The answer to $15.00 Hour fast food restaurant wages

[CdnCarrie]

I haven't seen picketing or posts here that start off with "firefighters, medics, and police should be paid a living wage." THATS why people bring it up. Because I could give a hoot about FF workers getting $15/hr when these people are making less.

It just never crossed my mind to picket or post that as up here those professions make $50,000-$100,000+ along with good benefits and pensions. Which they should and I totally get.

I never realized there were people in these professions in the U.S. making so little.

 

[Mom of a great kid]

Not everyone has the resources or ability to follow your mapped out path. I don't think anybody who risks their job and possibly arrest to try to improve their rights, wages, and working conditions is lazy. We are talking about fast food workers right now because of people who want to be treated better organized events nation wide to bring attention to their cause.
United we bargain.
Divided we beg.

Yes!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I disagree

I have plenty of friends who've done both - and none of THEM disagree with me.

The guy who built your house had a harder day.
The guy at the steel mill had a harder day.
The guy who installed the windshield on your car at the factory did NOT have a harder day.

 

[declansdad]

Establishing a minimum wage is supposed to ensure that all workers are making enough money to live on, given the cost of living.

It is still an artificial price. The cost of labour is a major factor in the final price of a good, if the cost of labour increases it has to be factored into the price of the good. You would have two choices - increase your price or reduce your labour costs. Reducing your labour costs mean you let people go or stop hiring.

You also need to look at the relative value of that position to the company. If the minimum wage is set at $15 you would need to adjust all wages up to maintain the value in your pay scales.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Where do you live where you can even find a one bedroom apartment for $800 a month? Never mind $550. $15 an hour is 31,000. That's pretty low, I can't imagine living in half that.

You can find these rental prices in most of the state of Michigan, and probably much of the midwest (outside of the Chicago area) and I'm guessing pretty much the majority of the south (North Carolina for sure....but I'm guessing on the rest).

And in my area, where the cost of living is ridiculous, my MIL rented an apartment for several years (just moved last year into SIL's house) for $995/mo for a two bedroom.

It can be done, my friend. Not in Seattle like a PP said, but in many, many parts of the USA, which is what we are talking about here. FEDERAL min wage being $15.00/hour. About 95% of American has a lower cost of living than Seattle, New York, or Sol Cal. At the VERY least, the min wage hike should be decided at a local, or even a state, level.

We all have to remember to compare apples to apples when discussing these types of things.

 

[Colleen27]

They should demand to get paid more? I don't think so. You say you have no problem with any worker trying to make a better living but demanding being paid more is definitely not trying to make a better living. Trying to make a better living would be doing what you can to get out of your minimum wage job, get an education, get skills so that you can make a better living. Demanding it is the easy, lazy way and I don't support that at all.

You propose an individual solution to a systemic problem. One person can better him/herself educationally and move up. But that still leaves millions down below. We need far more burger flippers and retail clerks and, yes, EMTs than we need lawyers or CEOs. If we want an economy that works for everyone, we need to restore our cultural respect for an honest day's work and start making changes so that people who are willing and able to go to work each and every day have the dignity of a wage they can live on. It isn't just an economic issue; it is also a cultural one. We are a terribly disrespectful culture. We have no problem looking down on the people who make our everyday lives easier as inferior and unworthy, even as we benefit from their work. And that, as much as the specific wage paid at the bottom of the scale, needs to change.

 

[BigAlsGal]

That's always the prediction but if you look at local jurisdictions that have higher minimums it hasn't played out in practice. The multiplier effect of the additional wages flowing back into the economy as consumer spending more than compensates for the higher costs businesses pay for labor.

I guess if you are Walmart that would be great! I have limited ability to make money being in the service industry. My only option is to raise prices.

 

[Mom of a great kid]

It is still an artificial price. The cost of labour is a major factor in the final price of a good, if the cost of labour increases it has to be factored into the price of the good. You would have two choices - increase your price or reduce your labour costs. Reducing your labour costs mean you let people go or stop hiring.

