New York fast food workers strike over low wages [want $15/hr]

guardian.co.uk ^ | Thursday 29 November 2012 19.32 EST | Gizelle Lugo

[DeaconBenjamin]

Hundreds of fast food workers at New York City branches of McDonald's, Burger King and other big-name chains have staged a walk out in protest of low wages.

The strike, organised by pressure group New York Communities for Change (NYCC), was part of an attempt to gain union recognition for staff at fast food outlets in the city.

"So many people in our neighbourhoods work at fast food restaurants and make poverty wages so low people can't put food on the table, put clothes on their kids' back or even afford the train ride to work."

The group staged a number of demonstrations across the city, culminating at the McDonald's in Times Square.

NYCC organizers have held discussions with employees about forming a new union, the Fast Food Workers Committee, for several months. Attempts have been made to sign them up to a petition demanding that workers be granted the freedom to join a union, and a raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour.

McDonald's said in a statement: "McDonald's values our employees and has consistently remained committed to them, so in turn they can provide quality service to our customers." It added that most of its franchisees offered competitive benefits.

Some 50,000 workers are involved in the fast food industry across the city, with many paid the median hourly wage of $8.90 (nationally, it is $8.76). Low-pay campaigners estimated in 2010 that an adult with one child living in the least expensive area of the city needs to make $21.85 an hour to be self-sufficient. The average fast food worker in New York earns about $11,000 a year.

[eyedigress]

I’ll take it up.

Snarky, I started at .02 a bale 14 years old. I learned early in life to get smarter and work just as hard. I finally made it to minimum wage @ 3.15.

I am now at the 60-75k range because of hard work and paying attention. Do you not see that Bronco is killing this initiative?

[SamAdams76]

I used to work in fast food...like when I was 16 and living at home with my parents. It was a way for me to get experience in the working world and have some pocket money to buy sneakers and Led Zeppelin albums. Yes, that was back in the 1970s.

I'll never understand the mindset that one should be able to support a household by working an entry-level low skill job.

The typical McDonalds job of slinging fries or taking orders should only last a few months. After that, you should either be a shift supervisor or find some some other higher skilled job.

No knock against a career at McDonalds. Many have gone from flipping burgers to owning/operating a chain of restaurants and becoming millionaires in the process.

[TexasTransplant]

Trust me... for $15 an hour I could get “You want Fries with that” down pat

I’d work full time (do I still get the Obama Phone if I work?)

TT

[Cronos]

flipping burgers is not a specialized skill. I'm sorry workers, but you can easily be replaced by people who would want the job at the same rate

easily

[Cronos]

I was reading an article about wage comparison between Mexico and China in factory workers -- semi-skilled laborers in particular

in China, this went up from 0.3 dollars per hour to 1.51 from 2001 to 2011

People vote with their feet and employers have to raise salaries based on the market (supply and demand)

[rwfromkansas]

Midland.