Wage Strikes Planned at Fast Food Outlets in 100 US Cities on Thursday (12/5/13)

Tomorrow is the day ....

Here's hoping that a whole lotta fast food places have walk outs.
Here's hoping that a whole lotta people bring BAGGED LUNCHES.
It's healthier for America. A break from the burgers and fries .... no big loss.
(except on the weight scale ... which is a positive)

reply to post by FlyersFan


This amounts to the "No Gas purchase" days.

About as dumb as it gets.

If I were a manager at any place, the people striking would be fired on the spot.

reply to post by macman

I agree. Those people walk out for a day ... get fired ... instantly get replaced by another
person who is willing to work and earn some $$$. Unskilled people are easy to find. It's not
like these are doctors or dentists or engineers who are highly educated and in higher demand.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Truth is though as much as I hate the fast food industry, it's a huge part of our economy as are these large retail chains... that's where the jobs are and that's where they will stay. The only way manufacturing is coming back is if Americans agree to work for Chinese slave wages.

If everyone refused to work in fast food or chain retail until wages went up, we'd see a huge turnaround in rhetoric from the masters and their pet politicians... but too many people are too hungry for that to happen.

In the meantime us taxpayers will be footing nearly 1 million dollars/year in subsidies per super walmart because their employees need food stamps, medicaid, housing assistance etc... in order to survive.

Kali74


In the meantime us taxpayers will be footing nearly 1 million dollars/year in subsidies per walmart because their employees need food stamps, medicaid, housing assistance etc... in order to survive.

And that is the worst part of it. It is wrong on so many levels.

We should not be paying for companies to offset costs, and we should not be paying for others to live.

reply to post by macman


So what's the solution?

reply to post by Kali74


I think I already stated this.

Cut taxes, stop handouts to companies and people.

JIMC5499
Wow. Four pages of posts and nobody has come up with the real reason for this.

The SEIU and other unions are pushing this. That's it plain and simple. The reason that they are pushing this is because their member's contracts are tied to the "minimum", "living" or "prevailing" wage in the area. If it goes up, their members get an automatic raise, without having to negotiate for it.

I worked for Eastern Airlines when it went under. Everybody blames Lorenzo for destroying Eastern, but, it was the unions who did the major damage. The Machinist Union merged with the Baggage Handlers Union and combined pay scales. ThIs meant that a Baggage Handler with 10 years of seniority was paid the same as an Aircraft Mechanic with 10 years.

You are absolutely correct. I have tried to bring this out, but no one wants to hear it. They are too caught up in arguing about how the man is keeping the little guy down. Sadly, the little guys keep themselves down, by staying in dead end, low paying jobs. They see it as their bail out.

Who cares if the Unions get a HUGE pay raise for every .75 cents the minimum wage gies up? Who cares that people that are already earning 75.00 an hour are going to make a 5% or more pay hike?

These little guys never fathom they they will talk themselves out of ever dreaming of holding a job like that.

No longer will an unskilled worker be hired at a job they have no experience in, and be trained.

Companies will no longer be able to afford to train new, unskilled workers. Congrats, little guy, instead of just moving out of the dead end job and up the ladder like the rest of us, you just outcompeted yourself in any job that IS a living wage.

And, in another 10 years of flipping those same burgers in that same stale, dead end job you had to have a college degree to get, after the cost of living goes up, prices continue to grow, you will come back, whining that you now need 25.00 an hour to keep flippin'.

There comes a point where reality has to set in, and you realize that you are just NOT all that, not worth all that, and its time for personal growth.

Right now, your illusion of some magnificent self worth is being held up only by greedy Union workers who are USING you to get a bigger paycheck.

Wake up and smell the burgers. It isn't all about YOU.

reply to post by macman


So let people starve and go homeless?

reply to post by SearchLightsInc


I will never understand people that are willing to work at a job 40 hours a week if they need more. What's wrong with getting another job? What is wrong with bettering ones self so they CAN?

Why is it that when someone is unwilling to help themselves, someone else must step in and do it for them? Or even better, rescue them?

Why should someone that has never flipped a burger walk into a place and get a job making close to what it took me 12 years to get to? Why is that ok? What ever happened to working your way up, just like everyone else? It's called career advancement.

A term that now simply seems out if the vocabulary of the "want it all and want it NOW" generation.

Someone just needs to put it on the table. Get off your butts and make yourself worth more, quit expecting to be propped up by others, and maybe, just maybe, the fry guy is just NOT worth that much money. Ya think?

reply to post by Kali74


I guess they are too dumb to figure out life on their own then????

I love the whole idea that if tax dollars are giving to people, they will starve and be homeless.
So, I guess that Corporations will starve as well, without tax funded handouts.

Poverty is a bitch. When people are made uncomfortable in their situation in life, they seem to do what they need to, to get themselves to a better place.

macman
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

This amounts to the "No Gas purchase" days.

About as dumb as it gets.

If I were a manager at any place, the people striking would be fired on the spot.

Exactly. I see this as fairly dangerous to people who are already in a bad spot. If your working at McDonald's the skillset you bring can literally be rehired, retrained, and most likely at a slightly lower wage (as it would be a brand new employee) than you are earning within a few business days.