You also need to look at the relative value of that position to the company. If the minimum wage is set at $15 you would need to adjust all wages up to maintain the value in your pay scales.

You do not have to increase your price or reduce your labor costs. You reduce your profit.

Also, as a previous poster pointed out, even if the price of the product increased (again, only if the market will permit it) them it will go up only slightly. Perhaps ten to twenty-five cents per unit. A poor excuse for not paying a living wage.

 

[Hikergirl]

You propose an individual solution to a systemic problem. One person can better him/herself educationally and move up. But that still leaves millions down below. We need far more burger flippers and retail clerks and, yes, EMTs than we need lawyers or CEOs. If we want an economy that works for everyone, we need to restore our cultural respect for an honest day's work and start making changes so that people who are willing and able to go to work each and every day have the dignity of a wage they can live on. It isn't just an economic issue; it is also a cultural one. We are a terribly disrespectful culture. We have no problem looking down on the people who make our everyday lives easier as inferior and unworthy, even as we benefit from their work. And that, as much as the specific wage paid at the bottom of the scale, needs to change.

Well if all the individuals that are willing to demand a higher wage were willing to get skilled and educated then it would be a systematic solution to that systematic problem.
Those people will move up the ladder, or move to other companies in better positions and others will take their place and do the same. Minimum wage has been around since what 1940 something, that is how it worked in the past but not now, and you are right its a cultural problem. We have a culture of people who want the easy way out, demand more from their employers, the gov't or whoever without being willing to do more for it.
I respect anyone who works hard at their job, takes pride in their job, whether they are cleaning the floors in the supermarket or inventing some new technology. What I don't respect is people demanding to be paid more for a job that requires little skill instead of doing something for themselves that gives them more skills or education so they can earn more. That is the culture I was raised in, and that is the culture I have raised my kids in.

There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs. Its not always easy, but it can always be done by those who are truly willing to do it.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

While on some aspects I would agree that fast food is an entry level job, having done this type of work for my 25 years in the workforce, while raising my kids and going to school part time, nothing infuriates me more than when people act like it's an easy job.... Working with the public and 1000's of entitled ***holes, it is far from easy. The pressure from owners and upper management to produce more with fewer people, and then do it with a smile as the jerk on the other side treats you like you are trash, or less than a human being for making a mistake-it's ridiculous. Everyone makes mistakes every day, the people on the side of that counter are not robots, they are human beings, and no matter what kind of job they are doing, even when they make a mistake, they should be treated with respect. Until you have donned that apron and worked in their shoes, to really see that it's harder than u might think, be kind, be kind to everyone around you, you have no idea what they are going through.
But I do agree that no way should a fast food employee earn$15.00/hour as a general employee.

Have a good day, sorry for the rant

Everyone's job is hard. Everyone has to deal with rude people in their jobs. Everyone is under pressure and on deadlines. Everyone's boss wants them to do more with less. That's called working. It isn't fun. Pay goes up the less desireable or more specialized your job is. Neurosurgeons make a lot of money because not a lot of people are willing to go to school long enough/have the mental capacityand nerves of steel to perform operations on human brains. Neurosurgeons are highly respected by most and make a ton of money, because they have very high pressure jobs. People literally die if they don't do their job well. Yet neurosurgoens still get yelled at, talked down to by patients who are educated by Dr. Google. Nuerosurgeons get fired if their customer service scores arent high enough, because medicare bases part of its reimbursement rate on patient sarisfaction scores. Neurosurgeons spend long, long days on their feet in surgery. They are in the OR for long 8 hour surgeries, no food, no bathroom break. They literally bring people back who had one foot in the grave, yet when that patient comes to they get an earful because they patient wants more meds, wants to eat, wants to smoke, wah wah wah. And they deal with it because they are mature adults who realize everyone has to put up with B.S. at their jobs.

