Fast-food worker strike about to go global

a reply to: Aazadan
Running a franchise is not as cheap as it seems. The owner of the franchise has to pay for the land, building, the franchise fees, taxes, all of the business, including the insurance, and security, along with cost of labor. Everything has to be accounted for, every cup, every drop of sauce. Many owners have very little in the way of lee ways when it comes to doing business, that much is tied up in the running of the business. And people are asking, for a simple job to be paid a large amount of money per hour? Most business owners are not going to pay that much money, as such is an investment and requires time and money to hire, do the background checks, and train the employee.

So, as this is not difficult work, one of the simplest jobs out there, what exactly and why should an employee be paid more than the minimum wage to make a sandwich? What technical skills does it require to push a button? Does it cost more to learn to have manners and be polite or smile to a person?

The reality is that the owner of a franchise is not going to be willing to pay more than what the law requires for a job that does not require a lot of skills to perform. Nor should they, and if people do not like it, there is nothing that is stopping them from finding another job, one that pays more.

What is next, asking for that much for other service industry? Where does it stop or end?

originally posted by: doobydoll
...Why should they bust their buns for minimum pay? I certainly wouldn't. I'd skive off at every opportunity. I'd eat for free. I'd do the bare minimum required of me and not a stroke more.

...If I'm being taken advantage of, then I'm gonna return the favour ten-fold, in any way I can.

...

Good for you.
Your work ethic and expectation is nothing like mine.
I have worked minimum wage, and have worked full time for less than minimum wage (colloquially called "Chinese Overtime")... I still gave my best effort.
I applied for the position/s... They didn't come to me and beg for my assistance - didn't promise me a Jaguar. I 'needed the work/income' and gave my best regardless of the poor pay.

a reply to: xuenchen

Now if only we can get Walmart employees to do the same thing. They really should be making $15 an hour too. I would go one step further and say that they should be making $20 an hour. And we should throw in retail employees too.

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
Running a franchise is not as cheap as it seems.

Au contraire, running a franchise is not as expensive as it seems. Do not forget that money is imaginary.

The reality is that the owner of a franchise is not going to be willing to pay more than what the law requires for a job that does not require a lot of skills to perform. Nor should they, and if people do not like it, there is nothing that is stopping them from finding another job, one that pays more.

What other jobs are there? There aren't jobs for people to begin with. If there were, then franchises would already be paying $15 an hour to compete with the market.

What is next, asking for that much for other service industry? Where does it stop or end?

It stops or ends when greed is no more in this country. The highest paid employee of a company, and this includes "shareholders" should not make more than, oh let's just say, 30 times the lowest paid employee (although 30 times is a bit too high). I would put it at 10 times.

But that's the problem in America and the world, there is greed, and there is lust for greed. The rich are the greed, and everyone else who allows their greed allow it because they have a lust for greed (or are just ignorant...).

originally posted by: DrinkMoreWater

originally posted by: MarlinGrace

originally posted by: DrinkMoreWater

Well, there is the basic need to provide for a family. If it is not met, crimes will be committed. That is forcible.

History does not support point. Source

Families became closer during the depression and worked together.

Oh wow. Yes, the depression was known for low crime rates. lmao

You know, when no one is snitching and police are not policing - the crime late is statistically pretty low.

Do you know what else was going on during the depression?

My grandma told me all about it. They ate raccoons. See, rich people would just let their workers die and bring in new ones. Pay them next to nothing. Well, as it turns out, some people made a killing (literally) off of the depression.

BUT, since you are using the negative propaganda that is most closely associated with stupidity, I must assume talking to you is a fruitless endeavor.

So I extended the courtesy by providing a source, I don't consider your grandfather a source it is hearsay at this point. Being contentious makes anything you spew that grandpa says even less trustworthy. Living in denial makes dealing with the world easy when you don't have the capacity to deal with it. As with all delusions making things up makes life livable when you live in fear because of ignorance.

Give your grandfather my best, it's been 85 years since the depression started with the crash in 1929 his memory is excellent.

a reply to: sdcigarpig
Then obviously the answer is to raise the minimum wage.

May as well get rid of NAFTA as well, that will support a minimum wage increase when we don't have to compete with slave wages and lack of standards in other countries. Then those fast food workers can have other choices for employment with entry level skills and more jobs and more job choices ='s better pay.

And get rid of tax havens.

Everyone blames the little guy when it's those at the top who take all and give little.

originally posted by: iosolomon
a reply to: xuenchen

Now if only we can get Walmart employees to do the same thing. They really should be making $15 an hour too. I would go one step further and say that they should be making $20 an hour. And we should throw in retail employees too.

Something interesting to watch...

China workers power sets off strikes for Nike, Wal-Mart

The Chinese government is gaining an unlikely ally in its effort to overhaul the economy: striking Chinese workers.
So far this year, the China operations of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), PepsiCo Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), and Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Ltd. (551), a major supplier to Nike Inc. and Adidas AG (ADS), all have been idled by labor protests.
“This is not a blip,” says Dan Harris, a Seattle-based attorney representing companies operating in China. “It’s going to continue and get worse.”

originally posted by: iosolomon

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
Running a franchise is not as cheap as it seems.

