Fast food workers in more than 100 American cities are on strike this week – demanding the federal minimum wage be more than doubled from its current level of $7.25. They’re also demanding the right to unionize.
Seriously … this is happening. In fact it happened once already this year back in August when more than sixty cities participated.
Sheesh …
This website has made its contempt for organized labor abundantly clear – and we relish that its pernicious influence has been all but purged from the private sector.
But that’s not the real story here …
The real story is the reason behind the strike – that a bunch of bitter (that was Barack Obama’s word, right?) middle aged workers have been forced into fast food positions thanks to the lack of better jobs in our “recovered” economy.
According to a 2013 report from the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), a whopping 36.4 percent of fast food workers are between the ages of 25-54. Meanwhile 30.7 percent are between the ages of 20-24.
Only 30 percent are teenagers.
Seriously … remember those numbers when you hear the next round of “good news” from the U.S. Department of Labor later this week.
Government interventionists (like those at CEPR) believe the growing number of older fast food workers demonstrates the need for an increase in the minimum wage. We disagree … we believe it demonstrates the need for an increase in market freedom and a decrease in government interference in the economy.
Only when government stops trying to run the economy (and stops siphoning off its lifeblood to fund its unsustainable growth) will we solve the root problem of the fast food strike.
Fast food jobs are for pimply faced teenagers looking to raise money for Spring Break … they were never intended to serve as full-time careers. And efforts by government to turn them into such are only going to send fast food prices even further through the roof.
Oh … and if you want our thoughts on the minimum wage, we believe it should be completely abolished.
46 comments
Now if everyone could get someone to pay their bills for them the way SIC does we would all be set!
It’s called “work”.
I know that’s a foreign concept for you being Richie Rich and all.
But the way it works is that someone with money and a desire to buy something you can either make or provide pays you for it, if you do it well enough for what they are willing to pay.
Of course, if you want to live on a commune and see how little work you can do and still have the other memebers/suckers support you, that’s another option.
Fast Food, in this part of the country that concept is lost on all but a few in the industry.
Now for wage increase, not until they can make change without a computer.
Ever try to give them $10.06 for a $6.56 order so you would get $3.50 back and have them freeze up trying to figure out what just happened. That’s why they have the register calculate the change for them. Even with that I had one once goof up inputting the money I gave him and he had to start all over.
More than once after receiving my change I’ve told them “No this goes in your cash register.” and gave them the correct amount, once I received my change plus the $20.00 I gave them to start with.
One evening I had a craving for a Subway sandwich. About 8:30 when I went in I was the only customer. The kid, who was by himself, told me he couldn’t serve me because his “computer” was down.
I asked him if he could compute the sales tax on my order, and he answered “yes”. I said the prices were on the menu board. I asked him if he a pencil and paper, and he said “yes”. Ok, then prepare my order for me, and write down the cost, which he started to do after some more persuasion.
I went across the street to the CVS for a purchase, and broke a $20.00 bill into bills and coins. When I returned my sandwich was ready, and there were three more customers who just came in. I explained the kid’s problem. I paid the exact amount owed, and decided to eat my sandwich there. Several more customers came in, and the kid made them sandwiches.
When I was ready to leave, I complimented him for being helpful to the customers and that his manager would be proud of him. Then I gave him $5.00 in coins to help with change, and told him to keep what was left over after his manger checked him out for the night.
This kid was smiling, and I believe it was because he learned a few things – he kept busy, served his customers (who were patient with him), and could show his manager that he had some initiative.
That young man will not have to worry about working for minimum wage the rest of his life.
yeah, he was probably fired for not calling his boss.
TBG would be happy if he could get the right change and and the correct order *using* the computer.
You expect too much from people that want their wages doubled.
For $15 an hour, they should hire people without attitude that say things like “please, thank you, sir and mam.” Especially if they live is SC.
Most people in this state were brought up to be polite and hospitable. I’d like it to stay that way.
Hell; for $15 an hour, I might try to get a job there.
Genuine courtesy and politeness is good. I absolutely detest that phony “MY PLEASURE, that Chic-Fil-A makes their employees add to every transaction.
Not only do I find it phony, it is demeaning to the employees. Any number of smartass comebacks cross my mind when a female employee who is forced by the company policy responds with “my pleasure”, until it hits me that the voice on the other end may be underage.
Dude – try to eat more fiber. Seriously.
Remember when a certain wireless company who will remain nameless required customer service reps to end each call with “Have I completely satisfied you / your needs today?” That lasted all of 10 days, thankfully.
I think of that unfortunate incident every time I go to CFA!
