NationStates

Christian Democrats wrote:

Ifreann wrote:So you're backing off your assertion that wages reflect importance. Good. Do you have some other reasons behind your ideas about how much fast food workers should be paid?

Pay reflects a lot of things; and, in the private sector, the importance people place on certain occupations helps determine the pay. The demand for fast food workers is low because the job of being a fast food worker is relatively unimportant compared to other occupations.

On a related note, I would like to see the national minimum wage for all workers raised to $7.50.

$7.50 x 40 hours = $300 per week
$300 x 52 weeks = $15,600 per year

2013 Poverty Line -- $15,510 for a two-person household

I think every full-time worker should make enough money to meet the basic needs of himself and at least one other person.

A starting wage of $7.50 seems reasonable for fast food workers in most parts of the country.

Alien Space Bats wrote:I mean, what do 20-something stockbrokers or freshly minted law associates make?

Beyond that, though, remember that the median age for fast food workers is 28.

Mathematically, that means that 50% of all fast food workers are 28 years old or more.

That is what SEIU is claiming.

Organizers of the movement say the average age of a fast-food worker is 28. And two-thirds of all fast-food workers are women, with a median age of 32.

But the National Restaurant Association counters with different statistics. That group says only 5% of restaurant employees make the federal minimum wage, and that 95% earn more than $7.25 an hour.

"The majority of minimum-wage workers in the U.S. are employed in industries other than restaurants," the association said in a statement. "Less than one-third of the minimum wage workers are part of the restaurant industry."

The association also added that the average household income of restaurant employees that earn the federal minimum wage is $62,507.

"More than three-quarters of those earning the starting wage in the restaurant industry are part-time employees, 7 in 10 are under the age of 25, and nearly half are teenagers," the association said.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/fast-food-workers-walk-off-job-as-part-of-wage-movement-b9966000z1-217921821.html

Elsewhere, I saw the statistic is 47 percent teenagers.

The 28-year-olds working for fast food restaurants are not making the minimum wage.

The people making $7.25 per hour are mostly in their teens or early 20s. It is called the starting wage for a reason.

A starting wage of $15 per hour makes no sense whatsoever. We are talking about a 21-year-old Mcworker.

As I said earlier, $10 is the highest demand that I would have considered reasonable. This $15 demand is a joke. If I were the employer, I would not even negotiate with people making such absurd demands.

Christian Democrats wrote:

Ifreann wrote:So you're backing off your assertion that wages reflect importance. Good. Do you have some other reasons behind your ideas about how much fast food workers should be paid?

Pay reflects a lot of things; and, in the private sector, the importance people place on certain occupations helps determine the pay. The demand for fast food workers is low because the job of being a fast food worker is relatively unimportant compared to other occupations.

Ifreann wrote:

Christian Democrats wrote:Pay reflects a lot of things; and, in the private sector, the importance people place on certain occupations helps determine the pay. The demand for fast food workers is low because the job of being a fast food worker is relatively unimportant compared to other occupations.

Obviously its not unimportant to fast food restaurants. In fact they're quite vital.

Geilinor wrote:

Ifreann wrote:Obviously its not unimportant to fast food restaurants. In fact they're quite vital.

I agree. Fast food is important because people make it so. It's a $150 billion industry. http://ourlife.org.uk/silo/files/takeaways-factsheet.pdf To say that fast food workers don't matter is ridiculous.

Frisivisia wrote:Working 40 hours a week, every week, no vacation, for just above poverty is horrible.

Christian Democrats wrote:

Frisivisia wrote:Working 40 hours a week, every week, no vacation, for just above poverty is horrible.

I believe in paid vacation.

I agree it's horrible, which is why it is the MINIMUM.

If you're single, you would be making 36 percent more than what you need to survive at $7.50 per hour (what I believe the minimum wage should be). "[The] average household income [right now] of restaurant employees that earn the federal minimum wage [of $7.25 per hour] is $62,507," above the national average household income of $52,762 per year.

Why does a middle-class kid living with his parents need a starting wage of $15?

$62,507 = 62nd percentile of income (more wealthy than average)

Frisivisia wrote:

Christian Democrats wrote:I believe in paid vacation.

I agree it's horrible, which is why it is the MINIMUM.

If you're single, you would be making 36 percent more than what you need to survive at $7.50 per hour (what I believe the minimum wage should be). "[The] average household income [right now] of restaurant employees that earn the federal minimum wage [of $7.25 per hour] is $62,507," above the national average household income of $52,762 per year.

Why does a middle-class kid living with his parents need a starting wage of $15?

$62,507 = 62nd percentile of income (more wealthy than average)

He doesn't. The mother working 40 hours a week for her kids does.

Ifreann wrote:

Marcurix wrote:$15 an hour is a bit much for a fast food job.

You have been failed by those who should have educated you.

Marcurix wrote:

Ifreann wrote:You have been failed by those who should have educated you.

Er, no not really. Even if they're high balling it for negotiation sake its still a relatively absurd number for unskilled labour asking for such a wage increase.

Marcurix wrote:

Ifreann wrote:You have been failed by those who should have educated you.

Er, no not really. Even if they're high balling it for negotiation sake its still a relatively absurd number for unskilled labour asking for such a wage increase.

Marcurix wrote:

Ifreann wrote:You have been failed by those who should have educated you.

Er, no not really. Even if they're high balling it for negotiation sake its still a relatively absurd number for unskilled labour asking for such a wage increase.

Des-Bal wrote:If your job cannot support your lifestyle you need a new job or a new lifestyle. Don't have children if you make minimum wage.

Des-Bal wrote:If your job cannot support your lifestyle you need a new job or a new lifestyle. Don't have children if you make minimum wage.

Gauthier wrote:
Ah yes, the tired old "there's plenty of high paying jobs out there" cliche compounded with the "working poor havin' behbies fer shitz and giggles" stereotype.

Des-Bal wrote:

Gauthier wrote:
Ah yes, the tired old "there's plenty of high paying jobs out there" cliche compounded with the "working poor havin' behbies fer shitz and giggles" stereotype.

No such thing. You can survive on minimum wage, the complaint is that you can't support a family like that. That's a very good reason not to have a family.

Divair wrote:What if you already have one?

Frisivisia wrote:Working 40 hours a week, every week, no vacation, for just above poverty is horrible.

Des-Bal wrote:

Divair wrote:What if you already have one?

This is for the individual who had a high paying job and decided to have children only to lose that high paying job and start working in fast food? Then you have found yourself in an unfortunate situation and should try very hard to find another high paying job.

Divair wrote:And if they don't find one because the economy went to shit, then what?

Saiwania wrote:

Frisivisia wrote:Working 40 hours a week, every week, no vacation, for just above poverty is horrible.

Sometimes that is just how life is though, these days you are lucky to have a job.

Des-Bal wrote:Reduce your standard of living to the bare essentials, sell things, move into a cheaper house, pick up a second job, put your children to work, if the situation requires it relocate and just generally buckle down until things turn around.