Posted on 07/31/2013 6:00:17 AM PDT by IbJensen
More than 100 people were protesting outside a McDonald's in south St. Louis at lunchtime Monday, the first in a series of wildcat strikes and walkouts that are planned to ripple across the region over the next two days.
The protests are part of a national campaign to push for higher wages for fast-food workers and are expected to hit dozens of stores between now and the end of the day Tuesday, culminating in a rally downtown in Kiener Plaza. Workers are advocating for wages of up to $15 per hour, a hike to Missouri's $7.35 per hour minimum wage and the right to form a union without retaliation.
In an interview Monday morning, one of the strikers, 19-year-old Doneshia Babbitt, said she hopes the protests will draw attention to the challenges of making ends meet on jobs that pay less than $8 an hour with no benefits.
"I hope this helps people understand, I hope they get the picture," said Babbitt, who'll be a senior at Jennings High School in the fall, along with her 20-year-old sister, helps support three younger siblings on a job at McDonald's. "A lot of people working these jobs really need the money."
The fast-food protests are being organized by local labor and church groups and are taking place in six other cities this week as well. Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from the Atlanta area, flew in to lend his support as well and said federal legislation is needed to reform an industry that profits handsomely off the backs of low-wage workers.
"It's obscene," he said, pointing to profits and executive pay at big fast-food companies. "And it's not the kind of system that's working for people."
A spokeswoman for McDonald's referred questions to the National Restaurant Association, which had no immediate comment Monday afternoon.
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Activists and fast-food workers are planning more protests for higher wages this week.
Less than two months after workers walked out of dozens of fast-food restaurants in May, a new round of walkouts and street marches are set to start Monday in the St. Louis area. Organizers say there could be walkouts at as many as 50 stores, and have a rally planned for Kiener Plaza downtown Tuesday afternoon.
The push is part of a broader national campaign for higher wages and better working conditions for fast-food workers. Similar protests are planned this week in at least six other cities, including Chicago and Kansas City.
You can eat lunch at Carrabba's for somewhat more than McDonald’s. When they have to pay someone $15.00 an hour to flip burgers then it will be cheaper to go to the “Carrabba's”.
At “Burger King” these people don’t even have to know when to flip the burger, all they need to know is how to place them on a conveyor belt. But those who assemble the burgers have to know how to read just a little in order to put the correct items on the burger that the customer asked for.
Democrats (the party of death, taxes and destruction) want see the minimum wage raised to $50.00 and hour, so they can sleep peacefully at night knowing that through this accomplishment they've really pieced the hearts of American businesses. When are the Republicrats going to learn that Democrats are evil liars? Never will they become good little bi-partisans as they are evil through and through. John McCain realizes it, but he is as bad as they are, even worse.
They will be replaced by robots.
Mark my words.
All that will be necessary to maintain a FF joint in the future is an IT weenie.
Unions are most efficient at putting themselves out of work.
At some point relatively soon, 90% of these jobs will be done by computers and robots.
Pushing minimum wage too high only speeds up that timeline.
Best of all, there will be no human secretions in our food.
There was an article posted not too long ago about robots doing these jobs in China:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3044282/posts
So does everyone else. Need is infinite. To get money you either work for it and are paid based on your value in the marketplace OR you steal it - the way the government and it's beloved welfare recipients get their money.
make the cost of workers much higher, and the next step will be more automation. Orders and payment will be taken at a kiosk, the fryers will be automated, burgers assembled automatically and check out will be the only person involved, maybe one or two to keep everything running. Look at what happening in grocery and big box stores with automated check out...
i’d go gault. i’d close, and notify all employees that i am closing until 100% of them either agree to come and work for what i pay them, or quit.
Go to work for McDonalds and consider it as going to school. Rather than come up with a bunch of bucks for tuition, Get a job at MD and pay extreme attention to what is taking place. Get paid for your efforts in the process. Set a limit. Go one year or maybe a year and a half. Be dedicated to the task the same as if you were paying thousands of dollars at a college.
The concept involves looking at McDonalds as an industrial microcosm . Mc Donalds is very much like a factory with hundreds of employees except smaller. MD also has a retail arm in addition to the manufacturing arm. To grasp how things are done in the manufacturing and business world, MD is small enough to observe all the operations that can be studied in detail and the study extrapolated to the world. MD is chosen because it is truly a global company and one if not the very best successful business to be studied.
The big question, the goal of the going to MD as school, is to discover in detail what is MD? Why does it exist?
As a study aid, a laptop computer would be beneficial. The computer can be used to keep notes and to make and record lists. Homework is making notes and expanding the lists, making entries into the big list of things learned and things to be explored further
Most McDonalds employees don’t flip burgers, they are in sales. At McDonalds if you apply your self and study what is happening you can develop a good understanding of sales and customer service. The front line, the people on the counter, have an opportunity to meet and greet a wide cross section of customers, of people. The very act of asking” how can I help you” engages the customer in a business transaction. The customers can be observed and then studied in the abstract. Make a list. What kinds of customers, what do they want, what do they need, how does MD meet their wants and needs, what wants and needs are not met, should every want and need be met? da
If you clean up, study the various chemicals and cleaners. Read the MSDS documents and learn a lot about OSHA, chemicals and government regulation. Learn what they do and why they do it. Learn why someone made and effort to obtain each of the specific cleaning products. Understand the process and how it relates to government regulations. Learn why MD wants the task not only performed but the reason for doing it. Learn if there is and external requirement such as a local or federal regulation. Learn about the regulation and why it exists. Learn if MD made the rule and how the rule makes the product better.
