Posted on 12/01/2013 3:12:04 PM PST by dynachrome
Backers of the movement for higher pay point to studies saying that the average age of fast-food workers is 29 and that more than one-fourth are parents raising children.
Simon Rojas, who earns $8.07 an hour working at a McDonald’s in South Central Los Angeles, said he would join Thursday’s one-day strike. “It’s very difficult to live off $8.07 an hour,” said Mr. Rojas, 23, noting that he is often assigned just 20 or 25 hours of work a week. “I have to live with my parents. I would like to be able to afford a car and an apartment.”
Mr. Rojas said he had studied for a pharmacy technician’s certificate, but he had been unable to save the $100 needed to apply for a license.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I’ve looked but can’t find a list of where these cretins will be picketing. Anyone know?
Several years ago, when I was in my mid-40’s, I was out of work.
I was driving around one day and saw a large construction job that was just starting.
I pulled in and asked to talk to the “General” (General Contractor in charge)
He asked me what I wanted. I said “a job”
He said “What can you do?”
I told him I don’t have any experience in the trades, but am willing to do anything.
He hired my as a general laborer at 13 bucks an hour.
I worked on that job site until completion, 11 months later.
Worked 6 days a week and a lot of OT, about 10 hours a day Monday thru Friday, starting at 6 AM and half days on Saturdays. About 56 hours per week.
I was working with a bunch of Latinos half my age and outworked many of them because of pride although they were all hard workers and would invite me to join them during our lunch break.
Right when that job finished, I got a job in software development. I remember thinking about throwing out my worn down workboots, but I kept them as a reminder that there’s always a way to survive and make a living.
It was hard work, I had to get up at 4:45 AM every day, run a jackhammer and perform a lot of physical labor in 90 degree heat and freezing cold rain, but it was better than flipping burgers for half as much money and half as many hours.
Fast Food jobs used to be filled by High School kids. It’s a stepping stone, not a career. Anyone that is still working in fast food after 2 or 3 years is either stupid or lazy. If you’re only working 20-30 hours a week, go to community college and better yourself instead of demanding to be paid more than your worth.
BTW, my 19 year old nephew has worked at Starbucks for the past year and a half.
He was just promoted to store manager and is going to school studying criminology because he wants to get into Law Enforcement.
He has a nice car, a gorgeous Eastern Euro g/f and is about to move into his own place.
In San Francisco, where rent is a fortune.
He’ll probably be promoted to a regional manager by the time he’s 21, but he doesn’t want to work for Starbucks all his life even though he’s making great money for a kid his age.
BTW, “In-N-Out Burger” is waaay better than McD’s and costs about the same.
Automation is a wonderful idea and I hope that happens. If I can interact with a computer that guarantees getting my order right, then I’m all for it. I’m tired of speaking in clear English and having the order wrong.
True story...I worked at a place where we would take an employee who spoke Spanish with us and buy his fast food meal out of our own pockets, just to make sure the order was right. He ordered in Spanish, the food came back perfect EVERY TIME. When we tried to order in English, there was an error more than 80% of the time. Yes, we kept track and calculated it.
Soooooo....automate that process. Give me a touch screen where I can select my native language, be it English, Spanish, Polish, Gaelic or Romulan. The system translates it into whatever native language the workers speak, which they can choose when they get on duty. Yes, we’ve eliminated jobs, but we’ve also eliminated the language barrier, I’ll get the order right and the franchise owner may just be able to save enough to pay the absurd $15.00 an hour wage these fools are demanding.
To those on the picket line; McDonald’s line crew jobs were NEVER MEANT to raise a family on. i worked at McDonald’s #262 in Northfield, Ohio when i was 18. I stayed there around 9 months and moved onto a job requiring more skill and experience, freeing up the job for someone else starting out. I was never silly enough to think that it was anything more than a temporary, starting job. I knew I didn’t want to be a manager. The job served me well, taught me a lot about work ethic and myself, and it never would have occurred to me to go on strike to double my wages.
Also, if your hours got cut to under 30 hours and you want more but they won’t let you have more hours, who did you vote for for president? If it was Mr. Obama, then you have no one to blame for your situation but yourself. Enjoy your Hope’N’Change and your Change! Change we can believe in!!
Do you like the change to your paychecks??
Ask this person what kind of a cell phone he has.
If you’re unable to raise 100 bucks for a license, the answer should be “I don’t have one”.
Anyone want to sell squares on how many different cell phones that person has had in the last three years?
Good post.
My oldest son is making minimum wage, and only scheduled for 32 hours per week. He’s paying rent and utilities on his own place, maintaining a car, buying his own minutes on his tracfone, and has somehow managed to save over a grand this summer. Minimum wage here is $7.35.
What? You expect them to work to satisfy their needs?
Haven’t you heard? All you have to do to get something is need it!
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