Do they deserve a Raise ?
latimes.com/business/la-…
Fast-food worker strikes coming to Los Angeles; higher wages sought
Los Angeles fast-food workers, backed by SEIU and local groups, plan to join nationwide strikes to demand $15-an-hour pay. McDonald's is targeted.

Nope.

yet folks on welfare make more than min. wage.
go figure ?
washingtonexaminer.com/w…
I dont know about 15 bucks, some workers I see busting ass and others, well, why are they even there ?

This is supposed to be a job for high school kids to make a little money not to support a family. No to raising the wages.

Well said Frank

^+

TY: "No.  It isn't intended to be a job where you "make a living"
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Could argue the same for Waiters/Waitresses who complain about tips...

What's good for the goose should be good for the gander imo.

I could never afford $8.95 for a happy meal for each of my 6 kids

We should outlaw tips in restaurants so both industries will be even... then we will see who does all the complaining. Waiters/Waitresses don't deserve any more $$$ than the crew working at Mc Donalds imo.

How much more money and profits do these CEO and companies need??...everyone should have a fair wage...someone has to do these jobs..I wouldn't want to do such job...so those that have to or want to should be paid enough to live on ...we aren't going to bankrupt these multi million dollar profit companies...

That's why the employees always happy there and great service...you get what you pay for...

Bitter: "They're still shitty jobs with shitty pay."
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lol Not even close when it comes to overall pay, in general.

yes means no more extra value meals.

Yes they deserve a raise.

I wish my salary would double for producing the same amount of work.

Bitter: "What might happen is that the cost of the services/products will be raised. No more dollar menu items."
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lol Pfft.

Same argument was made about using legal workers vs illegal workers to pick fruit in California... Most legitimate studies showed that those claims were false and the price of fruits/veggies would remain the same for the most part.

Now that's certainly a different debate... but I'm just tired of people defending the unscrupulous actions of these multi-million (and multi-billion) dollar corporations by instilling fear into people with the threat of steep "price increases" and layoffs. It's just a bunch of hot air, tbh.

Unfortunately, most people on YT have no idea who John Locke was.

^You forgot 60"+ flat screen tv

What about making the "restaurants"  offer health care; that won't matter for high schoolers, but could it take the burden off the taxpayers that are covering theses uninsured?  
I don't eat garbage- haven't been to a McDs since I was a kid.  My peers that eat it seem to age faster- fat, bald, wrinkled.  Eh, probably no connection.

No wonder I get clowned on with my 10 year old  32" hand me down.

$15!!!! There crazy but I do agree that they need to get paid more just like it says on that sign serving billions and billions well there also making billions and billions every day!! So $15 wouldn't hurt them at all ...

I think fast food workers usually look like there working hard.

The kind of workers where a lot of them look useless are those fucks at Office Depot or Staples or Best Buy. I bet they make close to minimum wage and that is what they deserve. 8 bucks an hour to be a useless fuck.

if you're past your teens and still flip burgers at some fast food joint.

go kill yourself.

The majority of fast food workers do not work hard.  
General warehouse labor.  Now that's a hard job with a low starting pay, but you can move up if you work hard.

Chai S: Very stupid comment

for stupid people.

i type the very same thing you're thinking but wouldn't dare speak. get off your moral high ground.

never judge someone.

LMAO

plz.

Maybe $10-12

Honestly Chai... I respect EVERYBODY who is working... because at least they are doing something productive in the community. I don't care if they are flipping burgers or taking out the trash.

I'll take that over a healthy guy standing on the side of a freeway collecting cash any day of the week.

There's a reason why so many parents threaten their kids with the prospect of flipping burgers if they don't take their education seriously.

Trash collectors make much more than minimum wage.  
howstuffworks.com/10-hig…

If I owned a Burger joint , I would pay my beloved employees $15/hr.

Kevin W. says:
bald, wrinkled.  Eh, probably no connection.
____________________________________
Are you serious on the balding stuff? I been fighting that demon like crazy. If McD's French Fries are the culprit, I am gonna quit it.

I worked a lot of minimum wage jobs when I was young. I never considered any of them as a career choice that I was going to build my future on. Having lousy, low paying jobs should encourage workers to do better for themselves. If the minimum wage is increased substantially, it will be counter-productive for the workers' own long term well being. It will also be an incentive for employers paying minimum wage to reduce their work force through layoffs and then demand that the remaining employees work harder to pick up the slack.

@Sean, or at least pay them minimum job and give them a bonus. I have seen some people at Burger joints who work their ass off. I don't see why they don't deserve a good pay.

LW: "Trash collectors make much more than minimum wage."
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True, it's a very dangerous and dirty job... They get a good wage and deservingly so.

@Sam, everyone can't be Steve Jobs nor Bill Gates. It is bound to happen that some folks will never advance - mostly not because of a fault of their own.

Sam: "Having lousy, low paying jobs should encourage workers to do better for themselves."
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The lousiness of the job should be enough encouragement by itself imo... You don't need to pay them pennies or starve them out of a home to get that message across (to the majority, at least). The labor will still be just as tough, except now, they'll be able to afford a bed that doesn't have air in it.

why anyone should be applauded for their own personal responsibility is beyond me.

@Chai S.  It's what's taught in schools these days.  Too bad kids only choose what they want to retain.

lol Who's applauding them?...

i know many skilled professional cooks, who do not make $15 an hour.

^ troof

whatever happened to working hard and striving for better things in life?

