McDonald's workers want $15 an hour

[diesbudt]

maybe they deserve maybe they don't, you can't say that working in such places isn't hard though, I doubt you could take it for long, if only for boredom and stress, just because its low wage doesn't mean its easy.

It was VERY EASY.

Way easier than my engineering position in which I have to make deadlines, meet demand of customers that always want improved products (Ford, GM, Chrysler, Honda), get calls 8-9pm at night to discuss something with a customer or at work that may be happening that needs my attention [when that is 'free' time], and then making decisions on improvements that can make or break a career.

So yes. It was VERY EASY. I didn't even try at McD, was there 6 months, has employee of the month 3 times. Never had a complaint. And I again wasn't even trying.

 

[diesbudt]

Why is it that people at the bottom asking for a payrise is something to be mocked and discouraged, yet corporations looking to maintain their immense profits is applauded as being noble?

An increase in wages doesn't mean a linear increase in costs and prices.



Wages have been falling for decades, whilst those at the top have increased their wealth.

What has anyone gained from that?

The raise in minimim wage of the past 8 years says otherwise.

The wages that have been falling isn't minimum wage work like McD, it is the work the middle class skill blue collar or semi skilled white collar positions that are losing wages.

Also, the cost increase may not be linear. But it will happen. And enough cost increase has to happen to offset the extra wages paid. That is business. No company will ever just eat a cost, if it can help it and it is bigger than a portion of a percent.

Sorry that is reality.

 

[nehalem256]

so who's actually done the numbers, what would the actual menu price changes be ...

maybe they deserve maybe they don't, you can't say that working in such places isn't hard though, I doubt you could take it for long, if only for boredom and stress, just because its low wage doesn't mean its easy.

if you adjusted the original minimum wage for inflation from back when america actually had a middle class, it probably would be around 15 dollars now you know.

anyways, henry ford, remember him? if workers have more to spend.....

If only someone had actually done this adjustment...

It only barely ever made $10... once.

 

[diesbudt]

If you took the ~$20M compensation of the key executives (CEO, CFO, COO, 2 presidents) and distributed it amongst the 420,000 McDonald's employees, it would result in a <$50/year raise for each. I am shocked at how few people understand this as the fact it is.

While $8.7M/year for the CEO is obviously fantastic compensation, running an organization of that size is quite a bit harder than flipping burgers. Executive compensation is out of hand but I don't know that it's necessary applicable here.

You do not realize the fact that an increase in lower wages does not mean it will come from a decrease in executive wages.

Yes executives should be paid less to pay more to lower wages (though the amount like $15 for McD is still WAY ridiculous. $10 might be my cut off point for un educated/skilled labor)

However, that is not the argument people are making. They are saying that every company will either:

A) Eat a cost of increase wages. (won't happen, business have stock holders to give back to and want a profit. Thats business)
B) Raise lower wages. And lower the executives wages. (Again, will not happen unless the corproation lowers executive wages first. No company will ever attack the 'head' of the fish to save the body. This means, that the low paid positions will not get raises BASED off executive wages)

The real story here. If you don't like it don't work it. Just remember. If enough people stand together, and not work at McD, they will have to shut some stores down or increase pay until people DO want to work there (as they will need workers) [Supply and demand works both ways]

However since these jobs are tailored to HS students now, who don't need anything beyond gas and spending money, because mommy and daddy gave them everything else (**), that wage works because of the target the corporations aim for (Not saying it is right, just saying it is how capitalism works in a commerical industry) (In factory settings a lot of people start off at $12-14/hr unskilled labor. True story. I know, I am an engineer in one.)

** - When I graduated high school, more than 50% (629) of my graduating class's parents bought a NEW car for their kids for graduating high school. . .

 

[Veliko]

Why is it that people at the bottom asking for a payrise is something to be mocked and discouraged, yet corporations looking to maintain their immense profits is applauded as being noble?

An increase in wages doesn't mean a linear increase in costs and prices.

Wages have been falling for decades, whilst those at the top have increased their wealth.

What has anyone gained from that?

The raise in minimim wage of the past 8 years says otherwise.

The wages that have been falling isn't minimum wage work like McD, it is the work the middle class skill blue collar or semi skilled white collar positions that are losing wages.