This would be genius for skilled labor that is needed but I just see numerous people getting fired during this strike and being in a much worse position than originally intended.

Hypothetically you get your way and get a bump in pay - In the grand scheme of things you are still making beyond terrible money and your life doesn't drastically change other than being able to buy some extra cans of soup that week. The risk just inst worth it. A better approach would be to speak with your manager about fast tracking oneself into a managerial role. Even those people dont really make that much money but at least you have a shot at a better life if fast food genuinely is your calling in life.

reply to post by Krystian


In my area, McDonald's managers make between $40k and $55k a year.

It is just another example of lowering everyone to the standards of some, instead of requiring some to raise themselves to the standards of others.

reply to post by Kali74


If someone starves without Govt handouts, then they are doing something wrong. It is not my responsibility, tax wise, to provide for their poor decisions.

Kali74
reply to post by macman

 

So what's the solution?

In not so many words, natural selection.

There is no point for one fail to breed three more into the world to rinse and repeat, multiplying w/ each generation.

The odds of one uneducated, impoverished family to breed a success is not that high.

We all have a right to live but that means living at or below our means. If your means dont merit Jake having a new pair of nikes then you are at fault - not the system.

This of course does not apply to everyone, some people will simply be in a rut, but more often than not its the opposite. You are getting paid minimum wage because you simply dont have any skills to warrant more pay. That doesnt mean because you cant support yourself, a for profit organization should donate extra money to your helpless cause.

macman
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

I agree.

And the idea that Govt workers are allowed to unionize is ridiculous at best.

Exactly! And MOST UNION workers are employed by the government!

Why are people so willfully blind that they simply refuse to see that Obama originally started this as a FAVOR to Union workers for supporting him and working for his campaign?

Why are people so willing to be used like this, to give Union workers a fat, juicy pay raise, because they will "get something" out of it? Doesn't it offend you that Union workers will get a huge pay raise for every .75 cents minimum wage goes up?

Yep, between 5-8% pay increase for those "corporate people" everyone seems to despise, already making 75.00, 125.00 an HOUR. Go ahead, they are DYING for you to line their pockets. You get a couple bucks, they get steak and lobster. Really?!

Instead of supporting this, people should be outraged that your president is being a slimy, sneaky pig to give his buddies a pat on the back! He is USING you! He is stabbing you in the back, and you just stand there with your greedy hands out. "May I have some more, please?" Wake up!

Yet, where is the outrage? There is none, because they simply don't understand the full effects and ramifications. They are short sighted, and only see money for nothing. Literally, nothing.

If this goes through, even the Unions have said say goodbye to EVER competing for a better job. They will NOT hire you. Unions will become closed, exclusive, more than ever before. No chance to be new to the field, and getting that 40.00 an hour job.

Nope, sorry. Experience REQUIRED.

macman
reply to post by Kali74

 

I guess they are too dumb to figure out life on their own then????

I love the whole idea that if tax dollars are giving to people, they will starve and be homeless.
So, I guess that Corporations will starve as well, without tax funded handouts.

Poverty is a bitch. When people are made uncomfortable in their situation in life, they seem to do what they need to, to get themselves to a better place.

When walmart or a fast food chain move in to town they tend to kill the local, small businesses and absorb their workforce and pay them lower wages, people suck it up because they have no choice... both killed manufacturing as well as family farming and butcher shops. We simply don't live in a pull yourself up by the bootstraps world anymore, sure some people can escape it but most are stuck.

Myself, I'm lucky... I live in a major city and am not trapped in a walmart town, small shops tend to do pretty well in cities because people like nuance, unique, variety and it's all centralized and easily accessible even if you don't have a car. Non city dwellers don't have the same options I do, they are stuck unless they can afford a car or the gas to drive 2 hours to a different job... maybe they can go into debt attending college or a trade school instead, how long til that pays off?

reply to post by Krystian


A perfect illustration of my disgust with people like you.

"Let them die".

macman
reply to post by FlyersFan

 

This amounts to the "No Gas purchase" days.

About as dumb as it gets.

If I were a manager at any place, the people striking would be fired on the spot.

What? So you don't believe that workers have the right to take strike action to improve their pay and conditions?
I thought that was the beauty of a democratic society and having rights and protection at work.
I mean god forbid anybody wanting to improve their situation, wanting a raise, oh no, that money is only for the billionaire owners and wealthy shareholders.

SMH

reply to post by macman


Bingo! Just like the long-term unemployed magically deliciously find a job the week after their unemployment runs out.

Nobody is being fooled here, except the fools. And, try as you may to open their eyes, they are either buying into partisan talking points, or willfully ignoring the WHOLE picture.

Greed plays a major role as well. Some will say, "I don't care what the Union workers get, I just want mine." That' s all fine and good, but lets at least be HONEST about it. People want higher pay for doing crap jobs, because they can't be bothered.

Sadly, the longterm effects, and the entire picture are either out of their grasp, or, more likely, they simply don't CARE.

But, one thing to keep in mind. If the economy breaks the bubble we all see coming, not even the Unions will be getting bailed out this time. Say goodbye to those hundreds of thousand dollar pensions. Just ask the people in Michigan, who just lost pensions to the bankruptcy approval. It was such a burden on the city, they could no longer afford to make the payments and maintain the city.

Coming to a city near you.