McDonald’s workers gathered outside McDonald’s headquarters in Illinois yesterday to protest the only company willing to employ them. The workers were demanding that their wages be raised to at least $15 – thus ensuring that many of them would lose their job.
Restaurants and retail chains have been ramping up their transition to the use of touch screen and electronic kiosk ordering systems to save on labor costs, thus eliminating cashier jobs. Do these protesters honestly believe their job won’t be put in jeopardy if the cost to employ them rises dramatically while the cost of the touch screen service alternative becomes relatively more cost-effective?
Beyond that, those jobs that won’t be replaced by technology will be threatened by more skilled people suddenly drawn by the higher wage. In other words, middle class college students, for example, who wouldn’t work at McDonalds for $8 an hour will find it worth their while to work there for $15 an hour. The demand for McDonald’s jobs will increase, enabling McDonalds franchise owners to be more selective in their hiring decisions. Goodbye high school drop-outs, hello middle-class college students looking to help pay tuition.
In short, raising wages to $15 an hour would crowd out the low-skilled workers via technology and higher-skilled workers right onto the unemployment like. Then what options will they have? These protestors are naively protesting against their own employment.
Always in search of more publicity, NC’s own William Barber joined in the ignorance, and perhaps revealed a dose of hypocrisy:
The Rev. Dr. William Barber II, head of the NAACP’s North Carolina chapter, led the march onto the sprawling McDonald’s campus. “We can’t treat corporations like people, and people like things,” he said. “A living wage is a moral mandate, and it’s time for McDonald’s to pay fast-food workers their just due now.”
Unfortunately, if Barber were to get his way, the “just due” many of these fast food workers would receive is a ticket to the unemployment line. How is that “moral”?
Lastly, as noted previously on this blog, the NC chapter of the NAACP was looking to hire summer help. Has anybody asked Barber if these workers receive the ‘living wage’ of $15 an hour that Barber insists is a “moral mandate”?
Why does Civitas hate black people so much?
Barber is not known for his intellectual consistency or prowess…. :)
If you want to make more money… get more/better job skills. The economics of how stupid an idea this is is pretty evident. I do feel sorry for the poor guys being propped up and convinced to get out and do all these “protests”, thinking they actually might have a point.
Wouldn’t an increase like that in wages also demand in turn that the prices of McD’s food would greatly increase? Wouldn’t that mean the end of the $1 menu? Would the burger now sold for $1 go up to $5? Wouldn’t that mean sales would drop dramatically b/c ppl are not willing to pay that much? After all, McD’s is where folks go for fast and cheap meals. I am wiling to bet that most of McD’s CUSTOMERS are at the lower end of the income scale.
DaveDuke: “Why does Civitas hate black people so much?”
Dave (are you THE David Duke?) – You forgot your ‘sarcasm’ tag.
(If not sarcasm, please point to ANYTHING in the entire article that even mentions, or remotely alludes to, race or black people.)
It appears to me this article was expressing concern for the low-skilled, low-wage workers, many of whom are certain to lose their jobs if the minimum wage is increased by decree rather than by free market forces.
A. Conservative, This organizations constant attacks on Rev. Barber are sufficient evidence to all that much of the extreme right have a deep seated hatred of people of color, especially those who challenge the status quo.
A. Conservative : “It appears to me this article was expressing concern for the low-skilled, low-wage workers, many of whom are certain to lose their jobs if the minimum wage is increased by decree rather than by free market forces.”.
Concern for low-skilled, low wage workers? LOL, not from this organization.
A. Conservative: it is best not to indulge the unintelligent flamers who like to come these sites. Talking to them encourages them. If you must I suggest you try the New York Times. The people who comment are more intelligent though not more informed. If that doesn’t do it for you try the Guardian. Lazy uninformed and misinformed Liberals exist in The UK as well as the US.