On Thursday hundreds of fast food workers protested for higher wages and union representation. One woman said that she has worked at McDonald's for three years and only makes $8 an hour. The protesters want $15 an hour, which is almost double the amount they are currently making. The state legislature voted to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 by 2016, but this will restrict the ability for the industry to create jobs. The protesters also commemorated the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., where he was supporting a protest by sanitation workers.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/04/fast-food-workers-in-new-york-protest-demanding-higher-wages/
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/04/fast-food-workers-in-new-york-protest-demanding-higher-wages/
8 comments:
For me, it is interesting that the protesters are asking for double their current wage and not trying to get a bump in pay slowly, meaning asking for an increase to around $12 or $13 dollars.
I would agree that if someone has worked at a restaurant for many years, their wage should increase. But the starting wage should still be minimum wage. I'm interested to see if there will be any response to this, but I doubt there will be.
If employers met these demands for wages, the cost of operating a fast food restaurant would greatly increase and would eventually drive the prices of the products up. I think asking for a wage increase this extreme is asking for too much. I agree that wages should increase if an employee has been working at the same company for a few years, but starting wages cannot be that high without major consequences.
15 dollars seems like a lot to ask for considering where there current wages are, but it is definitely not unreasonable to ask for a significant bump in the minimum wage considering that some people have to work there to support their families. On the other hand, the bulk of people working there for these minimum wage standards are teenagers so a bump in the minimum wage may not be necessary. Considering the amount of work they do and the actual drop in real wages over the past decade it would be good for them to have a pay increase but is it just better to let the market set the wage?
I'm with everyone. It is so surprising that they asked to double the wage. There would be no way the companies respond positively to this proposal. Changes in wage are necessary, but gradual changes should be what the workers want to go for.
This huge wage request is obviously a negotiation tactic. I bet they would gladly take a wage around $12. Since New York has one of the nation's highest cost of living I definitely recognize the financial struggle that the low wages place on these workers. However, I believe labor unions make the economy inefficient and therefore we should not institute them.
I agree with Austin. But again $12 is still considered high and appears to be not unrealistic in the near future.
I agree with Austin that labor unions make the economy inefficient. Furthermore, by raising wages, companies might have to layoff some workers or reduce their hours which will still not please them in the end.
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