Dunkin' CEO: $15 minimum wage is 'outrageous'

I noticed someone write, as part of their post, "The shareholders hire sharks willing to devour the fish. We have to get that ROI, Return on Investment, SCREW the people who actually DO THE WORK."

I always find statements like this entertaining. Oh, those evil "shareholders."

Folks, you do realize that anyone who has any type of investment, often a 401k, is invested in the stock market, right? You are, in fact, shareholders. Its so easy to say, "they" make too much money and should have less profits. I'd take that more seriously if the same people wouldn't mind having their own 401k plans cut in half.

I go to Dunkin Donuts practically every Saturday with a group of friends and I have to admit that I am hard pressed to find any employees, including the manager worth $15/Hr. Half the time my order is screwed up or they forget something. I don't make a big deal about it because its just donuts and coffee, but I always wonder how they can mess up something so simple.
Forget about asking them to make change.

Don't get me wrong, these employees are good people and I like them, I just don't think a job requiring little to no specific skills should warrant $15/hr. You could grab almost any random person off the street and train them to do this job within a few hrs.

On a side note:I once had an employee who ran a plotter and made copies. One day she demanded a huge raise...I told her she was already overpaid for her position and that I could literally hire a monkey to do her job. This didn't go ever too well and she quit. (I've learned to be more tactful since then) I hired a high school kid to do her job for half of what I was paying her. The kid proved himself to be a great employee and quickly moved up to eventually become a Project manager making $30/hr.
Starting positions give people a chance to prove their worth to a company.

originally posted by: Sparky63
I just don't think a job requiring little to no specific skills should warrant $15/hr. You could grab almost any random person off the street and train them to do this job within a few hrs.

I suspect what gets lost on people is they don't fully understand that DD, like any company, is in business to make a profit. Companies DO NOT exist to subsidize employee's needs/wants/desires. That is not to say that employees should be abused, but all this talk about minimum wage being a "living wage" and that the guy screwing up my order at McDonalds should be able to buy a house and raise kids on that salary is nothing short of nonsense.

a reply to: eluryh22

Its only nonsense when you are able to do the math, and then actually pay attention to it.

The problem, as stated earlier, is about power. Big business use their money and power to manipulate legislation to either mandate their products (like insurance companies, vaccines, etc), destroy worker protections, etc. They use their power to manipulate the market, to lobby for deregulation, and to gamble with other people's money. They use their money and power to keep corrupt politicians in office that vote against their constituents interests, and they use their power to price fix, to artificially inflate the value of things, and to keep new competitors from emerging.

Due to these abuses our power, and our lifestyle is decreasing, through no fault of our own, except maybe for our refusal to recognize this class war for what it is. While raising the minimum wage to what it is in several other countries in the world that aren't as affluent as we are, we may not be SOLVING the problem, but at least we might give the people some breathing room to get back on their feet, not be drowning in the hustle every day, so they CAN take some time to look around, educate themselves on what is going on, and figure where to go from there.

It occurs to me that the best way to keep an oppressed and exploited populace from fighting back is to keep them right on the edge of poverty....that way they are too busy scurrying around, trying to stay afloat, to actually fight for their future. At any rate, we are much more likely to be successful in a fight for an increased minimum wage than we would be in a fight to end corruption and to achieve equality and freedom in our current environment.

originally posted by: pexx421
The problem, as stated earlier, is about power. Big business use their money and power to manipulate legislation to either mandate their products (like insurance companies, vaccines, etc), destroy worker protections, etc. They use their power to manipulate the market, to lobby for deregulation, and to gamble with other people's money. They use their money and power to keep corrupt politicians in office that vote against their constituents interests, and they use their power to price fix, to artificially inflate the value of things, and to keep new competitors from emerging.

Due to these abuses our power, and our lifestyle is decreasing, through no fault of our own, except maybe for our refusal to recognize this class war for what it is. While raising the minimum wage to what it is in several other countries in the world that aren't as affluent as we are, we may not be SOLVING the problem, but at least we might give the people some breathing room to get back on their feet, not be drowning in the hustle every day, so they CAN take some time to look around, educate themselves on what is going on, and figure where to go from there.

It occurs to me that the best way to keep an oppressed and exploited populace from fighting back is to keep them right on the edge of poverty....that way they are too busy scurrying around, trying to stay afloat, to actually fight for their future. At any rate, we are much more likely to be successful in a fight for an increased minimum wage than we would be in a fight to end corruption and to achieve equality and freedom in our current environment.

.I am curious what you mean by "Destroy worker protections"....

originally posted by: muse7
I'm sorry but $15 bucks an hour for fast food workers IS outrageous.

