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A mid-level executive working for an Applebee’s franchisee has been terminated after sending an email to colleagues which suggested that rising gas prices and inflation would allow the franchisee to hire employees at lower wages.
Status:
"It's WARY, or LEERY (weary means tired)"
(set 8 days ago)
Location: A Yankee in northeast TN
16,101 posts, read 21,239,084 times
Reputation: 43737
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atari2600
You're right, I don't care. I see people complaining... and I say, don't work there then.
You expect every business to offer a "living wage," or whatever you call... "a fair wage." Yet, no one here can define what that means.
It's all complete nonsense... and you're perpetuating victim mentality. The problem with people like you, is that you persist this idea that people are victims and that everyone else is to blame for problems in this world. If you want more from life, then you work hard for it and make it happen. There aren't 10s of millions of people breaking into this country every year because the country is so evil and work is so hard. Tell all those Hondurans, Guatemalans, and all the other Central Americans that you think it's "unfair" to work at Walmart that they won't properly schedule you so that you can take classes that they're paying for.
Yeah... these conversations really make me sick, and I pretty much have no concern for your views on any of this.
And why are my views "outdated?" I'm 43... I'm not a boomer. I'm literally still in the workforce. I can't even retire for another 24 years at an absolute minimum.
Unless you've been in a minimum wage environment in the last ten or fifteen years, you have no clue what it's like now. Period. I am not perpetuating a victim mentality, I'm trying to explain that the realities and challenges people face in those jobs today are different than what you believe they are because you do NOT have those experiences, in spite of your belief that you do. The problem with people like you is that you buy into the myth that people at the bottom are worthless, that all they have to do is try harder. You got yours and the heck with everybody else?
Obviously you do care, you're here responding.
A living wage, well it's kind of like art. Everyone has a slightly different idea of what it is exactly, and you'll never get everyone to agree, but for the most part most people know what it is and what it isn't. Minimum wage at seven dollars and some change isn't it.
For those who haven't seen it, this is an interesting discussion here on City-Data about the current labor shortage. Lots of different ideas and speculation, but it's pretty clear that it's way more complex than "people not wanting to work."
People are working, by the way. The national unemployment rate is something like 3.8% right now.
People see companies raking in the profits, the low end workers want a piece of the pie. Why shouldn't they? Applebees wouldn't exist without cooks and waiters. They could even go a step further and invest in these people. There is a restaurant I go to regularly, there are a few bartenders and waiters that have a fan club type following. People specifically request to be sat at their tables. One is currently out on maternity leave, and noticed it's been a bit slower lately.
Upper management should stop seeing them as an expense and instead see them as the people that can help bring in more business.
And why are my views "outdated?" I'm 43... I'm not a boomer. I'm literally still in the workforce. I can't even retire for another 24 years at an absolute minimum.
Doesn't matter how old you are, your views can be outdated. "worked 60hr/wk got paid for 40" ... that doesn't sound like anything I want to hold up as a model, thank you.
That idiot lost his job. He'll get another but it will be difficult and he'll have to watch his fingers more closely because he will be on a very short leash. As recent as is was for you, college tuition was nowhere near as backbreaking as it is now. I don't know why someone has to wear a hair shirt for 25 years, roll a rock uphill for another 25, and die at 65 and leave everything to a widow.
Yeah, there's been issues getting people to work for what a lot of us have worked for growing up, minimum wage, we were the ones breaking our bodies and busting our a$$es for these companies while the higher ups were the ones getting the big salary that we deserved a piece of. How many people remember making under $2 an hour?
.
I don't remember making $2 an hour. What I do remember is taking an average job after high school and being able to rent a small apartment, pay for a car, and afford to go to the movies and out for a meal once a week or so. When I decided I wanted more out of life, going to college didn't involve incurring massive debt for the next 20 or so years. I don't think that's how it works for young people these days.
Last edited by Metlakatla; 04-01-2022 at 12:47 AM..
I don't remember making $2 an hour. What I do remember is taking an average job after high school and being able to rent a small apartment, pay for a car, and afford to go to the movies and out for a meal once a week or so. When I decided I wanted more out of life, going to college didn't involve incurring massive debt for the next 20 or so years. I don't think that's how it works for young people these days.
I have to join you on all that. And, my apartment was on the beach in SoCal. I didn't have roommates until I started college. And I started my college career taking night classes at community college. A lot of courses were offered at night for those of us working day jobs, & they were nearly free.
When I finished grad school, my college debt was a very small student loan at a very low rate of interest, which I paid back.
Doesn't matter how old you are, your views can be outdated. "worked 60hr/wk got paid for 40" ... that doesn't sound like anything I want to hold up as a model, thank you.
What if I told you that the work I've done saves lives? That the software I've developed accounts for reporting and accessioning of more than 75% of the pathology laboratories in this country? I'm being purposefully vague, but I'm extremely proud of the work I've done. I'm honored to have worked for that company, and proud of what I've accomplished while I worked for them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leisesturm
As recent as is was for you, college tuition was nowhere near as backbreaking as it is now.
You simply throw this out... in what way? No one is forcing anyone to take on massive debt. This is a decision that people are making on their own.
Right now, the average cost of a 3-hour/credit course at a community college is $400 a class for in-state tuition. Which is beyond reasonable. You can get an Associates Degree, and then move on to a bachelors degree at most community colleges, or another school. This is what I did.
You say... "as it is now."