Au contraire, running a franchise is not as expensive as it seems. Do not forget that money is imaginary.

The reality is that the owner of a franchise is not going to be willing to pay more than what the law requires for a job that does not require a lot of skills to perform. Nor should they, and if people do not like it, there is nothing that is stopping them from finding another job, one that pays more.

What other jobs are there? There aren't jobs for people to begin with. If there were, then franchises would already be paying $15 an hour to compete with the market.

What is next, asking for that much for other service industry? Where does it stop or end?

It stops or ends when greed is no more in this country. The highest paid employee of a company, and this includes "shareholders" should not make more than, oh let's just say, 30 times the lowest paid employee (although 30 times is a bit too high). I would put it at 10 times.

But that's the problem in America and the world, there is greed, and there is lust for greed. The rich are the greed, and everyone else who allows their greed allow it because they have a lust for greed (or are just ignorant...).

So is there some imaginary food out there I can buy with my imaginary money? If there is imaginary money then obviously greed is imaginary. Imagine if you will, how I am shaking my head.

a reply to: sdcigarpig

It's not an argument that they should make more than minimum wage, it's an argument that minimum wage should be higher. With our economic system being what it is, employers are going to pay their employees the lowest they can get away with which in this case is minimum wage. The fact that minimum wage isn't a wage that people can support themselves on means that the minimum wage is too low.

If minimum wage were lower they would pay that. What makes the job worth $7.25 rather than $3.00? If minimum wage were higher they would pay that.

The difference is that when minimum wage is higher, more money flows through the economy which acts as a stimulus (up to a point) particularly in a bad economy. At the same time it reduces welfare programs because all the money for people to support themselves comes from the private sector. This shrinks the government, makes safety nets more temporary/less necessary, and reduces taxes.

As for the whole automation argument, things should be automated, long term it leads to lower work weeks for us all. As someone who knows how to write the software for various methods of automating I can tell you that most jobs aren't safe from this. Chances are even your job is pretty easy to automate.

I've seen several state there are no jobs out there. There are, some just don't like the work or having to relocate. If you want to work, you have to go where the jobs are. Here is an example.


Employment Opportunities

From the link you will find info such as;

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice offers employment opportunities in many professional and technical areas. For more information, please select one of the links below.


Correctional Officer Salary

Apply for a Correctional Officer Position

Recruiting Bonus for Newly Hired Correctional Officers

Eligibility Criteria

Schedule Correctional Officer Screening

Executive Director's Recruiting Award

Where is TDCJ hiring Correctional Officers?

Physical Agility Test (pdf)

College-Sponsored Training Program

College List

Frequently Asked Questions

Part-time Correctional Officer Positions

Promotional Opportunities

Recruiting Events
Re-Hire Information

Texas is short 3000 CO's, and if you will work at certain Units, you get a $4,000.00 sign up bonus. Here are 3,000 jobs in one place. There are many more out there if folks are willing and ready to do what it takes.

originally posted by: MarlinGrace

So is there some imaginary food out there I can buy with my imaginary money? If there is imaginary money then obviously greed is imaginary. Imagine if you will, how I am shaking my head.

Clever. That's a funny play on logic. But greed is as imaginary as pain is whereas money is as imaginary time.

originally posted by: iosolomon
It stops or ends when greed is no more in this country. The highest paid employee of a company, and this includes "shareholders" should not make more than, oh let's just say, 30 times the lowest paid employee (although 30 times is a bit too high). I would put it at 10 times.

I like 20 times myself. If 20x was the wage multiplier that was good enough for JP Morgan (the guy who made the worlds first billion dollar company) it's good enough for us.

20x means that if you have employees making $7.25/hour you don't make over $301,600/year.

a reply to: Aazadan

I am glad I signed up for this website. It's so refreshing to hear people who actually agree with me. Most people I talk to are dead against any form of "communism" because they have been bred like good little sheep.

Hey, I won't argue with $300k a year, but that's for the CEO (not for the franchise owners who make in the six figs). An owner of a franchise really doesn't do too much work. And if they say that it's a really stressful job and they need the compensation, then like the other user said, TELL THEM TO GET A DIFFERENT JOB!

Work shouldn't be so brutal. I mean, in the past, there wasn't any other choice. But today, work should not be brutal. No one should hate their job. And if they do, they should at least be making a good buck for it. I don't think too many fast food workers like their jobs...and $7 an hour is hardly a good buck.

I support the striking of the fast food workers. I'm even tempted to get a job as a fast food worker (again) to join them in their strike! lol.

a reply to: Aazadan
How does targeting a business change the laws of the country?

The business owners have to follow the laws, and the law states what they must pay. So how is striking and abandoning their jobs going to change the actual laws? Is it going to be that inconvenient to the law makers, where they are going to be moved to push a bill through?

No, all it is going to do is simply get different people into those jobs, and those who have those jobs, may very well be out on the street, looking and kicking themselves for striking.