The CEO might be overpaid but he probably went to university and busted his ass at school to at least deserve some of the money he's making.

If these people want to make $15 an hour then they should go to college and get a degree in something useful that's in demand or learn a trade that's in demand.

I mostly agree with you, it is a bit high for a job that is supposed to be an entry level position you get when you first strike out on your own, not something you support a family on. In this case, however, it is in New York. Cost of living there is unimaginably high, particularly in NYC and people do need to make a livable wage, not just a survivable one. My main concern with this is the skilled workers who are making around $15 an hour already. They aren't getting any raises. They are just being told that all their experience and time invested in whatever trade they are in is worth as much as a job at McDonalds. That's my issue.

originally posted by: CantStandIt
OMG, I say let's stop bickering about it and expecting somebody else to do something about changing it.

So here's my plan.

I am going to start a business.

Something that has sustainable demand.

And I am going to bust my a$$ to make sure that the products and services we provide are the ones that customers prefer over the competition.

I am going to grow the business such that I have to hire employees. I am going to pay said employees $15.00/hour. And I am going to require them bust their a$$es too. Only one additional requirement above and beyond the usual cleanliness, reliability and respect for themselves and each other: each person I hire must have an interest in learning new skills that they don't yet have. I don't even care if the skill they want to learn has practical value in my business. (Of course, I will take under my wing and mentor anyone of them that cares to learn the managerial and administrative side of the business, too).

I will do whatever marketing and schmoozing is necessary to keep the business top-of-mind amongst our customer base. And to keep bringing in new customers.

I will promote from within as long as I have candidates that are interested and willing to learn and apply themselves.

I expect I will come across a lot of people that will interview well enough to get me to hire them, but that won't work out, and I will wind up letting some go.

But for the ones that stay, assuming we turn a profit, I will provide profit sharing. And I will NOT make 50 times (or more) what I pay my lowest-wage worker. And I will pitch in and do my share of the dirty work.

And I will challenge my people to develop themselves and start their own businesses, and mentor their own employees. If they sign a pledge that they also will NOT make 50 times what their lowest paid worker makes, and are transparent with me, I will be happy to invest in their businesses should I have enough success to be able to do that.

I worked for such a person in high school, and it had a profound impact on my life.

I am ready to have the same impact for someone else. Who is with me!?!?!?

Everyone is with you, including myself.

Until the business gets to ta certain size, then all of the BS ethics we hold so high and mighty right now, all goes to the #ters.

originally posted by: Jekka

originally posted by: muse7

In this case, however, it is in New York. Cost of living there is unimaginably high, particularly in NYC and people do need to make a livable wage, not just a survivable one.

In my humble opinion, it doesn't matter that NYC is the location in question. Is it an expensive city? Yes. However, that doesn't change the fact that an entry-level position at a fast-food joint is STILL not meant to be a career. It is still meant to be a job for people who are just beginning their working life (possibly living at home while in school, etc). As I've stated earlier, fast food companies are still just that, companies. They are not a branch of government who's purpose is to subsidize the lives of their employees.

Everyone needs a raise in my opinion

I say no to a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage. Like now as it will be then, people at the bottom of the pay scale will know they don't need to bust their ass and do a good job when they know the same pay waits for them at the place around the corner. Why wear a shirt and tie and give good service when you can make the same money at a car wash? Why bother checking your parts in a molding shop and caring about quality when some dive burger joint pays the same?

If companies were smart, they would pay you enough to keep you there and do a good job and make leaving a gamble you might end up with something paying less. Sadly, a lot of them don't and they get what they pay for.

The above two were only examples and no offense was intended to any employees of car washes or dive burger joints.

a reply to: korath

Right. Bc our current system of poverty for those in the lower class has been working so well at aiding and encouraging those lesser people into moving on up. That's why we have such a rapidly growing middle class. Unlike the shrinking of the middle class that happened in the 50s-the 70s when minimum wage was worth more and people weren't debt slaves.

Let's put it into statements everyone can understand, and not this he said, she said thing.

The Facts,

Everyone deserves a roof over their head
Everyone deserves food ( at least two to three meals a day )
Everyone deserves the means to get around, be it metro or a clunker
Everyone deserves the internet ( for future jobs and since it's a staple of today's world
Everyone deserves medical and dental care ( dental care is more important, since there isn't medicare or medicade for dental, really there isn't they offer cleaning, and such, but nothing that people would deem an emergency.

Now this is very basic, but having the things above, would help assist you in getting a better job, one that people would be able to call a career.

