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I read an article in the Los Angeles Times that because the minimum wage is going to $15.00 an hour in California the manufacturing industry is looking to move to other countries and other parts of the United States. There is the possibility of the lost of thousands of jobs.
Manufacturing is a tough nut to crack.
This isn't post war USA where the USA pretty much was the only major power left standing with a vast functional industrial/manufacturing base. Nor is it before WWII when tariffs and other barriers often kept out "cheap" goods manufactured overseas. It certainly doesn't help that the American public by and large stopped buying exclusively American along time ago.
I can remember when a family member or someone on the street would show up in a brand new import car that would cause talk, now no body cares.
Ironically the best shot American manufacturing had of any real comeback was due to high oil prices. Those costs were driving up shipping/transport prices to the point in some instances it made more sense to make things here in the States. But now with a worldwide oil glut for the foreseeable future...
So do these fast workers really think they will get 40 hours a week if the minimum wage is $15 an hour?
Business in America (especially liberal cities) are already at the stage where they're just chasing their tail. If a new rule or mandate comes out, they try to avoid it (fewer hours work, remain below headcount level, etc.).
At this stage, I think it's just a matter of time until the only way some people have jobs is that terminating employees is prohibited (or made very expensive) and hiring people is mandated. At that stage, companied will go under or reincorporate elsewhere and that will be made illegal or penalized as well.
If someone paid me to run the economy into the ground, I couldn't do a better job of it than what the Democrats and Federal Reserve are doing.
So do these fast workers really think they will get 40 hours a week if the minimum wage is $15 an hour?
Honestly there's a good number of them that don't get 40 hours now. When I was first starting out I did what a lot of people had to do- I worked two jobs to get by. They were about 30 hours a week each. That would be $900 per week pre-tax at $15 an hour. Not saying it's easy, but very much doable. At that income, one wouldn't be living it up by any means but it's enough to survive on and qualify for a small apartment.
Honestly there's a good number of them that don't get 40 hours now. When I was first starting out I did what a lot of people had to do- I worked two jobs to get by. They were about 30 hours a week each. That would be $900 per week pre-tax at $15 an hour. Not saying it's easy, but very much doable. At that income, one wouldn't be living it up by any means but it's enough to survive on and qualify for a small apartment.
Well that means they would get 15 to 20 hours if the minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour.
Honestly there's a good number of them that don't get 40 hours now. When I was first starting out I did what a lot of people had to do- I worked two jobs to get by. They were about 30 hours a week each. That would be $900 per week pre-tax at $15 an hour. Not saying it's easy, but very much doable. At that income, one wouldn't be living it up by any means but it's enough to survive on and qualify for a small apartment.
Alvin Major, 48, Bushwick: His primary job was at a KFC in Brooklyn as a cook which paid minimum wage for 40 hr. week. His beef was that he should be paid more to be able to support his family and get off food stamps (he and his wife have four kids)..
All this being said again look at who is working at these fast food jobs and why they are there; quite frankly it is what it is for them and that is all there is to it.
Anyone who thinks McDonalds or any FF place is going to pay someone $15/hr. (which is actually much more once bennies, matching FICA and other costs are added) to do some of the above profiled jobs wants to have their head examined.
Fast food job descriptions will experience the same thing everyone else has been dealing with for years now; in exchange for better or whatever pay you'll take on more responsibility/the job description will change. Sort of like what you see at say Starbucks already where managers and others already do the cleaning, prep, and other duties besides making drinks.
This article is making silly claims. First of all, minimum wage hasn't reached $15/hr in New York yet (not until 2018), so their claims that $15/hr works is just conjecture. Second, minimum wage only increased to $10.25 on January 1st and the article came out on the 11th...only 10 days later. Did they really expect to see an effect (positive or negative) in less than a single pay period? And finally, counting growth in 2015 (when the wage was lower) and planned growth (that hasn't happened yet) can not be attributed to raising the wage.
I agree. Having written that, the fast food industry isn't going to cede the NYC market due to having to pay a $15 minimum wage. And they'll even be careful in how they roll out automated technology for fear of the "next thing," which would be requiring that chains of a certain size doing business in the city have "x" number of human employees to operate within the city.
I agree. Having written that, the fast food industry isn't going to cede the NYC market due to having to pay a $15 minimum wage. And they'll even be careful in how they roll out automated technology for fear of the "next thing," which would be requiring that chains of a certain size doing business in the city have "x" number of human employees to operate within the city.
Oh I don't know about the last bit of your post.
McDonalds is actually quite busy testing and rolling out automation across the USA. McDonald
Besides the obvious savings from automation can see a host of benefits for McDonalds in high tourist locations like parts of NYC. You can program various languages for a start. How many FF workers speak anything else but English? Those that do are likely bi-lingual homes with Spanish the dominate second language you'd find I shouldn't wonder.
As for mandates regarding "X" numbers of persons, unions tried that with railroads as they moved from coal/oil and steam locomotives to diesel. Such feather bedding rose labor costs and helped push many RRs under.
Besides the obvious savings from automation can see a host of benefits for McDonalds in high tourist locations like parts of NYC. You can program various languages for a start. How many FF workers speak anything else but English? Those that do are likely bi-lingual homes with Spanish the dominate second language you'd find I shouldn't wonder.
As for mandates regarding "X" numbers of persons, unions tried that with railroads as they moved from coal/oil and steam locomotives to diesel. Such feather bedding rose labor costs and helped push many RRs under.
True, they are. And I can see them expanding the introduction of such automated machines. But I say that people are miscalculating if they think that widespread introduction of automation will be accepted by leftists. No, if these chains go this way on a massive scale, expect leftist legislatures to push back how I stated earlier. They may get away with widespread automatic in conservative regions, but not in leftist havens. Note, this isn't to say that we won't see any automation in leftist areas. I just can't see widespread automation in these parts.
As for railroads: that's not why they went under for the most part; rather, its due to cheaper, more efficient technology becoming widespread. I really don't see the comparison with fast food (could never see fast food chains closing up shop in NYC because of minimum wage requirements . . . even if they have to raise prices as a result, they will still be some of the "cheaper" options around, and there is too much money to be made).
I agree. Having written that, the fast food industry isn't going to cede the NYC market due to having to pay a $15 minimum wage. And they'll even be careful in how they roll out automated technology for fear of the "next thing," which would be requiring that chains of a certain size doing business in the city have "x" number of human employees to operate within the city.
They aren't going to completely automate their operations. Tables will still be cleaned by people and food will be prepared by people.
Automating the point of sale will yield the most savings with the least detriment to the customer. The ability to have multiple languages at kiosks would be a great benefit. Not only would this benefit franchises in tourist locations, but those in immigrant communities as well where some people have difficulty speaking English. And customers don't have to worry about cashiers getting their order wrong.
The MTA has eliminated many token booths in favor of MetroCard Vending Machines and that's working out fine. And theyre already working towards CBTC (computer-based train control). This wouldn't be any different in terms of automation.
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