Fast Food Workers Stage Strike, Demand Higher Minimal Wage.

[Las Tierras Verdes]

Yes! How dare they want to have enough money to pay this month's rent and eat at the same time! They should be fired for their arrogance!

Demanding your wage doubled is fucking outrageous behavior.

*sigh*

[Mike the Progressive]

$15 per hour is too high for a fast food worker

$15 x 40 hours = $600 per week
$600 x 52 weeks = $31,200 per year

All people -- $31,200 = 39th percentile of income
Singles -- $31,200 = 69th percentile of income

And how exactly is that too high for a fast food worker?

It's not. It's just that's how much I got paid when I was a computer technician, which means you'll have to pay them more. And that means as a network administrator, I'll get paid more. Which would be sweet, except the price of goods on everything would go up, so nothing would really change?

[Imperializt Russia]

Find me a source saying that undergraduates in education never go into low-paid service work, such as fast food restaurants.
Because that's the opposite of my inference.

You did see the part where I said "make it to college, but get a liberal arts degree" right?

Yep.
But that's not what he said.

[Ifreann]

$15 per hour is too high for a fast food worker

$15 x 40 hours = $600 per week
$600 x 52 weeks = $31,200 per year

All people -- $31,200 = 39th percentile of income
Singles -- $31,200 = 69th percentile of income

I doubt they actually think they'll get $15. It's probably just a starting point.

As people have been pointing out for the whole damn thread, but apparently the concept of starting high and negotiating down to what you actually want is incredibly obscure and difficult to comprehend.

[Vetalia]

More than anything, it would incentivize automating as much of the process as possible; by doing so, you'd accelerate the tax benefits of those costs via capital expenditures and save considerable amounts down the line by having lower labor costs. I mean, if a franchise can afford to double labor costs while still remaining in operation then it can certainly afford to invest in ways to replace its workforce...if anything, the main reason why it is so labor intensive right now is because the cost of labor is cheaper than the alternative. Take away that advantage and away go the jobs.

[Christian Democrats]

$15 per hour is too high for a fast food worker

$15 x 40 hours = $600 per week
$600 x 52 weeks = $31,200 per year

All people -- $31,200 = 39th percentile of income
Singles -- $31,200 = 69th percentile of income

And how exactly is that too high for a fast food worker?

I don't think fast food work is more important than two-fifths of the jobs in America; and I do not see why a 20-something-year-old Mcworker, unmarried, would need to be making more than almost 70 percent of his or her peers.

[Ceannairceach]

And how exactly is that too high for a fast food worker?

I don't think fast food work is more important than two-fifths of the jobs in America; and I do not see why a 20-something-year-old Mcworker, unmarried, would need to be making more than almost 70 percent of his or her peers.

If you read the thread at all, you'd understand that this is a starting demand to be whittled down in negotiations.

[Vetalia]

If you read the thread at all, you'd understand that this is a starting demand to be whittled down in negotiations.

I think it's going to be whittled down to minimum wage once the negotiations are done.

[Ceannairceach]

If you read the thread at all, you'd understand that this is a starting demand to be whittled down in negotiations.

I think it's going to be whittled down to minimum wage once the negotiations are done.

Possibly, with benefits here and there to appease the masses. But its equally possible that they might get the small raise they likely want for real.

[Mike the Progressive]

Sadly, you're probably right. The current economic climate is against those without higher education; Sadly, this means that those with limited education will not get the greatest of jobs.

That, of course, doesn't mean that they don't deserve a fair shake.

I'm trying to join the Army right now to get out of my financial situation but because I was diagnosed as ADHD when I was little (me and every other kid) I have to get a cleared of needing medication.
My mother has been doing her best to stonewall my efforts though.

Hey, I hear you.

Though I'm actually planning on joining the Air Guard when I'm done with graduate school. Or taking some time off, so I can join, do basic training, AIT, etc. Interestingly enough, my state's air guard has a cyber unit. Not sure if I want to go into IT. But it can't hurt if my plans in politics fizzles up.

