Of course they deserve to be paid more, the current $7.25 is completely ridiculous, however, the increase to $15 that they ask for is simply unrealistic, it would put them above other professions like paramedics for example. You can't just go up to your boss and ask him to DOUBLE your salary, you work up to it with slight increases each time.
A living wage should allow the employee to actually live, not just survive. Why should we, the backbones of all companies, the worker bees, have to live in poverty, just scraping by check to check, while others in the same company, with easier jobs, enjoy a life of ease and luxury? I think that raising the minimum wage to nnot only match inflation, but also to increase to a living wage, is the only way to move forward with capitalism. Otherwise, we need a whole new strategy.
The issue I have with the workers strike is these jobs are not meant to be careers. They're meant to be starting jobs to build up a resume to move on to another career or field that gives a career salary. As someone who's had to work in fast food, it's not a job that I wanted to hold for an extended period of time nor do I think anyone wants to stay at for an extended period of time. I stayed there for 6 months, used it on my resume for work experience, and moved on to another job.
Exactly. And since employers (and any investors in the company) are the ones putting up capital, they are taking all the risk and should reap most of the rewards. And managers are generally paid more than hourly workers because they have more responsibility and usually put far more of their time into the endeavor. Hourly workers can generally just walk away and get another job with no consequence whenever they wish.
In this economy, there isn't much of a choice. Where else do you want these people to go, a different fast food restaurant? If you apply to a better restaurant that maybe pays $8.75 or $9.00 hour, they'll throw your resume in the trash if they see fast food on there!
Care to share who you think would be paying for that increase of more than double current wage? Certainly not the consumer in terms of food prices going sky high, right? Is that what you're thinking? Because I can guarantee McD's and Wendy's wouldn't take the hit... *WE* would. It's fun to play-act that a perfect world would exist like that where a fast food worker makes $3 an hour more than an EMT or teacher, but then critical thinking steps in.
Excellently stated. Though, personally, you couldn't pay me to eat at a fast food joint, it will indeed be the consumer who will be hit. Parenthetically, I've seen news reports that indicate some of the companies are working in automating fast food via robotics. With wage increases, labor disputes, and regulatory shenanigans, I've got to wonder how long will be before its economically viable to go that route instead of human employees. Then who's hurt? The guy flipping the burgers.
Many of the locations of many of these chain restaurants are actually locally owned - they are small businesses that will get hammered between obamacare and a $15 min wage.
Absolutely right. If I'd own a restaurant fast food or not, and my workers would start demanding double the wage I've been paying them, *something* would be changing. I'd check into robotics and automation... I'd be finding out how I could pay less for the horrible hit I would have (almost assuredly) taken from Obamacare... and that would mean less benefits for worker health care. I'd be forced to go bare bones with the coverage. And *then* I'd seriously consider starting furloughs or lay-offs. Demands for unreasonable pay hikes rarely end up helping the worker. If I don't want to lose my business, I'd need to cut things way down starting with number of employees.
I think we have the right to make strikes, no question there, if they will get what they want is another matter, especially facing automating and easy replacement for their jobs.
