Chiocago fast food workers' strike (Cuba: wage, taxes, restaurant)

[mas23]

Originally Posted by RarelyOffended

I think they deserve some kind of raise, do you see how expensive groceries are nowadays?

this. Not to mention gas prices and other things.

[mattywo85]

I see the workers point and I don't. The fact that these fast food chains are make millions, or even billions of dollars and they can't bump up the hourlys to at least $11 an hour? $15 can be a lot but then again maybe its not. Maybe the big wigs can take a bit of a pay cut. My guess is it won't effect them to badly.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Yes. EXACTLY. 100% agree. I hate to use this word, but I was pretty disposable when I had my high school/first summer after college jobs. But now? Most people cannot do software development at the level that I do now period and the people who can take years of training to get to a decent level...and that is why I have a good salary (as well as the fact that I bring in revenue but that's another story).

You are still disposable. Everyone is disposable. Give it a few years if you don't believe me.

[key4lp]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

You are still disposable. Everyone is disposable. Give it a few years if you don't believe me.

Yes to the above. Most businesses know that if a person doesn't like it, they know there will be
hundreds or thousands of desperate people who will grab that job. And God forbid if anything
happens to you i.e., an accident, an illness.....you may find yourself in the trash can.

[ChicagoMeO]

Is there a reason that the pay is considered lower than some other full time jobs? I mean, they work pretty hard, I could not stand on my feet the way they do all day. Is it because it is low-skilled? (they do need computer skills to work the register); could it be because fast food workers come and go every day and can easily be replaced? Or could it be that these jobs were meant for starter positions for like high schoolers, and not meant to be a career? Or some of all of these reasons?

and, would it hurt these billion $$ companies to pay the workers more without having to raise prices for the customers?

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

Is there a reason that the pay is considered lower than some other full time jobs? I mean, they work pretty hard, I could not stand on my feet the way they do all day. Is it because it is low-skilled? (they do need computer skills to work the register); could it be because fast food workers come and go every day and can easily be replaced? Or could it be that these jobs were meant for starter positions for like high schoolers, and not meant to be a career? Or some of all of these reasons?

and, would it hurt these billion $$ companies to pay the workers more without having to raise prices for the customers?

Wages and salaries are based on supply and demand, just like the price of housing and everything else. Low-skill jobs are a dime a dozen and those employees can be easily replaced by other people willing to work for low pay, so those jobs often pay poorly. In contrast, positions that require a very high skill level that isn't easily found will pay well because those employers need to compete for the relatively few people who have those skills.

Sometimes, in places where the local economy is really booming and employers find it difficult to fill positions even for low-skill jobs, they will pay a lot more. A fast-food worker in Chicago who wishes to make $15 an hour might want to think about relocating to North Dakota, for example:

Taco John's, a Western fast-food chain, has increased its pay from $8.50 an hour to $15 an hour in Williston to hold on to its workers during its busiest shifts. It's also trying to keep pace with competitors, including the Subway and Hardee's down the street, said general manager Christie Smith. The Taco John's currently has more than 15 open positions and Smith said she has only turned down one applicant this year, "because he just looked too scruffy."

If a Taco John's employee refers a friend for a job, and that friend is hired and works there at least six weeks, the employee is given a $100 bonus, and the new employee gets $150.

Source: CNN Money - Double your salary in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota

[jsk1983]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Wages and salaries are based on supply and demand, just like the price of housing and everything else. Low-skill jobs are a dime a dozen and those employees can be easily replaced by other people willing to work for low pay, so those jobs often pay poorly. In contrast, positions that require a very high skill level that isn't easily found will pay well because those employers need to compete for the relatively few people who have those skills.

Sometimes, in places where the local economy is really booming and employers find it difficult to fill positions even for low-skill jobs, they will pay a lot more. A fast-food worker in Chicago who wishes to make $15 an hour might want to think about relocating to North Dakota, for example:



Source: CNN Money - Double your salary in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota

Housing is pretty expensive there though.

[williepotatoes]

Originally Posted by jsk1983

Housing is pretty expensive there though.

Things are really booming when a 1 bedroom in the Dakotas is running $1500. You can cross the stateline into northern Minnesota and get one for as little as $450 in many towns.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Sometimes, in places where the local economy is really booming and employers find it difficult to fill positions even for low-skill jobs, they will pay a lot more. A fast-food worker in Chicago who wishes to make $15 an hour might want to think about relocating to North Dakota, for example:

Yeah, they can double their salary and still face the very likely prospect of being homeless. This is a place where RV slips are renting for a grand a month. Not the RV itself -- just a place to park one.

At least the oil companies can provide temporary man camps. Taco Bell doesn't.

Originally Posted by mattywo85

I see the workers point and I don't. The fact that these fast food chains are make millions, or even billions of dollars and they can't bump up the hourlys to at least $11 an hour? $15 can be a lot but then again maybe its not. Maybe the big wigs can take a bit of a pay cut. My guess is it won't effect them to badly.

By and large it's not corporate paying these folks, it's franchisees. And their margins aren't exactly fat and padded either. The only franchisees making a killing are those who own several of them.

It's a tough sell to seek that kind of pay in an industry explicitly designed around a revolving door of cheap entry-level labor to produce a cheap product. Flipping burgers isn't supposed to be a career. But unfortunately there aren't a lot of opportunities for the unskilled and marginally educated burger flipper to move up the employment ladder these days. Quite the conundrum.

[Chi-town Native]

I hate to mention the obvious, but people could always show their displeasure with how these workers are treated by not actually patronizing these fast food chains.

It would save us a bundle in health-care costs to boot, the high-fructose corn syrup which is at the foundation of much of your McDonald's menu (ketchup, corn-fed chickens, corn-breading, soda pop) is certainly driving diabetes rates.