Fast-food walkout U.S. workers strike in several cities to call attention to low wages.

reply to post by Phage


Oh come on Phage, do you really think that people who work a #ty job don't deserve to make a decent living because they aren't rocket scientist?

Everyone deserves a decent life no matter what.

People give me a break.

reply to post by onequestion

Everyone deserves a decent life no matter what.

Everyone "deserves" to be overpaid for an unskilled and undemanding job?
No, I don't think so.

reply to post by Phage


They would be much better off if they switched to what you said being paid a little something for each burger on there shift. Considering they would sell hundreds of burgers fry's drinks and shakes each day they would make a whole lot more $ per the amount of time they put in. In fact one of the joints I go to is run by local people and they have better tasting burgers as well then the mega corps like McDonals, there workers get paid better to even though they get paid hourly as well.

But yes it would vary going by that model, yet on the slowest of day they will likely make more then getting paid minimum for hourly work, if all the people working at Mcdonals got paid by each burger they sold everybody would want to work at Mcdonalds as it would be one of the best paying jobs around. In fact its the difference between owning your own business and working for somebody, which would not happen as it would kill all corps everywhere and it actually would engross the workers in what there doing thereby getting them to do it themselves ie such as bookkeeping for profits and losses. It would put a lot of people above them out of business however since they would effectively become the franchise operators having a stake in there own work and the over all business efforts from the product shipping to everything else, effectively screwing everything up and ending the whole corp side of it.

You mean like the guys in the construction department who get new restaurants built? You mean like the real estate department who gets the land on which to build those restaurants?

Those jobs are not exactly rocket science. Most of which is done by foreignness most of which the workers are Mexican some of which illegal and knowingly as they would be able to be paid less for doing the same thing as others. And the developers well that to is a shady business in and of itself in a lot of areas.

And by most restaurants I take it you mean franchise restaurants, most of those building are built fast, and they cut costs by the buttload. # I know houses now a day were they did the same, been in more then one brand new house costing over half a mil, were if you were to flush the toilet upstairs you could literally hear the water running through the walls like a river, most of those are made as cheaply as possible and for a fraction of a price they sell them at, not to mention the developers get connections for manufacturers in china and they buy in bulk basically the stuff a citizen would buy at home depot is a fraction of the price again. But most of those are cookie cutter buildings planed years and years ahead for franchises usually in high density areas. I have been in third world countries were people built by themself with a crew of cousins numbering around 7 or 8 much better houses and buildings. I know because some of them were my cousins and watched how they went about it.

What about the capital that goes into buying that land and building those restaurants? Just put it up for nothing? No return on the investment? Not gonna be many restaurants around if that's what you want to see.

Personally i would not care if there were no restaurants around. But the chances of that happening are zero, restaurants are one of the biggest money makers around, after all everybody needs to eat so its also one of the most dependable business around, though around here most are owned and operated by foreigners mostly from idia or teryaki and pho joints, and they make way more money for themself as there self operated then anybody working for a corp franchise restaurant even if it was getting more customers and bigger by far.

reply to post by Phage


Well, we could all become rocket scientists i guess....

reply to post by galadofwarthethird

But yes it would vary going by that model, yet on the slowest of day they will likely make more then getting paid minimum for hourly work

Really? How much you figure? What about the guys on the slow shift?

if all the people working at Mcdonals got paid by each burger they sold everybody would want to work at Mcdonalds as it would be one of the best paying jobs around.

Think so? How many people 10, 15 people on a shift. Each one taking piece of that burger?

It would put a lot of people above them out of business however since they would effectively become the franchise operators having a stake in there own work and the over all business efforts from the product shipping to everything else, effectively screwing everything up and ending the whole corp side of it.

Piece work is the answer to corporate greed. Ok. But no, because what you end up with is the same thing you're complaining about except that now instead of being "underpaid" by the hour you are now underpaid by the piece. In any case, you are sort of ignoring the fact that in spite of their best efforts, McDonald's doesn't sell as many burgers as they would like to. There's this thing called supply and demand. You can't sell an unlimited number of burgers.

Those jobs are not exactly rocket science.