And ultimately would this be such a bad thing, if all of the fast food workers decided to strike? Probably not, as then it may give some politicians the idea that there does not need to be that many fast food places in the larger cities and thus pass laws where those same people lose their jobs, but it would better for society as it would help cut the obesity rate down.

If they wanted to make a change, take it to the political realm, and have states mandate such, rather than take it out on a business, cause most businesses will only tolerate such for so long before they either close down the business or simply replace the people.

The reality is that most fast food jobs were never designed or meant to be long term career choices, those kinds of jobs are there to help people get on their feet and move on to the next job or something bigger. I will not support any person who works in fast food who strikes for 15 dollars an hour, not when after a year, they could easily go out and find another job, that pays more an hour, using it as a stepping stone to get into the job market.

And the jobs I have taken, no automation is possible and no one really wants to do, but I was willing to do such, like scrub a toilet, or more disgusting jobs, that require a more human touch.

a reply to: iosolomon
I disagree with you on several points.

Money is the faith in trade, not just imaginary, it has some value, though some are not as secure as others, but that is for the economist to discuss and debate on.

I do not believe that there are no jobs out there. If living in a small town I can find and get offers for 10 different jobs, which tells me that there is work to be done. Oh it is not simple work, or glorious and it starts at the very bottom of the job pole, but then again when did we lose the want to work, to begin to expect to be paid a large amount of money to start? Every time I go out looking for a job, I expect to be paid what the law dictates and work to earn what they want to pay me in a timely manner. And if I am not happy with the job, I can always go out and find another position and then give a 2 week notice and leave the prior job.

Greed is not such a bad thing, after all do you not like the computer you are using? What about the telephone, or the TV, or the radio that we all use? And then there is the music, and arts, and other forms of entertainment, which was not done just to be charitable, but to make money. Greed will get a business further and more secure than one that does not have that fire. And most if not all of the modern convinces and technologies were done to increase production that translates out to more money for those who use it.

Next time you think greed is bad, then please, take a step back not go to the stores to purchase any food or clothing, no cleaning supplies. By all means, do not live in any modern houses with AC or heat that is efficient. And do walk to your destinations, and of course, don’t think that wearing anything with a label is not going to get out of greed. 99% of the things we use in modern life, was all inspired by someone who wanted to make money, fueled by greed and a fierce sense of competition.

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
The reality is that most fast food jobs were never designed or meant to be long term career choices, those kinds of jobs are there to help people get on their feet and move on to the next job or something bigger. I will not support any person who works in fast food who strikes for 15 dollars an hour, not when after a year, they could easily go out and find another job, that pays more an hour, using it as a stepping stone to get into the job market.

Yet they were back in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. In 1967 for example the typical entry level fast food job paid what would be the equivalent of $55,000 today. Those companies even thrived at the time.

Also, those jobs to move into don't exist.

And the jobs I have taken, no automation is possible and no one really wants to do, but I was willing to do such, like scrub a toilet, or more disgusting jobs, that require a more human touch.

Within a few years that job will be automated. Tasks like taking orders in a restaurant and serving drinks have been automated by robots at this point (though it's being adopted slowly for some reason... much more adoption in Asia). Once you have a robot that can walk around, display motor control, and have some basic AI it's not a very difficult task to give it the ability to pick up a toilet brush and scrub. You can even have it done in a business setting by having that same robot that takes orders clean the toilet, just like the workers do today. The robot will even do a better job of it, do it for less money, and not complain.

a reply to: sdcigarpig

The business owners have to follow the laws, and the law states what they must pay. So how is striking and abandoning their jobs going to change the actual laws? Is it going to be that inconvenient to the law makers, where they are going to be moved to push a bill through?

Wait a minute??? Do you mean to say you are under the impression that the law tells the business owners they can "only" pay the minimum wage and nothing more?

Well am sorry but there is no such law mandating low wages the minimum wage states they cant pay their employees. On the other hand, there have been lawmakers passing legislation the banning of raising the minimum wage which the employes are going strait to their employers now.

The legislators stoped working for the people a long time ago and actually this is how unions start so for good or bad things look like they may change.

$15 an hour may sound ridiculous, but I think the strike highlights deeper economic and social problems. People are having a real hard time making ends meet due to low wages and high prices....income disparity.

So I can feel their frustration and desperation. Something must be done, and soon.

a reply to: sdcigarpig

I can tell you of a car wash I know in California where the employees walked off in the morning for more money and by noon they were all replaced. That was a kick butt 4 hr strike to get fired strike. This is when you know there is always someone willing to work for minimum and striking will get you replaced. There is no burger flipper school it is OJT. Strike and it's hasta la bye bye. Does anyone think there will be a problem replacing a unskilled worker?

a reply to: Grimpachi
No, most employers will pay the minimum wage, and it is up to them if they choose to go above such. Most employers have caps on how much they will pay an employee, and usually they let the employee know what the cap is. So that means most employees, will reach that cap with in a year or 2 and not get any more than that.

So what happens when that amount of money that they want is no longer enough to do what they want, do this all over again?