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ghostrider
Joined: 27 Jun 2011
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 Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 1:48 pm Post subject: US Fast Food Workers Plan to Strike and Want $15/hr Minimum |
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| It's scheduled for Aug. 29. Among the workers' demands are a $15 per hour minimum wage and the right to form a union. |
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| "Fast food is a $200 billion a year industry and retail is a $4.7 trillion industry, yet many service workers across the country earn minimum wage or just above it and are forced to rely on public assistance programs to provide for their families and get health care for their children," according to the AFL-CIO's website. |
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| As MSN moneyNOW's Aimee Picchi noted on Tuesday, strategists at trading firm ConvergEx estimate it takes U.S. low-wage workers 34 minutes to earn enough to buy a Big Mac, about the middle of the pack of the countries they studied. Interestingly, McDonald's workers in Australia need to work for only 18 minutes to afford the burger because the minimum wage there is $A15 per hour ($13.64). |
http://money.msn.com/now/post--fast-food-workers-uniting-to-strike-on-aug-29
Most fast food restaurants are franchises. So it would mostly be local business owners taking the hit if labor costs are significantly increased. |
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Axiom
Joined: 18 Jan 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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| Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 2:31 pm Post subject: Re: US Fast Food Workers Plan to Strike and Want $15/hr Mini |
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| ghostrider wrote: |
| Quote: |
| It's scheduled for Aug. 29. Among the workers' demands are a $15 per hour minimum wage and the right to form a union. |
| Quote: |
| "Fast food is a $200 billion a year industry and retail is a $4.7 trillion industry, yet many service workers across the country earn minimum wage or just above it and are forced to rely on public assistance programs to provide for their families and get health care for their children," according to the AFL-CIO's website. |
| Quote: |
| As MSN moneyNOW's Aimee Picchi noted on Tuesday, strategists at trading firm ConvergEx estimate it takes U.S. low-wage workers 34 minutes to earn enough to buy a Big Mac, about the middle of the pack of the countries they studied. Interestingly, McDonald's workers in Australia need to work for only 18 minutes to afford the burger because the minimum wage there is $A15 per hour ($13.64). |
http://money.msn.com/now/post--fast-food-workers-uniting-to-strike-on-aug-29
Most fast food restaurants are franchises. So it would mostly be local business owners taking the hit if labor costs are significantly increased. |
I think you will find that the A$15 is actually conservative. Minimum wage is more like A$17.50 per hour. On top that are penalty rates for evening and weekend work. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:42 pm Post subject: Re: US Fast Food Workers Plan to Strike and Want $15/hr Mini |
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| ghostrider wrote: |
Most fast food restaurants are franchises. So it would mostly be local business owners taking the hit if labor costs are significantly increased. |
Well, local business owners might some of the burden, but some of it would also be borne by customers in the form of price increases, and at least hypothetically the corporation itself could bear some in the form of reduced franchise fees. |
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tatertot
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 in the US. If the minimum wage for fast food workers went up to $15/hour things would just start costing more. This would be a pay increase for all the people working fast food jobs, but it would effectively be a pay cut for everyone else. I don't support increasing the minimum wage so drastically. If you want to get paid more, then you need to perform a job that can't be performed by anybody without any special skill, ability, education or training. Minimum wage should increase at the rate of inflation.
Since anybody (and I mean ANYBODY) can work fast food, there is no reason that the people doing that work should receive such high wages. I say this as a person that has been working retail for the last two years making less than $15/hour. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 6:16 am Post subject: |
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| tatertot wrote: |
Since anybody (and I mean ANYBODY) can work fast food, there is no reason that the people doing that work should receive such high wages. I say this as a person that has been working retail for the last two years making less than $15/hour. |
I don't care who you are. Its totally reasonable that someone who shows up everyday and works hard to support a family should receive the minimum necessary to support a family, approximately $15/hour.
Otherwise, the government is subsidizing fast food employment with SNAP, TANF, and SCHIP. |
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Titus
Joined: 19 May 2012
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| Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 7:20 am Post subject: |
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Yes, most are franchises. Most franchises are not family owned. HNW individuals, LLC's, small private equity groups, etc, generally own a portfolio of a brand in a geographic region.
I fully support 15$. Even higher. My health benefits alone cost around 6.25$ an hour.
However, if this is done the first consequence will be that franchises employ more illegals and fewer Americans. |
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Axiom
Joined: 18 Jan 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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| Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Titus wrote: |
However, if this is done the first consequence will be that franchises employ more illegals and fewer Americans. |
I am not sure franchises can get away with that as I think they are highly regulated. It is more likely to happen in ma and pa hamburger joints.
I also think a high minimum wage is not such a bad thing. It certainly hasn't hurt Australia. Sure we probably pay more for a Big Mac but the average disposable income is much higher. It certainly hasn't hurt the franchise model in Australia. Maccas, KFC's, Subways etc are everywhere.
What impact would a $15 to $20 minimum wage in the US have on Americans coming to Korea to teach English? |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Much like ESL teachers have become, fast food workers are a dime a dozen. They'll get fired and that will be that. |
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Titus
Joined: 19 May 2012
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| Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:09 am Post subject: |
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| I am not sure franchises can get away with that as I think they are highly regulated. It is more likely to happen in ma and pa hamburger joints. |
The Obama admin, like the Bush admin before it, doesn't often sweep places of employment.
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| I also think a high minimum wage is not such a bad thing. It certainly hasn't hurt Australia. Sure we probably pay more for a Big Mac but the average disposable income is much higher. It certainly hasn't hurt the franchise model in Australia. Maccas, KFC's, Subways etc are everywhere. |
It is the very very best way to diminish inequality. Taxation doesn't accomplish much.