Fast food workers are paid very little because anyone can do it. If you overcook the burger nobody dies. There are not years of education required. Nobody can sue if you only give them 2 ketchup packets instead of the 3 they asked for. It isn't a snobbery thing or a looking down on people thing, it is fact. So talk up your job all you want, but we all have things that are tough in our careers, and I'm never going to sympathize with the plight of the fast food workers because frankly it all sounds very whiney to me. If the nuerosurgeon isn't too good to deal with hateful people, high pressure situations, and demanding bosses, neither are the fast food workers. Sometimes you just gotta put on your big boy/girl pants and do your job and forge a better path.

 

[LisaR]

After reading through this thread I couldn't help but think of DH's niece years ago. We were having a get together and her snotty 16 year old self was sitting there when someone had the nerve to ask her how she was. She gave a ten minute rant on how terrible her life was because she had the "hardest job in the world." She worked at McDonald's. Half of us were cracking up and the other half wanted to smack her upside the head. She grew up to be an even worse adult. She's a teacher now. I bet that's a little more difficult than her FF job.

I support more pay for firefighters, EMT, police, military, etc but not for fast food workers. I think that's a perfect first job for kids. It isn't a job that was designed to support a family. If they don't want to do something else with their life after a few years working there then they need to work hard and become a manager.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Everyone's job is hard. Everyone has to deal with rude people in their jobs. Everyone is under pressure and on deadlines. Everyone's boss wants them to do more with less. That's called working. It isn't fun. Pay goes up the less desireable or more specialized your job is. Neurosurgeons make a lot of money because not a lot of people are willing to go to school long enough/have the mental capacityand nerves of steel to perform operations on human brains. Neurosurgeons are highly respected by most and make a ton of money, because they have very high pressure jobs. People literally die if they don't do their job well. Yet neurosurgoens still get yelled at, talked down to by patients who are educated by Dr. Google. Nuerosurgeons get fired if their customer service scores arent high enough, because medicare bases part of its reimbursement rate on patient sarisfaction scores. Neurosurgeons spend long, long days on their feet in surgery. They are in the OR for long 8 hour surgeries, no food, no bathroom break. They literally bring people back who had one foot in the grave, yet when that patient comes to they get an earful because they patient wants more meds, wants to eat, wants to smoke, wah wah wah. And they deal with it because they are mature adults who realize everyone has to put up with B.S. at their jobs.

Fast food workers are paid very little because anyone can do it. If you overcook the burger nobody dies. There are not years of education required. Nobody can sue if you only give them 2 ketchup packets instead of the 3 they asked for. It isn't a snobbery thing or a looking down on people thing, it is fact. So talk up your job all you want, but we all have things that are tough in our careers, and I'm never going to sympathize with the plight of the fast food workers because frankly it all sounds very whiney to me. If the nuerosurgeon isn't too good to deal with hateful people, high pressure situations, and demanding bosses, neither are the fast food workers. Sometimes you just gotta put on your big boy/girl pants and do your job and forge a better path.

This post has a very nasty tone and it's uncalled for.

 

[longboard55]

Just to keep things in perspective, every modern country is above us, australia is about double.

 

[kimblebee]

Everyone's job is hard. Everyone has to deal with rude people in their jobs. Everyone is under pressure and on deadlines. Everyone's boss wants them to do more with less. That's called working. It isn't fun. Pay goes up the less desireable or more specialized your job is. Neurosurgeons make a lot of money because not a lot of people are willing to go to school long enough/have the mental capacityand nerves of steel to perform operations on human brains. Neurosurgeons are highly respected by most and make a ton of money, because they have very high pressure jobs. People literally die if they don't do their job well. Yet neurosurgoens still get yelled at, talked down to by patients who are educated by Dr. Google. Nuerosurgeons get fired if their customer service scores arent high enough, because medicare bases part of its reimbursement rate on patient sarisfaction scores. Neurosurgeons spend long, long days on their feet in surgery. They are in the OR for long 8 hour surgeries, no food, no bathroom break. They literally bring people back who had one foot in the grave, yet when that patient comes to they get an earful because they patient wants more meds, wants to eat, wants to smoke, wah wah wah. And they deal with it because they are mature adults who realize everyone has to put up with B.S. at their jobs.