You are f@ckin dick who probably just has a beef with Chick Fil A over their pro “real” family policy… my advice? leave!… just go to one of those greasy fast food establishments, with their greasy employees, who more often than not, have that genuine rudeness you so admire… seriously, you’ve got a lot more in common with them anyway… you all vote the same.
You’d think they were “workers” who wanted a living wage!
The untouchable caste should know their place – it’s been a part of our culture since child labor. Changing it now would make everyone gay, and create a plague of locusts.. or frogs – no, wait! Hurricanes!
Do we really want the Indian immigrants on H1-visas getting enough money to pay for speech therapy? I think not!
Let’s keep it *real* people! If they really want to pay their rent, they can sell crack.. the good kind like the kids on Harry Hines sell… the kind that sizzles in the stem… with that great aftertaste.. like.. oh… like *vanilla*! Yeah! that’s it!
Affectionately,
Max.
I thought the girl in the foreground might be Irish, with that long, flowing, auburn mane. Wonder where she finds the cash to maintain that “do”?
She’s *black*, man! She’s selling her body to pay for the crack! It’s a weave!
If you gave HER 10 bucks an hour, it would all go to the Mexican cartel!
95% of them have the mentality of seven year olds, the other 5% are dividing their time between exploiting their blackness at the pleasure of the white, Democrat, liberal elite, and stealing anything not nailed down.
That’s exactly why I hate America too!
A typical Republican speaks.
Am I to understand that “Senior Chopped Steak Inverter” is not a strategic career goal?
If you are eating fast food at your age, shame on you.
Sadly these jobs are being performed by adults with familes who need the money. Last time I checked, not everyone is rich. Not everyone is a pimply teen.
Seriously, FITS, these people need the minimum wage raised. Seriously. They seriously need the help. I am being serious.
Seriously..??
Surely, you can’t be serious?
Well played.
Who’s Shirley?
“We have all these low-wage workers who are getting $7.50, $8, or $9 an hour, and because they earn such small wages, the government subsidizes them with billions or tens of billions of dollars of social-welfare spending that comes from the taxpayer. It’s a classic example of businesses privatizing the benefits of their workers while socializing the costs.”
Ron Unz
Yup, what Mickey D’s or Wally World doesn’t pay ’em, we pay ’em.
Dump the subsidies, return the money to taxpayers and then they can afford $20 McCheetoNickers.
Why do that when we can pay $10 for a Big Mac and call it progress?
I think they should get paid what waiters and waitresses get paid… let them work for tips.
Here’s what you get when jackasses up on capitol hill think they know best what the turds of society should be paid by their employers:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-05/fast-food-workers-go-strike-100-cities-applebees-unveils-waiter-terminator
They can pass as many laws as they want, business will always try to find a way around them or simply go out of business, making all of you happy when everyone is a getting a government check with printed up money.
I’m sure it will all work out fine.
Duh!
Raise the minimum wage to $200 an hour and we’ll all be rich!!
Go big or go home!
I would like to put in a word for doing away with all taxes and just deficit spend the entire Federal budget, if deficit spending stimulus makes everything better that would really straighten us out.
Raising wages to this level would shut down many of the fast food restaurants. Come to think of it, that might not be a bad thing.
Raising minimum wages will just cause more unemployment among those who need jobs the worst. Goverment has just about killed the golden goose already, but they are clamoring for that last egg so badly that they thinking choking it just a little harder will produce it.
This is an easy one – raising the minimum wage automatically raises wages for Unions whose contracts are indexed to the minimum wage. Cha-ching.
I was just rereading some of these comments and came up with the conclusion that if your only skill set in life is so that you can only work fast food, maybe minimum wage is too much money for you to have in your pocket.
People better watch out what they wish for. I have seen (google it) a new robot that is being marketed that can run a fast food kitchen by itself. From selecting and slicing a bun to cooking the burger to order to assembling any combination of toppings. Making and serving the fries and everything else with no breaks or sick days needed.
Put a smiling face at the counter and pay them $15 to be nice to the customers.
The only thing they don’t do is pour the drinks. They have something cheaper to do that.
Agree 100%. The mid-level management (i.e., middle class) is already toast, this will kill the low-level / unskilled workers as well.
Ah come on Fits.
Tell us how Howie Rich and all those fat cat “capitalists” you piss in your pants thinking about need a tax cut.
You know so he can “invest” and “create ” jobs, Hahahaha
Well, not everyone can make a living tossing Howie Rich’s salad.
Interesting, just make it an even $20/hr. That should work. There fify.
Th Minimum Wage Crusher!
We don’t need the hamburger makers anymore with the new economical robot hamburger maker from scratch to packaging.. So cool, let them eat oatmeal.
http://wtfrly.com/2014/01/13/meet-smart-restaurant-the-minimum-wage-crushing-burger-flipping-robot/#.UtblwPvAbq0