Posted on 07/24/2015 12:04:18 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Dunkin’ Donuts’ top executive says a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers is “absolutely outrageous.”
On Thursday, New York state’s wage board recommended fast food workers make at least $15 per hour. The board said it should happen by the end of 2018 in New York City.
Dunkin’ Brand CEO Nigel Travis says the plan will do more harm than good.
Travis said he supports governments making “reasonable increases” to the minimum wage, but a hike to $15 per hour represents a 71% increase over the current state minimum.
“It’s going to affect small businesses and franchises,” Travis said in an interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow. He said it would prevent his multi-billion dollar company from hiring new people.
“I don’t want to sound threatening about that,” he added, saying it probably wouldn’t force Dunkin’ to lay off workers.
Travis argued that fast food companies are a starting point in the job market, and he said most of the Dunkin’ employees on minimum wage are teenagers that are expected to move on to higher-paying jobs.
He said he does support a “living wage,” or the concept that pay should be tied to an employee’s cost of living.
Fast food workers making about $12 per hour sounds more reasonable to Travis. He said that would be the living wage for a worker with family at home.
MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, however, indicates New York state’s living wage is currently $12.75 for a single adult. For a household with two working parents and two kids, it estimates each worker would need to make $18.30 an hour. The current minimum wage in New York State is $8.75 and hour.
Travis said the decision to raise wages in New York is premature. “A debate needs to take place about how to tackle income inequality,” he said.
New York’s wage increase still needs approval from the state labor commissioner.
I hope all of his taxes are in order.
But he accepts the premise.
this has very little to do with those making minimum wage.
it’s about the unions.
most people are unaware that all union contracts are negotiated as a percentage above minimum. raising the minimum wage ... raises union wages by the same percent.
He said he does support a “living wage”...
He’s willing to drink half a dose of arsenic this time, and drink the other half later.
If you agree in principle, then your only argument is how to define "reasonable," and you will lose to the government every time. Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. Give them 50 cents and they'll take 5 dollars.
But the union says minimum wage doesn’t apply to them.
Hiking wages doesn’t help the economy one bit. It forces companies to raise their prices to consumers, causes rents to go higher (and they are plenty high in NY as it is), grocery prices are raised, etc. It eats up any wage hike a worker will get. These people are so stupid. It also causes businesses to close and lay of employees.
I know it’s not a popular opinion here, but we don’t have a free labor market. In a free market nobody would work for a wage they and their families, if they have one, can live on. But now as long as they work at a low paying job the government will subsidize their food, rent, medical, and give them cash through the EIC. That effectively means that the government is subsidizing low profit businesses whose model doesn’t allow them to pay what a real market would demand. In fact I just heard Chamber darling Rubio pushing for more government bennies to low income employees to “get people working”. I’m sure the Chamber loves that idea, combined with unlimited immigration. Just more crony capitalism. Well, if you want the government subsidizing your employees, don’t be shocked when it tells you what you must pay them.
First line above should read “can’t live on.”
I just saw a report the other day about the minimum wage workers in Seattle wanting fewer hours. It seems at $15.00 an hour, they were going to make too much and lose some of the other handouts they qualified for...housing assistance, food stamps, etc.
I heard a story on FNN the other day that some of the Seattle folks whom had a min. wage increase last year are asking their employers to cut their hours. Seems they go over the threshold where the SNAP benies get cut off. You have tens of million laggards whom really don’t want to get ahead in life if it means any kind of growing pain to get there. This country is dead, thank a liberal.
I believe you are correct. I saw where they wanted their hours cut in Seattle as the money would disqualify them from their section 8 free home.
Do you know who this helps and hurts the most with both being unintended consequences? The big hurt goes to those who would get this wage. Just ask the minimum wage workers in Seattle.
It helps people like me and my employees who design and develop anything doing with automation. I just might hire those put out of work to assemble the machines and systems for $15 an hour. The key word here is might. They would have to pass a competency test for the skills and one of those skills would be having a working knowledge of the Constitution.
why just $15 ? maybe $30 would be better, now that is a living wage....for at least a few months....
The hourly wage shouldn’t exist anywhere productivity can be measured.
IIRC, most if not all union contracts are written to pay workers at four times minimum wage or five times minimum wage. Raise the minimum wage, their pay shoots up, dues increase, and the money flows back to the Democrats in the form of campaign contributions.
It’s also about propping up Social Security and Medicare. Most people earning minimum wage probably pay no income taxes — but on an hourly basis, someone earning $15/hour generates 50% more money in payroll taxes for these Federal entitlements than someone earning $10/hour.
Travis said he supports GOVERNMENTS (emph mine) making “reasonable increases” to the minimum wage, but a hike to $15 per hour represents a 71% increase over the current state minimum.
Think, Travis, THINK, what is the REAL problem here?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.