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Hundreds of fast food workers are striking nationwide Tuesday, joining other workers in pressing for a more livable wage. But while some say $15 is a minimum needed to survive, some business owners say dishing out more pay would leave them struggling to keep their doors open.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fast-food-workers-strike-again-nationwide-for-15-an-hour
In New York City, rallies are being held in Harlem, the Financial District and Brooklyn in support of efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, reports CBS New York.
In Los Angeles, the local protests are organized by Service Employees International Union, and include fast-food, home-care and child-care workers, along with other "underpaid" employees, reports CBS Los Angeles.
"Is this the America we believe in? When someone works all day long and they still can't get by," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during an early-morning rally in Downtown Brooklyn. "Does anyone believe that it's easy to get by in New York City on less than $15 an hour?"
Critics say a $15 minimum wage would obliterate opportunity and usher in higher taxes, but de Blasio said the opposite is true -- with more money to spend, low wage workers contribute more to the economy.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Snotnose on Wednesday November 11 2015, @03:47AM
Back when I worked for minimum wage, I lived with my parents - who bought my car and paid for the insurance, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to "afford the job." $3.35/hr (minus taxes)
I'm older than you, I think my minimum wage was something like $1.25 (mid 70s). Bought my own car and paid my own insurance, but my situation was the same. Then again, I was under 18 and still going to high school for half my minimum wage days.
Oh, and it's about time to repeal the laws that make it attractive to businesses to keep a huge staff of benefit-less part-timers.
This. When I worked minimum wage I either opened, closed, or worked the mid day shift. I knew what my hours were going to be 6 months in advance. My understanding of things now is management dicks with your hours so it's impossible for you to hold a second job, or go to school, or care for an old parent. In my case I was going to college. This is bullshit and needs to be stopped.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 11 2015, @02:57PM
This is bullshit and needs to be stopped.
Tell your boss your situation; if that doesn't help, quit and find another min. wage job
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday November 11 2015, @05:42PM
The problem is that a lot of low wage jobs screw with your scheduling. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/starbucks-workers-scheduling-hours.html [nytimes.com] More on "on-call" scheduling. http://www.wsj.com/articles/retailers-under-fire-for-work-schedules-1428890401 [wsj.com] Though, perhaps there is at least hope for some. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/on-call-scheduling-labor/412132/ [theatlantic.com] (Apparently this last link has served targeted ads to Ad-Block Plus users or at least so says my plugin.)
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday November 11 2015, @09:29PM
I bought my own computer (8 bit) with money I had saved since birth, basically - that could have bought my first car instead ($1500 either way), but to earn $1500 for a car, I would have had to work a minimum of 500 hours, about 6 months part-time, and how to get to the job for 6 months with no car? Using the city bus would have turned a 4 hour shift into a 6 or 7 hour shift, and made it impossible to work close - which is what I mostly did due to scheduling conflicts with school, not to mention bus fare eating up the first half hour's pay every shift - but then once you have the car, I think insurance for a 17 year old male in my town (with perfect driving record) was about $1000/yr at the time, so, work another 4 months to pay the year's insurance - gas was cheap, that might have only been $300 a year for the gas needed to get to-from work... All in all, I suppose I could have afforded my own expenses to work the job, if I didn't have to pay for rent or food. The car expense could have been traded for sharing a cheap room within walking distance of the job, but then you're stuck shopping at the 7-11 for food, not exactly efficient.
Later, I had a manager who used to dick me around about my schedule - he and I had a set-to one day where he (Asst. Mgr.) said: "Maybe you don't need this job!?!" and I replied: "Maybe I don't." After that, my schedule became exactly what I wanted, more hours, more regular, on the days I asked for, and not on the days I didn't want. Truth was, I didn't need that job, so the bluff worked.
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