If you know where a person can work for minimum wage now, and afford the things above, then minimum wage is ok, however, if you cannot " feasibly " obtain the things above on a minimum wage, then why are you on this thread arguing?

People deserve to live, if you don't believe this, you have a lot in common with the feared dictators of history. The way our economy is set up, we allow those with plenty to never really help out those who have had hard times. Now that's our freewill I suppose, even as arse-o-nine as it is, since you look at any other family unit, when one has more than they need, the excess is handed out equally or as needed. Not saying that those with money need to give away all their wealth, but they did make that money off the backs of others who aren't even able to afford the basics they need.

What kind of system functions this way? Look in nature, what system allows for the hording of wealth while the others of that species just go without? You'll also notice that those species systems are most likely known as an " invasive species ".

Just saying this as well, since many seem to forget, why would we have any position or job that doesn't pay the worker enough to afford the very basic things in life to keep living? Why would we allow this kind of injustice? You do realize that we have plenty of other jobs that pay what many would consider good wages that do not allow their workers to afford the basic things in life.

40,000 a year - is roughly about 833.00 a week before taxes.
15.00 an hour is around 720 a week before taxes.

You know something is wrong, when you cannot support a small family off that, let alone yourself barely.

Most posting here seem to think that people don't fall into hard times, that the careers they work up too sometimes don't work out or are actually gone by the time people work up to them.

To put things bluntly, we've created a world where we're slowly making life too expensive to maintain, 10 years ago, you'd be ok without the internet, today, you basically cannot get a good job without an email account and access.

Biggest problem we have is that we think just because someone else can't afford to live that it doesn't affect us, when it's really our reality slowly coming into view.

We will soon be on the outside of the fence, supplying those inside the fence with the materials they need to keep living forever...

a reply to: Tranceopticalinclined

If I don't think it's a career then basically your should die suffering and of starvation or live on the streets or share a room with other people.

a reply to: truthseeker84

I'm pretty sure you need to be able to live weather or not it's entry level or not right?

Im just saying being able to live is part of it.

a reply to: onequestion

I didn't devise my post to cater to your belief system, sorry.

You're opinion is your right, I'm sure many around the world disagree with it, me including.

Not sure as to why you feel such, but I'm more blown away at the reply, since you made it seem that you're the overall deciding factor of policies.

But I do hope you continue to live your high life, breeze must be good being above all others.

I wonder how many pounds of frozen hamburger make it into those burger flippers pants as they clock out and leave?

You get what you pay for....

originally posted by: Tranceopticalinclined
a reply to: onequestion

I didn't devise my post to cater to your belief system, sorry.

You're opinion is your right, I'm sure many around the world disagree with it, me including.

Not sure as to why you feel such, but I'm more blown away at the reply, since you made it seem that you're the overall deciding factor of policies.

But I do hope you continue to live your high life, breeze must be good being above all others.

It was sarcasm by onequestion. I think....

originally posted by: Tranceopticalinclined


Everyone deserves a roof over their head
Everyone deserves food ( at least two to three meals a day )
Everyone deserves the means to get around, be it metro or a clunker
Everyone deserves the internet ( for future jobs and since it's a staple of today's world

Other than public safety... people "deserve" what they earn. (I took out the reference to medical issues because I think that is a slightly different topic... one that I suspect I may agree with you on).

You act as if people just appear out of thin air. Everyone grows up somewhere (whether it be with nuclear families or foster families, etc). Everyone slowly becomes an adult and starts to make choices on their own. At a point, they go out into the work force. For some, that means finding employment at a fast food establishment making minimum wage. Guess what? Maybe an 18 year old working as a cashier can't afford to move into their own apartment yet. Maybe they have to stay home for some time until they can afford to strike out on their own. Maybe they need to find a roommate to share the financial burdens. However, it that person works diligently, they can either take the basic working skillset and work ethic to another type of business, or they can move up the ranks at their current place of employment.

Further, beyond thinking that an individual inherently "deserves" things.... I'm expected to believe that an entry-level, minimum wage job should support A FAMILY?!?!?!

Side Note 1: Everybody has free access to the internet at local libraries.

Side Note 2: Squirrels hoard resources all summer long. (Just off the top of my head).

a reply to: olaru12

I've worked the fast food deal as a teen, you actually get to take home ( if you have a good manager ) the left over food at the end of the shift.

America wastes more food that is 100% fine just no needed any longer, why aren't we reusing that food for those who need it?

Some do reuse the food waste but most just throw it away.

Could even get smart and resell for a discount the food that is close to expiring.

But saddly, we as a collective whole just don't seem to care about one another like we should be.