Let me know! I cannot offer my own right now because I have to finish this essay, but y'all are some smart folk so I wanna know what you think.
Speaking as a union member: Yup, that's pretty much how we roll. Fast food wages are a larger problem - they're a symptom of an economy that does not value a living wage. One day strikes are not going to change that. Long strikes are not going to change that. The fundamental issue is that labor unions arose out of a need to protect skilled labor (arguably; the Teamsters kinda throw this into question) and most of the skilled jobs have been shipped overseas, automated or otherwise eliminated. I want to see fast food workers make a living wage. The only reason they will ever do so is if they become skilled laborers. Dick's in Seattle has a long history of paying its employees pretty well, comparatively speaking, and offering nice benefits. It also requires its workers to know a good deal more about food prep and maintenance than Mickey D's does. There's a burger joint on Pico called The Apple Pan that employs guys who have been there for like 30 years. They're damn good at what they do. But their burgers also cost four times what they do at McD's. Really, for the economics of fast food to work out for fast food workers, fast food has to become slow food. I'm all for it, but I don't see it happening without a massive cultural revolution.“These demonstrations are a coordinated PR campaign engineered by national labor groups where the vast majority of participants are activists and paid demonstrators; relatively few restaurant workers have participated in the past,” the organization said in a statement.
The economics of fast food are kind of mind blowing, and IMHO can't work in any way, no matter where the minimum wage is set. The problem is that (and I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, so forgive me) there are so many externalities built into a goddam Big Mac, the the true price probably is the same price as that place in Pico. My primary research field is in stroke recovery. Stroke is a $75 billion industry, and cardiovascular disease in general dwarfs that (obesity and diabetes will be a $1 Trillion industry in the next decade or two; seriously a Trillion fucking dollars that people have inflicted on themselves). Fast food isn't the only problem there, but it's sure a big one. Keeps my paychecks hot, but I would still rather live in a world where I didn't have to do the work I do (but don't get me wrong, I love what I do). Between the environmental cost and the health cost, there's a good case to be made for a several hundred percent excise tax on fast food and soda. I know it won't ever happen (the sugar industry spends a silly amount of money given their relatively small size, and (yippie!) they have both Dems and the GOP in their corner), but I guess it's still a good thought exercise to imagine how the world should look.Really, for the economics of fast food to work out for fast food workers, fast food has to become slow food. I'm all for it, but I don't see it happening without a massive cultural revolution.
The whole food system is pretty horrifically gerrymandered. Start with the fact that according to the USDA, if it's not corn, potatoes, wheat or soy, it's a "specialty crop." Carrots? Specialty crop. Spinach? Specialty crop. Apples? Specialty crop. Not "food." That's not even getting into beef subsidies, wheat subsidies, etc. If you haven't read The End Of Food you should.The problem is that (and I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, so forgive me) there are so many externalities built into a goddam Big Mac, the the true price probably is the same price as that place in Pico.
I would love to pitch in a few thoughts. Currently I work at a pizza chain that is expanding rapidly. They plan to open three near stores per year, and they just opened their twelfth. They have even started broadcasting TV commercials. I am a delivery driver. Upon being hired, I was told I would be getting minimum wage (7.76 in this state), 1.25 per delivery, and, of course, tips. However, for the first two weeks of training we were delivering free pizzas for marketing purposes to bars, hotels, and other businesses. Hence, no tips. Also, they refused to pay me per delivery, because "it's the training period." I told my manager quite pointedly, "You realize you are paying me sub-poverty wages, right?" He said he was just doing his job and it was out of his control. I knew it was bullshit. They held a Yelp party. I wanted to picket it. I knew that with that sort of publicity, I could at least get them to give in to a simple request: I want a living wage. If not, there would be some very negative Yelp reviews (how embarrassing to have a worker outside picketing), which for a new store would be detrimental. I chose the morally utilitarian route for my immediate coworkers and chose note to protest. In the meantime, I already had to sell some of my items to pay for gas. I can't imagine what I'll have to do to make rent. My student loans? There's no way I can start paying those. I wonder if my co-workers are in the same situation. I just graduated college in June. I have no savings, but I have dreams, ideas, and a degree in Linguistics. I am well educated, bilingual in Spanish, I know a few other languages, and have a good grasp of history. No one will give me a fucking chance. If this keeps happening, if (more or less) specialized people like myself can't thrive here, there will be a flight of young Americans and intellectuals. I know I'm not alone.
Flight to where? That is a real, unfortunate question. I work in science, and we always here talk about how if the funding situation gets any worse, scientists will start leaving the US. But there's no where to go. Europe is worse. Asia isn't really viable either. The game is fixed against young people, and no one knows how to level the playing field.
... Don't eat at Patxi's. But do check out this NPR program: http://www.npr.org/search/index.php?searchinput=expat&da...
I'm all for a hirer minimum wage, but what they are calling for is to more than double it from $7.25/hour to $15/hour. I wouldn't mind obviously if it got to that level over a spanned period of time, but instantly? That's going to $31k a year over night, and more importantly, that's outpacing inflation. If the minimum wage would have kept up with inflation, from what I've read, it should be somewhere between $10/$11 an hour. Also, tacking on the right to unionize on there seems like more a union's idea than there's. So they want to double their wage and unionize so they can raise it arbitrarily some more anytime they feel upset? Like KB said, unions were traditionally for skilled trades, not "jobs anyone can do". I don't have a problem with minimum wage being raised, I have a problem with how much and how fast they raise it. These people want to be replaced by tablets and credit card swipers for ordering? By all means, double the minimum wage. You want half the employees working in a McDonalds you have now? Double the minimum wage. You want to further ensure that health benefits stay off the table? Double the minimum wage. Right now these groups don't seem to be looking at the downsides, just the idea of more money. Again, I'm all for raising the minimum, I just don't think doubling it over night is the best approach.