Fast food workers are paid very little because anyone can do it. If you overcook the burger nobody dies. There are not years of education required. Nobody can sue if you only give them 2 ketchup packets instead of the 3 they asked for. It isn't a snobbery thing or a looking down on people thing, it is fact. So talk up your job all you want, but we all have things that are tough in our careers, and I'm never going to sympathize with the plight of the fast food workers because frankly it all sounds very whiney to me. If the nuerosurgeon isn't too good to deal with hateful people, high pressure situations, and demanding bosses, neither are the fast food workers. Sometimes you just gotta put on your big boy/girl pants and do your job and forge a better path.

I'm going to get points for this but you are such a snooooooob. Oh my goodness.

 

[declansdad]

You do not have to increase your price or reduce your labor costs. You reduce your profit.

Also, as a previous poster pointed out, even if the price of the product increased (again, only if the market will permit it) them it will go up only slightly. Perhaps ten to twenty-five cents per unit. A poor excuse for not paying a living wage.

You seem to forget that not all products and services are provided by huge, multi-national companies. While these companies may be able to take a hit to their profit (even though their goal is to maximize profits for their shareholders), the small businesses that make up the vast majority of business may not find that so easy. That profit may be exactly what the owner is depending upon to survive.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

This post has a very nasty tone and it's uncalled for.

I meant nothing nasty, simply pointing out reality.

 

[longboard55]

Walmart slipped and published what it cost to raise everyone to $9 an hour, worked out to .3% of revenue, that is 3 cents on $10

 

[sunshinehighway]

I meant nothing nasty, simply pointing out reality.

It's nasty. That poster read post after post putting down her job and her because of her job. She decided to share, probably to give a different perspective but instead of seeing the human side to the people who do these job, you decided to call her names and go for blood. It's nasty.

 

[Mom of a great kid]

You seem to forget that not all products and services are provided by huge, multi-national companies. While these companies may be able to take a hit to their profit (even though their goal is to maximize profits for their shareholders), the small businesses that make up the vast majority of business may not find that so easy. That profit may be exactly what the owner is depending upon to survive.

And a decent wage is what workers depend on to survive.

 

[Colleen27]

Well if all the individuals that are willing to demand a higher wage were willing to get skilled and educated then it would be a systematic solution to that systematic problem.
Those people will move up the ladder, or move to other companies in better positions and others will take their place and do the same. Minimum wage has been around since what 1940 something, that is how it worked in the past but not now, and you are right its a cultural problem. We have a culture of people who want the easy way out, demand more from their employers, the gov't or whoever without being willing to do more for it.
I respect anyone who works hard at their job, takes pride in their job, whether they are cleaning the floors in the supermarket or inventing some new technology. What I don't respect is people demanding to be paid more for a job that requires little skill instead of doing something for themselves that gives them more skills or education. That is the culture I was raised in, and that is the culture I have raised my kids in.

There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs. Its not always easy, but it can always be done by those who are truly willing to do it.

No, that wouldn't be a systemic solution. Because we'd still need a certain percentage of the workforce in low-wage positions no matter how educated the workforce as a whole is. There simply aren't enough jobs for everyone, or even a significant majority, to move up into. Nor are there enough "teens and retirees", the groups who are always supposed to be happy with minimum wage, to fill those jobs. We've lost too many of the jobs people used to work at long-term (manufacturing and other low-to-mid skill positions that paid a living wage), we've totally divorced the relationship between productivity and compensation that used to drive a more equitable distribution of economic gains, and the minimum wage has fallen far, far behind inflation over the years.

More than 40% of American workers earn less than $15/hr. Think about that. More than 40% of American jobs - about 39 million jobs - pay less than $15/hour. Even if you shift workers around, moving individuals up or down the scale, without a systemic change like a higher minimum wage that percentage is going to stay relatively constant. (Or grow - 6 of the top 10 job categories of sub-$15/hr workers are projected to have faster-than-average job growth).