I tried enlisting for combat duty when I turned 18. Got rejected because I was born with something called strabismus in my left eye, had surgery as a kid, but it actually made the visual acuity worse (20/200). Got it down to 20/60, but still. But some friendly advice? Don't mention anything medically wrong with you. Seriously. They say you can get in trouble, but you can't if you play stupid. If they find something wrong, just say you had no idea or you didn't understand. Don't tell them anything about your medical history. Tell them you've never taken drugs (except smoke and alcohol if you do/did either one). Don't tell them your primary doctor, or health insurance (most young guys don't have either one).

Because especially with mental health, they are more likely to reject you unless you have something great going (a perfect ASVAB score, a college degree, you have Good Will Hunting/Matt Damon like mathematical skills, etc.).

There's an article that tells you detail by detail about all of this. I'll have to find it.

And if you get in. Take advantage of the stuff the army offers. Go to college as soon as you can and if possible, see if you can apply for OCS. If you don't want to serve that long still join the reserves/national guard. It's an extra $300-500 bucks a month for only going out once a month, and two weeks a year.

[Lemanrussland]

I don't think asking for the company to practically double their labor expenses is really reasonable. I really dislike the collective bargaining model, as it exists in the US today. It's far too confrontational (the constant Union-busting attempts don't help either, for the record).

We would be better off moving to a model where employers' unions and worker unions work more closely with one another, like in Germany or the Nordic countries. There, the worker unions have representatives on the company boards, and thus can get a realistic picture of the financial state of the company. Union membership also needs to increase, right now I don't think they're really representative of most of the workers, seeing as only around 11 percent of workers in the US are unionized.

[Vetalia]

Possibly, with benefits here and there to appease the masses. But its equally possible that they might get the small raise they likely want for real.

I think they'd have to win that right to unionize to really get anywhere, otherwise it's unlikely.

[Christian Democrats]

I don't think fast food work is more important than two-fifths of the jobs in America; and I do not see why a 20-something-year-old Mcworker, unmarried, would need to be making more than almost 70 percent of his or her peers.

If you read the thread at all, you'd understand that this is a starting demand to be whittled down in negotiations.

That much is obvious, but the demand is too radical. At most, they should have requested a $10 minimum wage. By demanding a $15 starting wage, they make their entire cause seem laughable. How can anyone take them seriously after they have demanded $15?

[Genivaria]

I'm trying to join the Army right now to get out of my financial situation but because I was diagnosed as ADHD when I was little (me and every other kid) I have to get a cleared of needing medication.
My mother has been doing her best to stonewall my efforts though.

Hey, I hear you.

Though I'm actually planning on joining the Air Guard when I'm done with graduate school. Or taking some time off, so I can join, do basic training, AIT, etc. Interestingly enough, my state's air guard has a cyber unit. Not sure if I want to go into IT. But it can't hurt if my plans in politics fizzles up.

I tried enlisting for combat duty when I turned 18. Got rejected because I was born with something called strabismus in my left eye, had surgery as a kid, but it actually made the visual acuity worse (20/200). Got it down to 20/60, but still. But some friendly advice? Don't mention anything medically wrong with you. Seriously. They say you can get in trouble, but you can't if you play stupid. If they find something wrong, just say you had no idea or you didn't understand. Don't tell them anything about your medical history. Tell them you've never taken drugs (except smoke and alcohol if you do/did either one). Don't tell them your primary doctor, or health insurance (most young guys don't have either one).

Because especially with mental health, they are more likely to reject you unless you have something great going (a perfect ASVAB score, a college degree, you have Good Will Hunting/Matt Damon like mathematical skills, etc.).

There's an article that tells you detail by detail about all of this. I'll have to find it.

And if you get in. Take advantage of the stuff the army offers. Go to college as soon as you can and if possible, see if you can apply for OCS. If you don't want to serve that long still join the reserves/national guard. It's an extra $300-500 bucks a month for only going out once a month, and two weeks a year.

Funny thing, my recruiter specifically laid out 'don't talk about it' as an option.
I don't know if I want to risk getting dishonorably discharged though, the stigma of that is not something I want.

