Free Republic

It's official! - Robots are replacing humans. Chipotle restaurants in California have introduced two robots to replace human workers in an effort to slash labor costs in response to the state-mandated $20 minimum wage. The first robot called the "autocato" can peel, stone, and cut an avocado, and then turn it into guacamole in 26 seconds. The other robot dubbed the "digital makeline" has the ability to portion salads and bowls based on orders from the mobile app. The robots are part of an automation push that Chipotle's executives think could reduce the number of employees and help lower rising...

Popular grocery store chain Aldi announced on September 4 that it is raising its minimum wage to $18 and $23 an hour due to the company’s growth. Aldi’s press release further noted that it is looking to hire more than 13,000 store and warehouse workers nationwide as the holidays approach and the company opens additional stores. The announcement continued: Known for its commitment to competitive compensation, the new national average starting wages for open ALDI store and warehouse positions will be $18 and $23 per hour, respectively, based on market and position. At ALDI, those working more than 30 hours...

It’s been 15 years since workers earning the federal minimum wage got a raise. The cost of living has gone up more than 45% since then, with rents and home prices rising faster than incomes in most regions of the country. Yet the nation’s wage floor has stayed stuck at $7.25 an hour.That is poverty pay, and an increase to the federal minimum wage is long overdue. It’s mind-boggling that Congress has gone so long without making even modest adjustments to help the lowest-paid workers. This is the longest stretch of time without an increase to the federal minimum wage...

High prices are just one logical result of California’s disastrous mandate to impose a $20 minimum wage on workers in fast-food restaurants.A recent trek to southern California brought not only a trip down memory lane for this writer but also a case of sticker shock. Consider just some of the expenses that busted my food budget: $10.71 for a McDonald’s McMuffin meal; $15.93 for a steak burrito (without sides) at Baja Fresh; and $26.44 for a kebab plate and baklava from a local Middle Eastern chain.These high prices represent one logical result of California’s disastrous mandate to impose a $20...

<p>Part of what brought Vance to the dance may be his undoing. Donors are scared of him.</p><p>In his rise from Donald Trump critic to viable contender to be the presumptive Republican nominee’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio has come so far. But he may fall just short thanks to some risk-averse GOP donors.</p>

BOSTON -- Drivers for Uber and Lyft will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour under a settlement announced Thursday by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, in a deal that also includes a suite of benefits and protections. The two companies will also be required to pay a combined $175 million to the state to resolve allegations that the companies violated Massachusetts wage and hour laws, a substantial majority of which will be distributed to current and former drivers. ... The companies were pushing a ballot question that would classify drivers as independent contractors eligible for some benefits,...

A longtime San Francisco McDonald’s has become the latest casualty of California’s new $20 minimum wage, according to reports. The McDonald’s at the Stonestown Galleria shopping mall, about eight miles southwest of downtown San Francisco, was permanently shuttered Sunday after more than 30 years serving the area. “This is a gut-wrenching day for my family,” franchise owner Scott Rodrick said, according to ABC 7. Rodrick blamed the closure on a number of factors — but said the newly rolled-out law hiking the statewide minimum wage from $16 to $20 an hour pushed the business over the edge. Coupled with the...

Vance thinks that jobs lost because of incompetent central planning don't matter—but that jobs lost to immigrants do.In an interview published this week by The New York Times, Sen. J.D. Vance (R–Ohio) calls for a more muscular federal government to intervene even more aggressively in the economy than it already does, to create what Vance calls "incentives" for American workers. In doing so, Vance inadvertently reveals one of the major flaws in this line of analysis. Vance's opinions about these things carry significant weight, in no small part because he's on the shortlist to be Donald Trump's running mate. With...

California fast food restaurants have slashed nearly 10,000 jobs because of the state’s new $20 minimum wage as struggling franchises cut labor costs and raise prices to survive, a major trade group said Thursday. The California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA) slammed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for pushing through the law, which went into effect April 1 – and was blamed for forcing one beloved taco chain to shutter 48 locations in the state last week. “California businesses have been under total attack and total assault for years,” CABIA president and founder Tom Manzo told Fox Business. “It’s just another...

Many have seen their hours reduced—or have lost their jobs entirely.California now leads the nation in imposing dumb wage laws. The state just raised the hourly minimum wage for fast food workers to $20. Gov. Gavin Newsom said, "We saw the inequities….We had a responsibility to do more." Unions pushed for the higher minimum, and in Democrat-run states, unions usually get what they want. CNN announced, "Half a million California fast food workers will now earn $20 per hour." Gullible leftists at the Center for American Progress claim, "A higher minimum wage would boost millions of families out of poverty...

