'You're trying to go up and you're just going down': Fast-food workers take to streets

CNBC ^ | August 29, 2013 | Jeff Cox

[kevcol]

"You're trying to go up and you're just going down," said protester Shantel Walker, 31, of Brooklyn who makes $7.25 working at a Papa John's in Manhattan. "All of us are in the same financial crunch. We're trying to take care of our families and our livelihood."

The strikes mark the latest salvo in a nearly year-long battle to get not only higher wages but also an opportunity to unionize without facing retaliation from employers.
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U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez told The Associated Press the strikes were a sign of the need to raise the minimum wage. "For all too many people working minimum wage jobs, the rungs on the ladder of opportunity are feeling further and further apart," Perez said.

Workers are demanding that the $200 billion fast-food industry more than double starting salaries to $15 an hour from the current $7.25 an hour minimum wage and the $8.94 median wage for front-end workers.

[kevcol]

reposting - pulled due to copyrighted image.

[kevcol]

[MrB]

Why did these people have “families” before they had the skill level to support them?

Oh, yeah, right... That’s “o skoo”, they “nu skoo”.

[BunnySlippers]

My local McDonalds and the one by my office is all illegals. None of them speak English well.

[TexasCajun]

More Obama "Social Justice" B.S. promoted by his Organizing For America foot soldiers.!

We can expect a lot more of the this "Social Justice" crap over the next 3 years.

[3boysdad]

You racist!!!!

[nascarnation]

As Rush said today, sorry McDonalds workers, those 11 million getting amnesty aren’t going to help out your fast food wages any.

[Berlin_Freeper]

The head honcho at corporate headquarters should toss a nickle out the window.

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[BunnySlippers]

I got breakfast at McDonald’s this morning. It was around $5.00.

How much is it going to cost me after they double the wages for all the illegals?

[FourtySeven]

How dare you question someone’s right to an orgasm!

That’s racist!

[discostu]

Isn’t that a line from a Dio song? Pretty sure. Anyway, the path up is OUT, get out of fast food, it’s the bottom of the service. Did 6 years there, know it well. When people in your industry WANT to become grocery store clerks (that seemed to be my store’s favorite escape path) your job sucks.

[Jane Long]

Exactly. $7.50/hr isn't enough to support your _______? Then, maybe you need to get a job where you make more. What? You're not qualified for that job? Go get trained! What, there are no jobs hiring that pay that amount? Call 0bammy on your 0Phone and tell him that.

[LibLieSlayer]

Fire all of these communist agitators and hire real Americans wanting an entry level job.

LLS

[Jim Scott]

This clamor by minimum wage employees for more money 'for their families' is nonsense. The restaurant association countered, logically, that fast food employment is a stepping stone and that the majority of fast food salaried employees (management) started in the business as hourly wage employees. The association also stated that only 5% of fast food restaurant employees are paid the minimum wage and most are teenagers, the first people to lose their job when the minimum wage rises beyond what the unskilled employee is actually worth to the employer.

A business cannot also be a charity. Those minimum wage employees who whine about their pay at an unskilled job should re-think their decision to drop out of school or have illegitimate children by sperm donors who quickly disappear.

[TurboZamboni]

[catbertz]

It almost reminds me of teenagers that want to be adults before they’re ready. They want the perks before they’ve earned them. Having a family, house, car etc come as a result of hard work and planning.

IMHO, A fat food job was never designed to enable that lifestyle. It’s a transitional job, unless you’re management.

[LibLieSlayer]

Ten dollar Big Macs and a twelve dollar breakfast... five dollar coffee... fries 5 bucks.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I just drove by our local McDonalds. No protest there.

[MeshugeMikey]

The launch of Occupy Micky D’s!