Speaking from experience I take it. Have you been a construction manager working on, oh... say 5 or 6 projects at the same time. Each of which is in the neighborhood of 2 million dollars in value?
They certainly require more education and responsibility than working in the kitchen.

And by most restaurants I take it you mean franchise restaurants, most of those building are built fast, and they cut costs by the buttload.

Fast, yes. And yes, they try to control costs. That doesn't mean they are cheap. Air conditioning equipment, refrigeration equipment, kitchen equipment...not cheap. Snazzy tile finishes (at McDonald's anyhow). But you know the franchise owners bear a good percentage of the costs, don't you?

have been in third world countries were people built by themself with a crew of cousins numbering around 7 or 8 much better houses and buildings. I know because some of them were my cousins and watched how they went about it.

Right. No pesky building codes to bother with. No pesky trade unions. No safety laws to comply with. No minimum wage requirements.

Elimination of the minimum wage would help a lot but it seems like it will continue to screw the economy up. If you work a low level job you get what you deserve. If your goal is to work at a low level position don't bitch about what you get. Minimum wage just tries to make all low level workers equal

reply to post by onequestion

Or at least aspire to do so and to work toward it. Couldn't hurt.

reply to post by Phage


Thats complete nonsense to think that. There is a place for everyone.

reply to post by onequestion

Sure, everyone has a "place". But that doesn't mean that every person's place is worth a lot of money. Some jobs don't create much money when viewed in the large scale. That doesn't mean there is no value, just that there is not as much. It turns out that some jobs don't produce enough on an individual basis to justify a higher wage. That's why they are low paying jobs.

Higher paying jobs are harder to come by. There is more competition for them. They require higher skill sets. Supply and demand works in the labor market just like it does in the retail market. You can't just keep charging more for something. There are limits to what the market will bear.

You want a better understanding of why America is so screwed up, why there are no jobs, and why our cities are going bankrupt and demanding taxes be raised? Watch this documentary:

reply to post by Phage


That mentality is the problem. We have enough to share period.

If you live in America you should be leading a good life with the ability to procreate.

That rigid OLD mentality is out. Stop thinking your better then anyone.

reply to post by Phage


If the lower wage workers that demand more get their wish, then the ones higher up the chain will also demand more, like the truckers that bring in the food, the electricians that keep the place powered, and so on....

But the ones at the top in bed with our government that dictate policy will not allow that happen because it reaches them eventually causing them monetary harm as well. The wealth inequality in this country is the worst in the world and that is the way they want to keep it.

In good times, no one was complaining when wages were deflating but the stuff was cheap enough from Walmart to make up the difference, but with the loss of American Jobs to China, and the Poor Quality Items we got in return, they were really not much cheaper, the only ones that have made out are the Multinational Corporations and Big Wall Street Firms.

Also as Phage pointed out, a measly 2 million dollars is given to employees from a CEO bonus which amounts to a dollar per person.

No, it is not much but if that were to occur across all sectors, your talking billions of dollars put back into circulation into peoples hands that spend it rather than hold it for ponzi scheme investments. Which would decrease the monetary imbalance also that was also experienced during the great depression.



That's the problem with allowing corporations to be people and allowing money to equal freedom of speech

reply to post by jacobe001


Hey, thanks for not giving us the corporatist elite view of things. You must not be a CEO. Reality doses for everyone please.

reply to post by Phage


I don't think anyone should be over-paid either Phage.

I simply believe that minimum wage at full time should provide for the basic necessities needed to survive! Those who work in higher paying fields will still have more than those who couldn't or wouldn't go further in their education. They're entitlement to bigger and better things is not hindered in putting into place a system that supplies everybody with basic human needs.

I believe we can make that happen - someday...probably long after my grand children are dead!

A world where an artist never starves, even if they aren't recognized until they pass away to whatever's next. A world where a musician is able to play his music and still have a place, a home. A world where that guy whose IQ gives him enough to function in society at that job, "a fliiping monkey could do', but could never go on to further education and more complex tasks, and a society that doesn't look down upon him - but embraces him for doing at the least what he is able to do!