California Democrats are racing to reverse a new $25-an-hour healthcare worker minimum wage law going into effect at the end of the week after the governor’s office estimates it would cost the state $4 billion annually. The news of the costs isn’t new. In fact, it was projected by legislative analysis and ignored by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who signed the law in October. Now, as it gets ready to go into effect, lawmakers are looking for ways to delay it. California’s budget deficit has grown in years and now stands at a hefty $45 billion. Newsom’s office projects the...

Gov. Gavin Newson (D-CA) is backing off a law he passed mandating a $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers. As a Wall Street Journal editorial points out, Newsom is only doing this because the state feels the burden of this stupid law. California has already pummeled private businesses with stupid $20 minimum wage laws, which remain in place. But… Since the fascist state of California picks up much of the state’s healthcare tab, Newsom is backpedaling: The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal wrote: The state’s budget deficit has ballooned to $45 billion. Mr. Newsom projects that the new...

As a seasoned restaurant consultant deeply entrenched in the industry, I've got my finger on the pulse of what's happening. Running a restaurant has always been a tough gig. Everyone seems to think their family recipe will turn into a gold mine, but sadly, it's not just about the quality of Grandma's lasagna. There are myriad challenges to navigate in this business. From securing the right location and talent to nailing down a winning concept, dealing with everything from theft to insurance, not to mention the endless stream of fees, licenses, and paperwork, the restaurant industry can nickel and dime...

In response to recent minimum wage increases in California, fast food restaurants across the state are shifting to automation to get rid of wage-earning humans. The move to making customers place orders at digital kiosks alleviates what owners say is the financial strain of rising labor costs after the minimum wage for the state’s fast food workers increased on April 1 from $16 to $20 per hour. Harsh Ghai, a Burger King franchise owner who manages 140 outlets along the West Coast, is leading the transition to automation. He plans to introduce digital kiosks across all his restaurants within months...

In California, a Foster’s Freeze location closed and laid off its workers due to a new $20 per hour minimum wage that took effect April 1st. The wage increase was mandated by Governor Gavin Newsom under a law raising the fast food minimum wage by 25% to $20 an hour. The assistant manager said the owner could no longer afford the higher salaries. Some employees initially thought it was an April Fool’s joke. Prior reports indicated many California restaurants had already begun layoffs anticipating the wage hike. While economists debate the impacts of minimum wage increases, the restaurant industry is...

California-based fast food restaurants have hiked the price of menu items by as much as 8% in response to the $20-an-hour minimum wage law that went into effect April 1. .... A typical Chicken Burrito from a California Chipotle will now cost $10.25, while the average price of a Steak Burrito will set you back $12. ... Wendy’s also instituted substantial price hikes on staple menu items

A fair wage advocacy group is demanding that California’s new $20 minimum wage law for fast food workers be extended to all sectors to help working-class people who are struggling with the state’s high cost of living. FOX Business spoke with Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage to discuss what she described as the skyrocketing levels of home insecurity and food insecurity post-pandemic. Fast food workers winning a $20 minimum wage, she said, “was just the beginning.” Jayaraman pointed to the exorbitantly high cost of living in the Golden State where, in some counties, an individual would need a...

The runaway inflation raging under Joe Biden’s failed presidency has gotten so bad that some Americans are being priced out of eating at McDonald’s. Exacerbating the situation in California is the new $20-an-hour minimum wage, which has forced many fast food chains — once considered an affordable meal option — to anger customers by hiking prices. This is the second time in three months the Golden State has raised its minimum wage. In January, the state increased the minimum wage to $16 an hour from $11. A TikTok user lamented that she had paid more than $25 for a 40-piece...

A Fosters Freeze outlet in Lemoore shut down on Monday — the same day the new minimum wage kicked in — and its workers are now out of a job. Monica Navarro, former assistant general manager of that Fosters Freeze location, told Fox Business that she and her former colleagues would prefer the old wage over being unemployed. “From the people that I spoke to, my employees, we would have rather stayed at the wage that we did have before, just because now we don't have a job,” she said. She also observed the impacts of the new minimum wage...

Another California small business and its workers have seemingly suffered at the hands of the state’s newly enacted $20 minimum wage. ... When making their way to work Monday morning, Navarro and her team learned upon arrival that the restaurant owner had made the decision to close its doors for good. The owner, Loren Wright, told local Fox affiliate KMPH that this was the “last thing” they wanted to do, but knew by Friday night the business likely wouldn’t be able to absorb the wage hike and didn’t “want to ruin their Easter Sunday.” The new California statewide legislation went...