Fast Food Workers Striking?!?!?

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.

well there I would argue it is because most companies pay below minimum wages with no labor standards and illegally hire immigrants to keep costs down hence why the government turns a blind eye but thats a whole other argument.

Agro business in this case

I don't know what I think about this because they have to understand that the people that pay them don't even know them. They're working for a company that's why.

Every job worked at full time hours should pay a living wage.

THIS!!!!

Yeah, who cares that a trained monkey can do the job and you have NO marketable skills whatsoever. You should make more money because you breath, damnit! [/sarcasm]

God, the entitlement some people feel is sickening. If you want to make more money, make yourself more valuable. If you are stuck earning minimum wage, news flash: YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING NOTHING WORTH MORE THAN THAT!

so they should work for free just for the love of the company and to help it make more money?
you must be such a special person that you feel you deserve more.......

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.

Very true. I will not dispute any of that. Wage is all relative to where you live I completely agree but I am not going to say ok to start someone at McDonalds in MI at $15/hour. In NC I could be making double what I do here for the same job, I have looked as I was going to move out there, so while the cost of living increases so do wages typically. I agree with everyone saying McDonalds is not a career choice and they didn't have to go to school for it. The people that work there are typically young kids who are trying to afford a car not trying to pay for an education or raise a family. As for not having a computer so you can't take online classes, I don't know what they have in NC but in MI we have a no person left behind where you can get free or reduced price college if you're unemployed to get into an industry that you will be able to get a job in. It's not necessarily where you want to end up in life but it's still something. I started as a receptionist making $8.50/hour at my company and worked my way to the position that I'm in. I don't have an accounting degree (I was a college dropout) but I worked my way to an accounting job.

Every job worked at full time hours should pay a living wage.

Please define "living wage"

Also, are government subsidies factored into that living wage.

Does living wage assume that you own a cell phone with a data plan and Internet access?

I'm just curious if living wage is what someone actually needs to live or more or less what they want but doesn't actually need in order to live?

Apparently "living wage" In my area here in Philly is I phone, car, house, name brand shoes and clothes. At least that is what everyone in section 8 has. All curtsy of the government . The few that do work spend there money on drugs and car decals. I seriously want to quit and claim "disability" so I can upgrade my life. I would love to have a car again. Then i can sell my food stamps for cash like they do and buy more nice things I don't need.

Sorry that turned into a rant.

You forgot about going to the WIC offices, some of those girls with their 7 kids by 7 different baby daddies. All the while having their Chanel bag, hairs did, nails did, 8" stilettos... preach it girl.

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.

C, smart one. And I didn't limit myself to the service industry. I started refereeing soccer, then moved to waitressing, and have since found work as a music festival promoter, casting assistant, promotional and print model, and engineering intern. With the exception of the internship, none of those require a college education. Did I have some help along the way? Sure. But did someone hand me those jobs? No. Did someone tell me I had to keep challenging myself to find more advanced employment? No.

I forgive your sassiness though :flowerforyou:

So your answer to the poor struggling to get by on minimum wage is to do some modeling to pay for college?

Let them eat cake.

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

Yes you pay it back. But student loans require no collateral and have a lower rate of interest than your typical bank loan. Because the government provides it, because they recognize the value of an educated populace. That's more of a handout than the wages being requested by the employees who are being vilified here as spoiled and entitled.

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.

C, smart one. And I didn't limit myself to the service industry. I started refereeing soccer, then moved to waitressing, and have since found work as a music festival promoter, casting assistant, promotional and print model, and engineering intern. With the exception of the internship, none of those require a college education. Did I have some help along the way? Sure. But did someone hand me those jobs? No. Did someone tell me I had to keep challenging myself to find more advanced employment? No.

I forgive your sassiness though :flowerforyou:

Smart folks choose C.

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?

I know it wasnt all that I had paid, but no I cant remember that was some time ago. It was during college also, so I'm sure I was able to get education credit. I do remember that return went for books for next semester.