[Mike the Progressive]

Hey, I hear you.

Though I'm actually planning on joining the Air Guard when I'm done with graduate school. Or taking some time off, so I can join, do basic training, AIT, etc. Interestingly enough, my state's air guard has a cyber unit. Not sure if I want to go into IT. But it can't hurt if my plans in politics fizzles up.

I tried enlisting for combat duty when I turned 18. Got rejected because I was born with something called strabismus in my left eye, had surgery as a kid, but it actually made the visual acuity worse (20/200). Got it down to 20/60, but still. But some friendly advice? Don't mention anything medically wrong with you. Seriously. They say you can get in trouble, but you can't if you play stupid. If they find something wrong, just say you had no idea or you didn't understand. Don't tell them anything about your medical history. Tell them you've never taken drugs (except smoke and alcohol if you do/did either one). Don't tell them your primary doctor, or health insurance (most young guys don't have either one).

Because especially with mental health, they are more likely to reject you unless you have something great going (a perfect ASVAB score, a college degree, you have Good Will Hunting/Matt Damon like mathematical skills, etc.).

There's an article that tells you detail by detail about all of this. I'll have to find it.

And if you get in. Take advantage of the stuff the army offers. Go to college as soon as you can and if possible, see if you can apply for OCS. If you don't want to serve that long still join the reserves/national guard. It's an extra $300-500 bucks a month for only going out once a month, and two weeks a year.

Funny thing, my recruiter specifically laid out 'don't talk about it' as an option.
I don't know if I want to risk getting dishonorably discharged though, the stigma of that is not something I want.

So here's the thing.

Say you don't tell them anything. A few years down the road, you start having problems. You go see an army doctor (or whatever military doctor/doctor who accepts Tricare), he/she diagnoses you with ADHD. Um, you can't really help it if you got this while in the army *wink wink cough cough* If they ask you if you have a history of it, say you had a hard time focusing as a kid, but what kid hasn't? You never knew about it.

And they can't just access your private/pre-military medical history whenever they want.

[Vetalia]

I don't think asking for the company to practically double their labor expenses is really reasonable. I really dislike the collective bargaining model, as it exists in the US today. It's far too confrontational (the constant Union-busting attempts don't help either, for the record).

We would be better off moving to a model where employers' unions and worker unions work more closely with one another, like in Germany or the Nordic countries. There, the worker unions have representatives on the company boards, and thus can get a realistic picture of the financial state of the company. Union membership also needs to increase, right now I don't think they're really representative of most of the workers, seeing as only around 11 percent of workers in the US are unionized.

That's a good point, I think having the employees' union well-acquainted with financial information regarding the company's performance is essential; that way, they can be informed about their demands and avoid making ones that put the company under undue pressure or even total failure, e.g. like what happened with Chrysler and GM. On the other hand, it would also give workers more power to promote (or resist) changes in company operations through their presence on the Company's board, another key component of preventing business failure by having more influence to remove ineffective or poorly performing CEOs and other top officers.

For example, if you hear that Wal-Mart had $16 billion of net income in 2012 it sounds like they're making a fortune and can easily afford to pay workers more. However, if you look at the data more closely you find that that income is a razor-thin margin of only 3.5% on $446 billion of sales; even a 10% increase in SGA costs would eliminate roughly half of that net income and 20% would eliminate it entirely producing a loss*.

*Technically it would be somewhat higher than this, probably 13-26%, but I didn't go into the tax effects of higher costs, which would offset some of the increase in labor costs.

[Genivaria]

Funny thing, my recruiter specifically laid out 'don't talk about it' as an option.
I don't know if I want to risk getting dishonorably discharged though, the stigma of that is not something I want.

So here's the thing.

Say you don't tell them anything. A few years down the road, you start having problems. You go see an army doctor (or whatever military doctor/doctor who accepts Tricare), he/she diagnoses you with ADHD. Um, you can't really help it if you got this while in the army *wink wink cough cough* If they ask you if you have a history of it, say you had a hard time focusing as a kid, but what kid hasn't? You never knew about it.

