Because they care about the workers or something
(Daily Caller) The “Fight for $15†movement to increase the hourly pay of fast food workers to $15 per hour has gained a lot of momentum in the past year. Led by unions, who seek to expand into the fast food industry, and progressive activist groups, there have been protests nationwide demanding fast food chains raise the starting pay of employees to more than double the minimum wage. That fight may be on the verge of backfiring.
Conservatives have long warned that raising the minimum wage would harm businesses, cost low-skilled workers jobs and lead to automation to replace many of them. Unions and progressives, on the other hand, swore fast food chains could easily afford the inflated labor cost without much of a price increase.
McDonalds has seen their revenues decline, and has also been notified by the National Labor Relations Board that the national company is responsible for all the franchises, which could lead to unionization, hence
The Wall Street Journal reports, “The McDonald’s earnings report on Tuesday gave a hint at how the fast-food chain really plans to respond to its wage and profit pressure—automate.â€
Further, the Journals says:
By the third quarter of next year, McDonald’s plans to introduce new technology in some markets “to make it easier for customers to order and pay for food digitally and to give people the ability to customize their orders,†reports the Journal. Mr. Thompson, the CEO, said Tuesday that customers “want to personalize their meals†and “to enjoy eating in a contemporary, inviting atmosphere. And they want choices in how they order, choices in what they order and how they’re served.â€
How many employees could McDonalds do away with per store by going automated? Two to five? More? And will the other fast food restaurants quickly follow suit? You can bet they will. These are low paying jobs because that is the business model, and always has. They are not jobs meant for adults supporting kids.
(Fox News) The California city of Palmdale was ready to roll out the red carpet this summer when a Japanese company agreed to build a $60 million factory on a city-owned, vacant parcel on the southwest side of town — but now the company is taking its project out of state and critics say union greed is to blame.
As many as 300 people were slated to work at the 400,000-square-foot plant, painting and wiring light rail cars under a huge contract with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It was a coup for Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, and a plan that seemed to suit Kinkisharyo International, which last year moved its U.S. headquarters from Boston to El Segundo, Calif. (snip)
But a newly formed environmental group — which critics say is a front for a local union — had other ideas.
The “Antelope Valley Residents for Responsible Development,” a group backed by the International Brotherhood Workers Union Local 11, produced a 588-page appeal claiming that construction of the proposed factory would violate state environmental laws, by, among other things, kicking up spores. What the union really wanted, according to Kinkisharyo officials, was clearance to organize the plant without any interference from the company. When Kinkisharyo officials balked, the project suddenly became a potential environmental hazard.
The company refused to organize the employees themselves, saying that the employees were welcome to do it themselves. They then started getting hit with all the faked environmental issues, and now they are looking to take the plant out of California, as these union/enviro issues are costing them millions. And taking all those jobs, needed in an area that has double digit unemployment, with them. Good job, liberals!
We capitalists do everything we can legally do to reduce expenses and increase our profits. Our concerns for workers has two components – short term and long term expense and profit, with the short term considerations almost always taking precedence. A long term view suggests that better paid employees who don’t have to worry that they can’t afford a flat tire or a tooth cavity make for a better and more stable workforce.
But your statement that minimum wage jobs aren’t “intended” to raise a family is irrelevant and silly. The fact is that in our current economic system millions of Americans are being forced to try to raise families on this kind of job. Our economic system has failed tens of millions of Americans. It has rewarded the few handsomely.
Congress and the Federal Reserve work to keep unemployment up and wages down, efforts that transfer billions up the economic food chain.
Study after study demonstrates that modest increases in the minimum wage do not “kill jobs”, and are not inflationary.
“Millions of Americans are forced to try to raise families on this kind of job.” I’m not taking issue with your stance on the minimum wage, but there has to be some personal responsibility here if people knowingly “try to raise a family” on 15 dollars an hour. Who picks up the tab if people have children they know they can’t afford?
“Who picks up the tab if people have children they know they can’t afford?”
Maybe her louse of a husband abandoned them. Maybe she didn’t intend to get pregnant but either didn’t want or couldn’t bring herself to get an abortion – or maybe she was a hundred miles from a clinic. Maybe the father was abandoned by the mother and is doing the best he can. Perhaps their child has severe medical problems.
Recall too that when Wall Street crashed our economy, millions of employed Americans lost good jobs and are having to take whatever is available.
And do we really want to punish innocent children for the flaws of their parents? To me this seems unfair, and also counterproductive for our nation.