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.

And their solution to the issue of low wages by striking is a free market solution. They are not asking for ANYTHING from the government.

If they are so useless and easily replaced the company can choose that option. I bet they don't. Because unlike some posters here McDonalds understands that firing the bulk of your workforce is an extremely unwise business decision.

The level of ignorance regarding economics is absolutely staggering and disgusting. I'm out.

Are you saving me the precious minutes I'd spend catching up on all 16 pages of this thread?

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.

And their solution to the issue of low wages by striking is a free market solution. They are not asking for ANYTHING from the government.

If they are so useless and easily replaced the company can choose that option. I bet they don't. Because unlike some posters here McDonalds understands that firing the bulk of your workforce is an extremely unwise business decision.

I thought they were striking to have the minimum wage law changed to $15/hr? If not, then your'e correct, they have the ability to strike, and McDonald's should fire them all; I doubt it would be AS extremely unwise of a business decision as doubling the pay of your least skilled workers

Here's the thing. The walmart/fast food/unskilled workers of the country are paid these piddly little wages because they are essentially doing unskilled work and are easily expendable/replaceable. However, due to their low incomes, said workers also now qualify for government subsidies in the form of food stamps, medicaid, housing, etc. So really, we are supporting these people indirectly because they are not being paid a live-able wage. Yet, does a fast food or superstore worker really work the kind of job to justify a $40k/year salary? No. Some may surmise this as corporate greed, others as ''you get back what you put in'', but either way, we kind are all paying for it one way or another.

Here's a bizarre idea coming from a silly girl: reward results, not effort.

*mind blown*

McDonald's earned $1.5 Billion in profits in the last quarter. The employees making and selling food are the reason for that.

Judging them by their results would entitle them to a substantial raise indeed.

Christ....

Nail. Head.

It has nothing to do with certain (and numerous, it seems) posters on this thread basically seeing the employees as subhuman, or petty squabbles about whether their *much more deserving* job pays more or, really to do with the cost of living.

It is to do with the distribution of an excess (profit) within a company. That is where the money comes from to give workers a raise, not as some people seem to think from a giant pool of 'workers' money across all companies, meaning that someone elses salary would have to be cut for McDonalds workers to get a raise.


Having said that, the attitude of some on here is disheartening to say the least. I remember being a younger man and reading the "Ragged Trousered Philanthropists" and thinking that kind of society could never exist today, yet it seems that now so many both rich and poor seem to be willing it....

Those employees have literally zero value, I'm talking ECONOMIC value, not intrinsic value we all have as being Humans. They can be replaced in a second; they have no SCARCITY, anyone can do their job. SCARCITY is what determines how well you're compensated for your labor, SCARCITY meaning how irreplaceable your skill-set is, their skill set is highly replaceable; these people flipped burgers and poured fries, they're about as key to the success of McDonald's as the guy that wipes the floors of Madison Square Garden is to the NY Knicks.

Here's the thing. The walmart/fast food/unskilled workers of the country are paid these piddly little wages because they are essentially doing unskilled work and are easily expendable/replaceable. However, due to their low incomes, said workers also now qualify for government subsidies in the form of food stamps, medicaid, housing, etc. So really, we are supporting these people indirectly because they are not being paid a live-able wage. Yet, does a fast food or superstore worker really work the kind of job to justify a $40k/year salary? No. Some may surmise this as corporate greed, others as ''you get back what you put in'', but either way, we kind are all paying for it one way or another.

Exactly I just learned about a new low income program up here that gives from iphones to low income families. I learned about the auto charge on my cell phone bill that goes towards this program, WTF.

I know a ton of Unemployed or underemployed people who would love to have work right now. If i was one of them, I would walk right in, turn and point at a striker, and ask for their job!

I can't remember the last time I passed a strip mall full of fast food restaurants that more than half of them didn't have help wanted signs. But there is no money in it so finding workers is hard.