Also, the cost increase may not be linear. But it will happen. And enough cost increase has to happen to offset the extra wages paid. That is business. No company will ever just eat a cost, if it can help it and it is bigger than a portion of a percent.

Sorry that is reality.

To be honest, I'm not sure what the point of your reply is; are you agreeing or disagreeing with me?

 

[bas1c]

The market = minimum wage, the economy sucks so bad that there are people with degrees working at mickeyD's. The winners are the corporations, they cry crocodile tears over the economy [for PR reasons] but they are the ones making out like bandits in this economy. A stronger economy might mean that they would have to pay their workers more since the countless numbers of John Doe's out there now with a degree would be working in the field they went to school for [and not applying to mcd].

Please don't bring in the "people with degrees" argument as if a bachelor's or even a master's degree is worth anything now. Universities used to be places where the elite thinkers and minds went to learn. Nowadays, every Joe Schmoe thinks they should go to college. Can't get in to a traditional college or university because you don't meet the admission criteria? No problem, we have for-profit schools for you.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Well, this is how I feel about minimum wage/your average low end job pay (or even median).

Cost of EVERYTHING has gone up. Food, Gas, Education, Healthcare.......name it it went up.

Ok fine, so house prices tanked.

What about salaries and wage? Many people are not even getting raises these days.

Credit will only last so long...

You can't run a consumer based economy when there is no consumer. If this trend continues we all know where this country is headed.

If you compare 50s and 70s and look at average Salary and say average price of a car and a home....you quickly find out that Americans had it GREAT and right now is a VERY low point for America in general (and it's not getting better).

Heck our government is worse than your average "live beyond your means" American. They are certainly not living by example.

Not looking good.

 

[diesbudt]

To be honest, I'm not sure what the point of your reply is; are you agreeing or disagreeing with me?

Both.

Agreeing wages overall are diminishing (per inflation) overall, especially in the lower middle class.

However, the minimum wage positions are not lowering but have been raising. McD people just 10ish years ago made what? $5 and change? or $6 and change? (and since this article is on McD work, it is more focused on this and then middle wages diminsihing.)*

Now the minimum wage forces them to... what is Min wage again? $7 something?

*Basically what we are seeing is a slow seperation of the middle class being pushed into the lower/high classes, and may one day soon become a 2 class system (which will run hell on capitalism)

 

[bas1c]

Well, this is how I feel about minimum wage/your average low end job pay (or even median).

Cost of EVERYTHING has gone up. Food, Gas, Education, Healthcare.......name it it went up.

Ok fine, so house prices tanked.

What about salaries and wage? Many people are not even getting raises these days.

Credit will only last so long...

You can't run a consumer based economy when there is no consumer. If this trend continues we all know where this country is headed.

If you compare 50s and 70s and look at average Salary and say average price of a car and a home....you quickly find out that Americans had it GREAT and right now is a VERY low point for America in general (and it's not getting better).

Heck our government is worse than your average "live beyond your means" American. They are certainly not living by example.

Not looking good.

I blame the advent of easy credit for allowing people to think that living beyond their means was ok.

 

[waggy]

I blame the advent of easy credit for allowing people to think that living beyond their means was ok.

I agree that is part of it. Also in the graph posted before where in teh 50-70's pay was higher. i think a big part of that had to do with the women staying home. You had 1 wage earner in the home with the mother staying home.

that changed and wages didn't change with it.

 

[diesbudt]

I blame the advent of easy credit for allowing people to think that living beyond their means was ok.

This is a problem

Becoming a commercial based economy (commercial based is not self sustaining, as most the stuff we make isn't from our own country.) is a problem

Higher schooling costs, that raise faster than inflation, meaning when you graduate college, you either can pay loans back wit ha good job, or you can't with a blah job. Is a problem

People thinking things should be handed to them for no reason what so ever, so they don't have motivation to try hard has been on an exponential increase in this country. Is a problem

Democrats and republicans ccannot work together to find the BEST solution between the 2 and only care about their own salaries/jobs, is a problem.


Need I go on?

 

[diesbudt]

I agree that is part of it. Also in the graph posted before where in teh 50-70's pay was higher. i think a big part of that had to do with the women staying home. You had 1 wage earner in the home with the mother staying home.

that changed and wages didn't change with it.