... I'm literally going to college right now, paying for it out of pocket. It's my second masters degree, and it's in law. I literally only got my first degree 13 years ago, and then finished my bachelors 10 years ago, and my first masters 7 years ago, and a couple of masters certificates 6 and 5 years ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT
Unless you've been in a minimum wage environment in the last ten or fifteen years, you have no clue what it's like now. Period. I am not perpetuating a victim mentality, I'm trying to explain that the realities and challenges people face in those jobs today are different than what you believe they are because you do NOT have those experiences, in spite of your belief that you do.
Please, enlighten me, what's changed... and how is it that I have no clue?
When I worked for McDonalds in 1995, I made $4.25 an hour. I worked the drive-thru. We didn't have three people doing that job, it was just me. I took the orders, took the money, bagged the food, handed the order, and moved on to the next person. I'd also drop fries and nuggets while doing this. I also stocked cups and everything else when we ran out, and I took my turn cleaning the floors and the bathrooms. What's changed? We had touch screen computers then too. I learned to make change an deal with disputes and people losing their mind because costs went up or someone made their burger wrong. I had to follow a schedule, show up on time (I walked to work), or I'd get in trouble. Please, tell me what's changed?
What is the "no clue" ... are managers allowed to beat their employees now? Do we get paid in "script" like we did in ye olde days?
You keep saying that you're trying to explain the realities people face... but you're not actually saying anything. Please tell me what's changed. Because when I go to McDonalds now... there are three people doing the exact same job that I used to do all by myself when I lived in a DC suburb doing the lunch and dinner rush... and I never complained.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT
The problem with people like you is that you buy into the myth that people at the bottom are worthless, that all they have to do is try harder.
"people at the bottom are worthless?" This is directly from your mouth, not mine. Show me where I've said that.
You act like / assume that I've never struggled... like I've never been in debt, or been laid off, or been completely broke. I'm lucky enough that I never became homeless, but I've been in massive debt after being laid off for 3 months. I was laid off after the .COM bust, my first office job, and had to go work in a deli at a shopping mall because no one was hiring programmers (and I wasn't a very good one at that since I was so young). I was laid off again after 9/11, a year later when I finally found a really good job. Same deal... had no money because of my previous layoff, I couldn't eat... had to go to the gas station and check the payphones for change so I could buy a box of dry Mac n' Cheese for $0.49. But you know what? I never thought of myself as a victim, not even once... I knew it sucked, but I just always assumed I'd get over that hill onto bigger and better things.
The difference between you and me is attitude. You think people are victims. I think it's a matter of perspective and attitude. The most important thing my father taught me growing up is that... "If you think you'll fail, you already have ... if you think you're a victim, then you always will be."
And that's where we are... you think people are victims, and so you think they are in the situation they are because of someone else. No concept that people control their own lives, can better themselves.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT
You got yours and the heck with everybody else?
Obviously you do care, you're here responding.
I hate doing this, but I think it's important. I'm willing to bet you don't donate a damned thing day to day. You maybe give your time to some liberal causes, but no real sacrifice. You have no idea what a REAL victim is like. Have you ever been to another country, to see how people live in some of these impoverished nations? They can't even afford clothes. Most people run around half-naked (sometimes lacking pants) because they can't afford them. People living in huts literally made of stacked mud right next to office buildings where REAL class distinction is what you mistakenly think it is here in America. Why not go to WorldVision.org and start sponsoring some real victims. Children who are a circumstance of war or poverty.
There is no able bodied and mentally sane person here in the United States that is a victim.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT
A living wage, well it's kind of like art. Everyone has a slightly different idea of what it is exactly, and you'll never get everyone to agree, but for the most part most people know what it is and what it isn't. Minimum wage at seven dollars and some change isn't it.
Why don't we talk about Scandinavian countries... since I know where this is going. Did you know most of those countries don't even have a minimum wage? They pay less than we do for some people, and more than that for others.
How is determining a salary an art? It's really simple how this works. If you are unskilled labor, you're going to make an unskilled pay. Having a skill does NOT require you to go to college, it does not even require you to go to a trade school. It just means you have experience. I'd figure you keep imagining poor people who are in their 40s, trying to support multiple kids on a McDonalds minimum wage salary. Which is nonsense, because most of these companies pay more than minimum wage. McDonalds encourages all franchisees (and institutes this in all corporate owned) starting at $10 an hour for first-time employees. But what you are saying is not the reality of it. The vast majority of people who work at these restaurants are students who want a job to help pay the bills while they go to college, high school kids, or older adults that want a second job. The imaginary person you make up in this scenario is not a real.
Quote:
Originally Posted by happygrrrl
I have to join you on all that. And, my apartment was on the beach in SoCal. I didn't have roommates until I started college. And I started my college career taking night classes at community college. A lot of courses were offered at night for those of us working day jobs, & they were nearly free. It isn't like that anywhere anymore.
Community College is extremely inexpensive... for most Community Colleges in the country, a class is less than $400 for the entire semester. Every community college offers all their same classes at night as they do during the day. There are more universities offering night classes today than at any time in history. One thing that is also different, many of these classes being offered are now "Online" ... which means you don't have to drive / pay for gas, etc... and have more time not wasted on traveling. Plus, online classes are often cheaper than in-person classes. So I don't know what you're talking about.
now the labor/food costs are killing their bottom line.
Big Mac meals are $8-9 now
That’s more due to food and transportation costs rising than labor costs. Inflation has caused prices across the board to rise. The price of meat is higher, the price of rolls are higher, the price of lettuce is higher the price of potatoes are higher. They’re for your Big Mac and fries cost more.
There are states that have had $15 min wages for several years now but it didn’t cause a rise in prices until inflation hit.
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