I don't know, call me a dreamer. Yes, the world needs realist, but they need dreamers too.

Cirque

reply to post by onequestion

That rigid OLD mentality is out. Stop thinking your better then anyone.

You're 28. That's not your fault. You'll get over it.

I didn't say I'm better than anyone. I don't judge a person by the amount of money they earn.

These are low paying jobs for a reason. They were never designed to be a career. The were never meant to support a family.

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by filledcup

 

the company could easily.. allocate an extra million or two to salaries for the following year. and if they make another 120 mill in that year or more, they can then allocate another 2 million out of that in salaries.

Neat. With about 1.8 million employees that means each one gets about a buck.

those were just examples. maybe we need to look at the actual figures mcdonalds makes vs it's number of employees and see what we come up with. how much exactly are these super large corporations making? and i really mean this for across the board. not just the burger flippers, everyone everywhere in every sector where companies come out with large gains.

in addition to flipping burger the worker now has to also sweep the floor, wipe the counter 12 times a day instead of 6

Aw shucks. You mean they have to do their job.
www.mcstate.com...

loses his insurance plan

Huh?

again just examples.. but u get the picture. employees workload increases over time. when a staff member stays home etc someone else has to cover the slack.

and the price of everything around him raises. but his salary stays the same

Really? You seem to know a lot about the employee review and promotion policies.

i know that not all companies use the same policies. ive written policies myself for companies. but here's an example. i work a specialized role in IT. i just helped my boss secure a $400,000 deal. and it's so sweet he's getting about $150,000 of that in clear profit. how much of that money do you think im going to see? i did all the work. i did the research, i did the testing, i trained myself on the technology, i got it dog cheap from the supplier and then i trained my boss on understanding how it works and how to sell it in the demo.

and part of that payment comes from the sweat off the backs of the burger flippers who didnt get a raise.

How do you know they don't get raises?

well because theyre all up in the streets protesting about it. it seems the only time anyone ever gets a raise.

I avoid McDonald's burgers every chance I get but not because I think they crew members aren't being paid enough.

edit on 8/30/2013 by Phage because: (no reason given)

well i certainly avoid businesses that use immoral business practices. like i said before.. it translates.. u go to places to eat with disgruntled staff and you're not sure what ur eating. u really need to make sure the people that prepare your food are happy. trust me on that one. never piss off the chef.

reply to post by CirqueDeTruth

I simply believe that minimum wage at full time should provide for the basic necessities needed to survive!

I don't think that anyone should be working in a burger joint to survive. That doesn't mean they should be paid more so they can.

A world where an artist never starves, even if they aren't recognized until they pass away to whatever's next. A world where a musician is able to play his music and still have a place, a home. A world where that guy whose IQ gives him enough to function in society at that job, "a fliiping monkey could do', but could never go on to further education and more complex tasks, and a society that doesn't look down upon him - but embraces him for doing at the least what he is able to do!

You mean, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."
Looks good on paper. Doesn't really accomplish much but it sure sounds groovy.

I don't know, call me a dreamer. Yes, the world needs realist, but they need dreamers too.

You and Karl.

reply to post by Phage


Well I don't identify well with some of Marx's idealism. If I identify with anyone who falls near anywhere where I do on the political model (left moderate libertarian) it would be Ghandi. I identify more with his philosophical teachings than Marx.

Cirque

reply to post by filledcup

and it's so sweet he's getting about $150,000 of that in clear profit. how much of that money do you think im going to see? i did all the work. i did the research, i did the testing, i trained myself on the technology, i got it dog cheap from the supplier and then i trained my boss on understanding how it works and how to sell it in the demo.

Sounds like you don't need him. Start your own business. One deal like that a year wouldn't be bad. Oh wait, you say you get paid even if you don't make a deal?

well because theyre all up in the streets protesting about it. it seems the only time anyone ever gets a raise.

No. What they are protesting is that they aren't getting $15/hr.

u really need to make sure the people that prepare your food are happy.

Right. Blackmail. Give us what we want or we'll spit on the food. See, that's what supervisors are for. That's why they get the big bucks.