Supply and demand. Works both ways in capitalism.

More supply (workers), demand doesn't increase with it, and thus "cost" (or wages) drop, or do not raise with inflation, falling behind.

 

[nehalem256]

Supply and demand. Works both ways in capitalism.

More supply (workers), demand doesn't increase with it, and thus "cost" (or wages) drop, or do not raise with inflation, falling behind.

I posted a graphing showing that the Workforce participation rate started increasing in the late 60s, you know right before wages stopped increasing. Liberals threw a fit and blamed Reagan for the lack in wage increases(which started in the 70s).

Also note that the highest minimum wage was in the late 60s.

 

[Olikan]

The real story here. If you don't like it don't work it. Just remember. If enough people stand together, and not work at McD, they will have to shut some stores down or increase pay until people DO want to work there (as they will need workers) [Supply and demand works both ways]

that is the problem, there is way too much people in the word...
McDonald's will hire serial killers instead of paying more

 

[waggy]

that is the problem, there is way too much people in the word...
McDonald's will hire serial killers instead of paying more

actually i think they will go with more "undocumented workers".

I worked at mcdonalds at 15-16. i worked in the grill. at the time everyone back there spoke English. A friend of mine was a manager at mcdonalds. i would stop in on occasion and noticed everyone in the back was hispanic and he said NOBODY spoke english. he had to learn spanish to be able to keep his managment job (he didn't..so he changed jobs (and finished college)).

Nearly EVERY fast food joint here has hispanics working in the back.

 

[diesbudt]

actually i think they will go with more "undocumented workers".

I worked at mcdonalds at 15-16. i worked in the grill. at the time everyone back there spoke English. A friend of mine was a manager at mcdonalds. i would stop in on occasion and noticed everyone in the back was hispanic and he said NOBODY spoke english. he had to learn spanish to be able to keep his managment job (he didn't..so he changed jobs (and finished college)).

Nearly EVERY fast food joint here has hispanics working in the back.

We had one at my McD. He normally did the cleaning/dishes/stocking.

Was there i think 10-15 years. I don't know about documented or not.

What I do know is he was polite, worked hard, and always had the same meal each break. So I really didn't care. Sure, I didn't understand have the things he said, but I knew enough spanish words to at least communicate with him.

 

[diesbudt]

that is the problem, there is way too much people in the word...
McDonald's will hire serial killers instead of paying more

Yep. Supply is soooo high, demand will never match it.

It is just as if every company all the sudden started making twinkies.

At some point there would be WAY too many twinkie they would be sold for a dollar a dozen if not cheaper.

But it is the only real way of seeing any real change.

 

[bas1c]

The Cloud is the solution. Everything can be solved through the Cloud.

 

[DCal430]

Hell, we've even had some waiters here on this forum claim that they make $400 per night.

That is very possible, especially if you work at a higher end busy place.

 

[Train]

...They could probably just put in an ATM style touchscreen so I wouldn't have to have somebody punching in my order at all, then pull around and get my food.
...

I've actually already seen the touch screen ordering at quite a few McDonalds.

 

[MaxPayne63]

The fact that people think the solution to the vanishing middle class is to pay $15/hr for flipping burgers or mopping floors means that this country is already well past the point of no return.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

$500 per month in student loans? I'm guessing he went to a good college then why is he working at McD?

History, English, etc degree most likely.

 

[bas1c]

History, English, etc degree most likely.

Also, $500 a month doesn't necessarily mean it was a good college.

 

[Train]

Also, $500 a month doesn't necessarily mean it was a good college.

You never know. With the way college loans work, he could have 100k in debt but he told them he is currently living on a McD's wage, so thay made a low payment for him... on a 40 year payoff plan.

 

[Olikan]

The fact that people think the solution to the vanishing middle class is to pay $15/hr for flipping burgers or mopping floors means that this country is already well past the point of no return.

while is indeed insane 15/hr, you guys should fight for your rights...
don't let this "the market should decide" bullshit

or you guys will end up projecting building 120 feet tall for a minimum wage, while your boss will arriving from a trip to China in a hangover that lasted 2 days