Yeah, but if it kept up with productivity, it'd be north of $20. That's the bitch of being a wage worker these days--none of the financial gains that have come with productivity has trickled down to you. I don't know what a good minimum wage is, but currently, it's a joke.If the minimum wage would have kept up with inflation, from what I've read, it should be somewhere between $10/$11 an hour.
But the productivity is due to technology and automation increases. If we were to raise the minimum wage to match that, I've read it as $23.72/hour (That's 40k+/year), that would pretty much ensure companies automate even more and faster. Not to mention that new high wage would only help those with a job, and only further hurt those without, as there is no doubt that after a minimum wage like that housing/services/goods would all slowly rise in cost. I refuse to believe that a place like Wal-Mart or McDonalds would keep the same number of employees, or not have to raise prices. I would guess that they would hire less people and raise prices. I know Wal-Mart makes a shit ton of money a year, and I know Redditors and others love to focus on the Waltons Billions, but at the store level their margins aren't all that great. They make their money in sheer volume. Same with McDonalds. I think there is a massive conversation that needs to happen sooner than later about this, at a world level. Because as we've talked about on Hubski numerous times, the "post work era" is coming. Driverless cars, robotics, touchscreen ordering, etc, are all things that are going to put a lot of people at the bottom of the labor pool out of work. Minimum wages won't help them if there are no jobs to pay those wages. We need to look into standard living wages regardless of employed or not employed, and it seems that at least that conversation has started in some countries and gotten some attention. Jobs are going away, more will being going away over the next 20-30 years, and those jobs will never be coming back. I realize that's kind of a side tangent, but to me it's very much related. We raise the minimum wage too much, we're going to have less jobs to go around, because you better believe McDonalds will have tablet ordering in stores across the nation within a year, and keep on only half the store level staff they have now. It's already going that way, yes, but I think that would only expedite the process. Then you'll have a bunch of people who were earning minimum wage, earning nothing. Not arguing or stating this as fact or anything, this is just always kind of the discussion I've had with myself and friends when it's come up. I don't claim to have a educated handle on the situation, but I do know for a fact it's a lot more complicated than just doubling the minimum wage.Yeah, but if it kept up with productivity, it'd be north of $20.
You're probably correct that a significant raise in the minimum would make it more price competitive to further automate low skill jobs. But maybe the real issue is talking about why prices are so low, and not just wages. Prices for many goods are artificially low, and should be a lot higher. Look at the obesity problem here, and the pollution problem in China to get a handle on what low prices actually cost us. A great wage shock might be a bad thing in the short run, but I think it would be a good thing in the long run. It might help us to reevaluate what is important, what real prices are, and why we tolerate such social and environmental abuses all in the name of Black Friday sales.
I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but similar to my comment, both of what we think needs to be addressed will take a global conversation and cooperation at this point in our global economy.
Haven't followed much about this strike in particular, so I might be wrong, but... Most strikes come about the time of contract negotiations. So it cases like this, it's usually not just $15/hr right now, but $15/hr for many future years. And they're not aiming for a target of "the shitty wage we got before, adjusted for inflation," they're trying to bump it up to a livable wage that doesn't require a second job and government checks to support oneself. Also I'd re-think that evaluation of only the artisans being deserving of the unions. In the bay area, Bart's union (Can't seem to find their name), AFSCME, and UAW have all been making news via strikes for service workers / graduate students' rights. Just because you aren't in the 1% of the population qualified to do a job, doesn't mean you don't still have the ability to engage in collective bargaining, given some organization.from what I've read, it should be somewhere between $10/$11 an hour
Fast food joints are already looking into more automated systems to take orders. Things like iPads or similar point of sale devices are getting cheap and good enough to eliminate the need for as many people working. They are already testing them at a couple fast food places around here and the UI I am working on is accomplishing a similar thing but for restaurants. If you haven't already heard, Applesbees is installing tablets in 100,000 of it's stores. They have similar devices in most airports and I have played with one at LAX. These are going to be more and more common and the more common they are, the more accepted they will be. In 5 years, I doubt there will be anyone taking your order at these places. It'll only be a manager and a cook. One important note is that LAX and some airports already have a "living wage" minimum. Those workers at the LAX Burger King already making about $15/hour. The meals that are usually doubled in the airport but that works because people don't have choices at the airport. The higher prices are easier to get away with. So, what would happen if the minimum wage was raised? The corporations would start investing in technology to eliminate as many jobs as possible. Franchise owners (remember the people who own the McDonalds aren't making the billions McDonalds Corp is making) are simultaneously going to try to push back on the % they have to give to McDonalds. They may or may not succeed. Franchises already barely making enough to make ends meet will go out of business quickly and all those jobs will be lost. People are going to be hesitant about opening a new franchise because the numbers won't look nearly as nice. In the end there will be less franchises around (less jobs), more automation (less jobs), and the impact will likely not affect McDonalds corp very much and we will still see big profits there. With the higher wages and less jobs, more people will be pursuing those jobs. Fuck, I didn't even make $15/hour when I started at my job! Chances are those who are currently working there probably will be shoved out by more skilled/experienced/educated workers. So before you start asking for something like $15/hour, perhaps these people should think about whether it's better to have a $7/hr job or no job.