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| What impact would a $15 to $20 minimum wage in the US have on Americans coming to Korea to teach English? |
After taxes it would be about 2200$ a month. I am assuming health insurance is not included. Then rent. Car insurance, gas etc. ESL at ABC Hagwon is still a better deal. It is very expensive to live in America (and Canada, though the insurance situation is better). |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:42 am Post subject: |
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| Titus wrote: |
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| I also think a high minimum wage is not such a bad thing. It certainly hasn't hurt Australia. Sure we probably pay more for a Big Mac but the average disposable income is much higher. It certainly hasn't hurt the franchise model in Australia. Maccas, KFC's, Subways etc are everywhere. |
It is the very very best way to diminish inequality. Taxation doesn't accomplish much. |
There may be a better way: maximum wage.
Cap the top wages in a publicly traded organization to 50 times the lowest wages offered in the same organization. |
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Titus
Joined: 19 May 2012
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| Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 10:02 am Post subject: |
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| Kuros wrote: |
| There may be a better way: maximum wage. |
I agree.
The idea is to diminish the % of production that is captured by the elite. We can force them to pay higher wages and at the same time cap their portion. Many would want to leave for Monaco or Singapore. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Titus wrote: |
| Kuros wrote: |
| There may be a better way: maximum wage. |
I agree.
The idea is to diminish the % of production that is captured by the elite. We can force them to pay higher wages and at the same time cap their portion. Many would want to leave for Monaco or Singapore. |
Let them go (after paying a punitive tax rate on the wealth they tried to cut and run with) and close the door after them by barring them or any organization which employs them from economic commerce with the United States. There's absolutely no reason we need to tolerate Singapore as a safe harbor for parasites leeching off of our country.
The USA is reasonably rich in resources, rich in land, rich in people, and rich in intangible capital. We can afford to play some hard ball. Moderately free trade with countries willing to play by the same basic economic ground rules -- rules established as maintaining a decent standard of living among the citizenry, and with their good first and foremost in mind -- is fine. There's no need for Singapore to be a part of such arrangements. |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Kuros wrote: |
| tatertot wrote: |
Since anybody (and I mean ANYBODY) can work fast food, there is no reason that the people doing that work should receive such high wages. I say this as a person that has been working retail for the last two years making less than $15/hour. |
I don't care who you are. Its totally reasonable that someone who shows up everyday and works hard to support a family should receive the minimum necessary to support a family, approximately $15/hour.
Otherwise, the government is subsidizing fast food employment with SNAP, TANF, and SCHIP. |
i totally agree. however the problem is mega corporations make their money come hell or high water. mcdonalds will make its money still even if it means raising the prices on the food or lowering the already apalling quality of its products. for big corporations profit is the bottom line, and there's a reason why they have dedicated cost-cutting teams to achieve just that.
it's like in another post where newb wanted to rip off three of his credit cards before getting out of dodge and another poster defended his choice by saying that it's a good thing to stick it to the man (the credit card companies) by doing so. the reality is that the credit card company will still make their money even if it means raising the interest rates of others by a fraction of a fraction and that the only person newb would be hurting would be others who have credit cards or have worked hard in korea to even get a credit card. the only way to stick it to a credit card company would be to either not use them and inform others not to as well, or to nuke every single one of their processing facilities. one of those options is obviously better than the other. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
it's like in another post where newb wanted to rip off three of his credit cards before getting out of dodge and another poster defended his choice by saying that it's a good thing to stick it to the man (the credit card companies) by doing so. the reality is that the credit card company will still make their money even if it means raising the interest rates of others by a fraction of a fraction and that the only person newb would be hurting would be others who have credit cards or have worked hard in korea to even get a credit card. the only way to stick it to a credit card company would be to either not use them and inform others not to as well, or to nuke every single one of their processing facilities. one of those options is obviously better than the other. |
It's actually worse than that. Because credit cards make a not inconsiderable amount of their money from the fees they charge people who accept credit cards as payment, and credit cards are so ubiquitous that businesses which accept credit cards as payment simply factor those fees into their standard prices, even someone who never does business with a credit card company can be impacted by such malfeasance.
If you want to participate in the economy, you really cannot escape paying for the credit industry's profits. That's part of what's so perverse about usury. |
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wishfullthinkng
Joined: 05 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 6:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Fox wrote: |
| wishfullthinkng wrote: |
it's like in another post where newb wanted to rip off three of his credit cards before getting out of dodge and another poster defended his choice by saying that it's a good thing to stick it to the man (the credit card companies) by doing so. the reality is that the credit card company will still make their money even if it means raising the interest rates of others by a fraction of a fraction and that the only person newb would be hurting would be others who have credit cards or have worked hard in korea to even get a credit card. the only way to stick it to a credit card company would be to either not use them and inform others not to as well, or to nuke every single one of their processing facilities. one of those options is obviously better than the other. |
It's actually worse than that. Because credit cards make a not inconsiderable amount of their money from the fees they charge people who accept credit cards as payment, and credit cards are so ubiquitous that businesses which accept credit cards as payment simply factor those fees into their standard prices, even someone who never does business with a credit card company can be impacted by such malfeasance.
If you want to participate in the economy, you really cannot escape paying for the credit industry's profits. That's part of what's so perverse about usury. |
true, but taking an apathetic approach to it won't help either. without going to extremes as to completely support or not support credit card companies altogether, not having one does at least make a difference although it'd be so minuscule as to actually be pretty much non-existent.
we do have a voice however and it only takes one person to make a change.
disclaimer: i do have credit cards and don't plan on getting rid of them anytime soon. |
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