Somewhere there are posters. The posters are mandated by the government and outline the various employment laws. The posters are the basis for the interaction of business and government. They might seem overly complex and quite boring but they are a major part of the lesson. Study the posters and develop a total understanding of what they mean. Learn how the government and business interact and why.
Hang out with the manager and study and learn the flow of goods. Learn the basics of purchasing. study the inventory flow and learn how inventory management keeps the company rolling.
A typical Mc Donalds store is a mega industry on a micro scale They obtain raw materials hire labor and manufacture a product to very tight specifications. The process is typical of all manufacturing, only the product, the manufacturing equipment and size are different.
The principles of how raw materials are obtained, moved around, stored, and used apply to all business and manufacturing. A thorough understanding of the various tasks and processes involved will be useful elsewhere. The lessons can be expanded to a basic understanding of product quality and quality control The business and all the jobs there are absolutely dependent on the quality of the product.
Tight specifications, what are the specifications, where did they come from, why have the specifications, how are they met, who enforces the specifications and assures consistent quality? These are all valuable lessons to be learned in the micro factory. The answers can be learned by paying attention and carefully watching what is actually happening throughout the place..
The subject of raw materials is very important area of study. One of the lists or perhaps several of the lists would be of various raw materials or raw material categories. . Just what and how many raw materials is required to keep the place running? A list describing the material, where it comes from and exactly how the material is used can provide extremely valuable insights.
Then there is the matter of human resources. A one year study of the flow of people in and out and retained could result in a master’s degree paper on proper use and abuse of labor resources.
The concept of a crew, a team
Then there is cash. A study of cash management could provide a detailed insight into cash, banking and the importance of plastic payments to a small business.
The MD school you choose might be near home or across town but it is merely one of many. A whole nother different course of study is what happens at and to MD outside the local operation? How does your store relate to a regional and national and global network of stores.
Back to bhe big question. Why does your school exist? Why do we have Md’s. The answer to that question applies to each and every business and manufacturing operation in the country. The answer is to make the owners a profit. Each and every item on all the various lists that will be developed in the school process is there to assure a profit. Proving that statement is the goal of the school and learning the reasons is the way the proof is obtained
It is all there for free. as a matter of fact one can get paid while at this school. All it takes is a proper frame of mind and a desire. Everything there is something to be learned
An interviewer will be blown out of her shoes when the lessons set out and learned are recounted in extreme detail.
“A lot of people working these jobs really need the money.”
ridiculous, we all need money, need is not the basis
That is a Robinhood mindset, I need it so I’ma take it. If you need it, get out there and earn it, lady
these folks really don’t get it
These “Protests” are organized and financed by the Communist Party. They have been doing this for generations now. The slogans are the same. The signs are the same. The object is the same. Not more pay but more division and more members paying dues into their unions. Its the kind of practice that Obama grew up doing and BTW is still doing.
“In an interview Monday morning, one of the strikers, 19-year-old Doneshia Babbitt, said she hopes the protests will draw attention to the challenges of making ends meet on jobs that pay less than $8 an hour with no benefits.”
Doneshia is 19, and still hasn’t begun her senior year of high school. There’s only so much that can be done for Doneshia.
I would agree. But over the last decade...minimum wage has barely moved. The old jobs that you’d take after a year or two at some fast-food joint? They are gone. The small industry jobs that existed in the 1980s and 1990s...gone to China. There’s no exit now if you are fast-food engaged.
We kinda screwed up once we allowed a huge amount of US industry to pack and leave the country.
That's her problem right there. Those kinds of jobs were never meant to 'make ends meet.' They are better known as starter jobs/positions, non-skilled labor, part-timers, college or high school type jobs. Actually specifically designed to kick you in your backside to better yourself and either move-up to franchise owner or move on out to better prospects.
The rest are almost entirely small businesses: one (or maybe a few) restaurants operated by a franchisee.
I doubt they consider themselves "fat cats".
Obviously, Doneshia, wages should be tied to need. So, if you are supporting 12 younger siblings (or kids) you should be paid 4 times the wages of someone who is only helping out with 3 children. Makes perfect sense, if your name is Stalin. And if you realize that 12 is 4 times 3.
“Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from the Atlanta area, flew in to lend his support as well...”
I hope that Johnson’s arrival doesn’t cause the city to tip over! Seriously, he drags down the average I.Q. of the protestors.
The first thing “Doneshia” should do is change her name (it draws “profiling”) and then she should change her attitude. She is doomed to a life of bad attitude, anger, exclusion and general unhappiness. It is amazing how some individuals make negativity their life purpose.
Yes, there is. The democrat party though has successfully killed many people's ability to dream big on the American dream. Between policies and making the lower classes dependent they literally don't know how to make their dreams happen. All they have is "hope and change," and that doesn't create jobs.
If you don’t like your job, find a better one. If cant, you’re the problem.
If they live lng enouogh they could become a Wallmart greeter!
Marxists believe pay should be based on the employee's needs and desires, not what the market will support for the job performed by that employee.
Interestingly, these same people say that business owners who work 16 hour days and risk their personal assets with that business should earn LESS because they don't *need* it, they have enough. According to Doneshia, who is only one semester away from her MBA. Also echoed by politicians that have never held a real job or punched a clock.
Note to our Marxist "public servants": Getting elected to public office with mummy and daddy's money, or the money of vested interest groups, is NOT a real job.
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