And they can't just access your private/pre-military medical history whenever they want.

Well the problem is that I don't want the 4 year Guard deal that my sister did.
I want full active duty and maybe make a career out of it, that's a long time to watch what I say.

[Salandriagado]

"Meant for"? Who "meant" them to be that way? God? Was that decided on the 8th day, or the 9th?

I don't think the fast food industry cares; they only want a laborer and nothing more. So who's sense of moral outrage is being stoked by parents with children working fast food? Whose sense of moral proprienty determines which jobs are "meant for" teens, which jobs are "meant for" women, which jobs are "meant for" men, which jobs are "meant for" immigrants, and so forth?

Yours?

Look this is not hard to grasp not every job is designed to be a career, if you choose to attempt to make it a career you bear the risk of crappy wages.
It is a lower tier service industry gig, you use it to get experience and apply to better service industry jobs.

If you do not have the initiative to apply for better work or to get better work it is time to look for work in a different field.

And for the second time in this thread, I'm going to have to bring up the cousin who has worked for Mcdonalds for 20 years and now earns more than I do.

[Aequalitia]

$15 per hour is too high for a fast food worker

$15 x 40 hours = $600 per week
$600 x 52 weeks = $31,200 per year

All people -- $31,200 = 39th percentile of income
Singles -- $31,200 = 69th percentile of income

And how exactly is that too high for a fast food worker?

And why I earn much less then that people who ask 15 dollars per hour for making and deliver some fast-food to people? My work is more physical heavy then there job and I earn only a few hundred euros.

[Ifreann]

And how exactly is that too high for a fast food worker?

I don't think fast food work is more important than two-fifths of the jobs in America;

Do you think Beyonce and Jay Z are more important than Obama? How much money one earns does not reflect how important one is.

and I do not see why a 20-something-year-old Mcworker, unmarried, would need to be making more than almost 70 percent of his or her peers.

Need? No one needs more than the cost of a roof over your head and food on the table. Plenty of people get more than that, because that's how capitalism and employment work.

[Mike the Progressive]

So here's the thing.

Say you don't tell them anything. A few years down the road, you start having problems. You go see an army doctor (or whatever military doctor/doctor who accepts Tricare), he/she diagnoses you with ADHD. Um, you can't really help it if you got this while in the army *wink wink cough cough* If they ask you if you have a history of it, say you had a hard time focusing as a kid, but what kid hasn't? You never knew about it.

And they can't just access your private/pre-military medical history whenever they want.

Well the problem is that I don't want the 4 year Guard deal that my sister did.
I want full active duty and maybe make a career out of it, that's a long time to watch what I say.

You've always got to watch what you say anyway. But if you want to make a career out of it, I think you can do it. You just have to be careful with how liberal you are with the truth...but that's always the case.

[Genivaria]

Well the problem is that I don't want the 4 year Guard deal that my sister did.
I want full active duty and maybe make a career out of it, that's a long time to watch what I say.

You've always got to watch what you say anyway. But if you want to make a career out of it, I think you can do it. You just have to be careful with how liberal you are with the truth...but that's always the case.

Good point. Still though I'd planned to leave that as plan B and try my best to get the medical stuff out of the way first.

[Aequalitia]

I don't think fast food work is more important than two-fifths of the jobs in America;

Do you think Beyonce and Jay Z are more important than Obama? How much money one earns does not reflect how important one is.

and I do not see why a 20-something-year-old Mcworker, unmarried, would need to be making more than almost 70 percent of his or her peers.

Need? No one needs more than the cost of a roof over your head and food on the table. Plenty of people get more than that, because that's how capitalism and employment work.

Plenty of people get less then them already now, you known?

[Ifreann]

Do you think Beyonce and Jay Z are more important than Obama? How much money one earns does not reflect how important one is.

Need? No one needs more than the cost of a roof over your head and food on the table. Plenty of people get more than that, because that's how capitalism and employment work.

Plenty of people get less then them already now, you known?

Yes, that is unfortunately true. What's your point?

[Zottistan]

They demand $15.

They expect to get $9-$12.

That's how these things work.