I am trying to see if the airforce is an option for my cousin. he is 16 and struggling. I know he can not get into college right away and lives in the country where there are no jobs. The military will also help him get away from a broken home.

Oh, you just reminded me of a young, poor friend of ours. (all 3 of us are from "broken homes", whatever that means in this day and age!) He graduated high school, didn't do so well at college, and has been faffing around for a couple of years, waiting for everything to be perfect before he signed up for the armed forces. I think he finally got the message that waiting for perfect = fine, just stay poor and he finally signed on the dotted line.

They call it the poverty draft, but if you're clever, you use it as an elevator to the next level, where you use your wits to keep improving your lot. Or, you get killed, but then you don't have to worry about feeding yourself, do you?

Life is hard. Wear a helmet.

ElliottTN

woahohohoho

I worked in the service industry in high school. So this isn't an elitist, "us vs them" viewpoint by any means, and it insults my intelligence that you would assume such. Then *poof* I'm a college student. Guess what, that *poof* isn't luck or a handout or me sitting around waiting for someone to give me a bucket o' cash. This is hard work and aspirations.

Typically I wouldn't make this personal, because anecdotal evidence is useless. But chose to use yourself as an example, soooo...

Ok. Do tell. You went to college. Was it because:


A. Your parents paid for it
B. Student loans paid for it (government assistance)
C. You earned the money through your service industry job


Because A is luck, B is a handout, and C is nearly impossible.

So which is it?

Everyone loves to take all the credit for their accomplishments. They tend to forget all the help they received along the way.

Want to raise my hand here. Mix of B and C. Good ole Silky O' Sullivans on Beale street helped pay for me to get my learn on.

Oh and by the way, B isn't a handout. You still pay for that with interest mind you.

Seriously though, college isn't what we were raised to believe. I think my generation is the first to really see that. We were raised to believe that you got this piece of paper and the next day you'll be driving away in your BMW with a nice paying job. NOPE.

but

At the same time I still have friends who work in the service industry pulling 60 + barely claiming any income due to tips and having a hell of a time doing it. Liver health may be a separate issue.

Azexas

I just don't get it, McDonald's looks at the position and says "Okay, this mcjob requires a very low set of skills, BUT at $7.25/hr we can afford to pay someone who would be otherwise unemployable to do this job and still generate value to the company" So McDonald's has a job fair, Sally the Striker comes in and says "hi, i'd like a job" McDonald's says "great, it pays $7.25/hr", McDonald's says "you're hired", later Sally says "hey this isn't a living wage, I want $15/hr" McDonald's says "that would screw everything up, then I would have to give everyone else a raise as well, since I can't have the fry girl making more than the manager, no I'm sorry you're only worth $7.25 to us" then Sally strikes citing unfair pay since it's not a "living wage" Newsflash: the cost of an apartment, the cost of food, of water, of clothing is not germane to a wage. Jobs pay only what they're valued at in the marketplace, that's it.

Well said! :drinker:

gmhaggie06

One point to consider is the cost to taxpayers when corporations do not pay higher wages......workers have to utilize social services, food stamps, etc...it is a form of corporate welfare.....tax payers subsidize their workforce.

$15 per hour is very high for that type of work, however, they are probably aiming for 9 or 10.

How is that any of the business's problem? Would these people magically not be on welfare if they weren't working at McDonald's?, welfare exists, that's not the business of the company. I agree, shut off all welfare and we'll see if companies have to raise wages due to the conditions of their workers.

NinjadURbacon

woahohohoho

I worked in the service industry in high school. So this isn't an elitist, "us vs them" viewpoint by any means, and it insults my intelligence that you would assume such. Then *poof* I'm a college student. Guess what, that *poof* isn't luck or a handout or me sitting around waiting for someone to give me a bucket o' cash. This is hard work and aspirations.

Typically I wouldn't make this personal, because anecdotal evidence is useless. But chose to use yourself as an example, soooo...

Ok. Do tell. You went to college. Was it because:


A. Your parents paid for it
B. Student loans paid for it (government assistance)
C. You earned the money through your service industry job


Because A is luck, B is a handout, and C is nearly impossible.

So which is it?

Everyone loves to take all the credit for their accomplishments. They tend to forget all the help they received along the way.

BS question. I fit into the B category I am paying over $50k back in loans. That is no hand out. And i am working my *kitten* off to stay ahead of my bills. Do you realize that loans are not all government loans? Mine are through Wells Fargo. Stafford loans and what not are just regulated at lower rates for students but you pick who you take your loan through.

gmhaggie06

Does anyone complaining about this have a rudimentary understanding of economics or human resources? Jobs pay what they're valued at. If McDonald's doesn't think you're worth $15/hr, you're not worth $15/hr, if these people are worth $15 why don't they go find a job that pays them $15/hr?? Because they can't, minimum effort, minimum education, minimum motivation get you minimum wage. Instead we say "golly this person wants to make $15/hr, why don't we just MAKE mcDonald's pay them $15/hr? even though they're not worth it"....then McDonald's fires all of their worker except for a few cooks and a manager, and replaces them with robots and then we get to hear about "greedy big business replacing humans with machines" Honestly I swear, read a book sometime! I recommend Atlas Shrugs or Wealth of Nations.

*thumbs up* For the guy who broke it down into layman's terms.

IMO fire all those workers and hire people who actually want a job. There are plenty of people out there will to take any job they can get.

Exactly, it's a free market, I would like all of the people striking to make $15/hr quit their jobs, and try to find work that pays $33k/year ($15/hr)....they won't be able to do it, because they have no skills.The end.

thatonegirlwiththestuff

Dude. Best GIF ever. I miss the hamburgalar.