I’m not betting on hamburger automation, because it has been repeatedly tried, decades ago, and after a brief novelty period, not only did people stay away in droves, but it turned out to require *more* labor to keep the machines clean and functioning.
McDonald’s is already in trouble as educated people increasingly shun fast food; many of these protesters (mainly black & Hispanic) are now blocking traffic in NYC because they realize all the strikes accomplished was causing black & Hispanic children to go hungry. Like the Ferguson protests, blocking traffic for People That Matter is the often the only way People That Don’t Matter are noticed at all. I hope these cities hit by these demonstrations see more People That Matter leave (along with their jobs).
The people they are trying to squeeze for $15/hour don’t eat McDonald’s, and simply save money if workers don’t show up.