Why work hard when you can demand to be paid $15/hr to flip burgers?

To be fair though, I've encountered many people who make much more than minimum wage that don't even deserve to be paid minimum wage.

The point is that the SEI Union wants to build on the success of increasing minimum wage to gain members to stuff their pockets with dues, so they can get favors from politicians.  One of the favors in return for votes is to get exempt from Obamacare costs.

@frank - the thing is, most people nowadays are living well beyond their means i.e. drinking starbucks every morning, buying the latest gadgets, paying for premium tv, owning several vehicles, consummating and having multiple children, et cetera.

@frank- permanent underclass is subjective. some people fall into that classification due to poor spending habits / bad decision making. often times, both. others are simply victims of circumstances.

Yes, 8 an hour is still poverty

I read an article that stated if McDonalds paid all of its workers $20 an hour, the price of a Big Mac would only have to be raised 43 cents to cover it.  I'd be more than willing to pay that if it gave the adult workers a true living wage.

I think not. They have three items to put in a bag and hand it to you and half the time they cant get that rite. Probably the reason they are working where they are lol

In addition to putting things in bags, they also have to put up with condescending assholes (like the people in this thread) so I think they deserve a raise for that alone.

Pay cuts for the ridiculously wealthy. Pay increase for the working poor. Its unbalanced and sad.

Dave m lol love it.

With the cost of living today, $15.00 an hour is not that much money,when you consider the average rent is between $1200.00-

Most Definitely! $15.00 an hour isn't that much money,when you consider the cost of living, especially here in CA.....the average rent is between $1100.00 and $ 1500.00 dollars a month,give or take a few hundred....it would probably keep people from having to go on welfare in the long run,and be independent of reliance on the D.P.S.S.,and earn a decent, livable wage for themselves and their family! What could possibly be wrong with that ?

Now that's for a really nice Apt.,now on the low end of rent, between $700.00 and $900.00 to $950.00 a month.....Not to mention groceries,car payments,clothes,gas,electricity,school tuition,heat,air conditioning,maybe vacations,

Now that's for a really nice Apt.,now on the low end of rent, between $700.00 and $900.00 to $950.00 a month.....Not to mention groceries,car payments,clothes,gas,electricity,school tuition,heat,air conditioning,maybe vacations,

Maybe vacations,but somethings out of whack,because the person making minimum wage,can't afford any of this! They can barely afford their rent, and all those other expenses, are going to be paid in partial,late, or not at all.....not this month anyway!

Not to mention,Doctor's office visits,Urgent Care visits,insurance

Insurance premiums, animal costs (dogs & cats vet costs, if you don't have pet insurance) tax returns( if

Tax returns (If money is owed)hair dresser costs,hair stylists costs,cleaning products,ie; shampoo,

Laundry detergent,hand soap,body wash,Satelite TV, Computer packages,(cell, TV, PC). The list

The List could go on!

People getting paid minimum wage, can't afford even the basics,(and not so basic) nessesary costs in the cost of living!

long thread, I havent read it all.

but does raising the minimum wage of unskilled (assumedly fast food) workers give them a better quality of life?
wouldn't basic health care benefits, or education/reimbursement credits result in a better skilled workforce for America?

with the tendancy for low savings, and high consumer spending/credit debt, I think a federal minimum wage changes would results in a rush of iPhone6 & wireless data plan sales - they'll plow it back into consumer spending as soon as they get it.

is the federal minimum wage a form of progressive taxation - transferring money downslope?

For the record, I lasted 3 months at McDonalds at minimum wage, before I moved on to better working conditions and higher pay elsewhere. Lots of people don't move up the pyramid, that's a fact of life.

The people on this thread seem to have a real problem with fast- food employees.....By limiting there earning potential,you're forcing people to make decisions that they may not presently be able to make! By callously, narrowmindedly, stereotyping people that work at fast food restaurants, calling them basically undeserving of fair living wages,puts you in catagory of a "Burger Bigot"!Let's hope that none of the "critics"of this wage increase will ever be in a situation,where they have to make a choice between paying their rent or feeding their kids, or themselves!Lets stop all this snobbery,and show some compassion for people who work just as hard as you or I, but are not

........renumerated for their effort!

Nope

How can these workers strive to be anything in a company with such pitiful wages,when their making wages considered to be at poverty level or slightly below that....

The world operates at.least in my world of cali..on a pyramid. U need more people who makr less so we can enjoy more cheaper things than our neigbor. If u increase the minimum wage it will ripple up. Most commodities are limited due to scarcity people to make them ir the ensuing trash and pollution it creates in making and later in disposing of it. So if u increase the wage eventually u will have to be okay with having less. Lets take an example of a combo meal. Since u pay workers more it will cost u more. U will consume less. Lets look at a lessiening in price..gas..when gas price goes down more people drive. So u will soend more time stuck in traffic. So for those who make more it would behoove u to pay more in gas which would force many to forgo driving. Another boon is the tool lanes. U oay to save time.

If u increase minimum to 10 dollars an hour u create a class war with thise making 10 to 15.

Jin. Unions and pensions are unsustainable items.. as the global markets compete u will see their extinction.

Elio P, As most of the comments on this thread have pointed out,misguidedly,Mcjobs candidates don't deserve a wage raise,from companys that earn billions every year selling burgers,fries,drinks,and other assorted menu items! Let's stop assuming every one that works there is in high school,(not that it matters in the least),but there is a broad demographic of age groups across the board working there.People with responsibilities to their families,to themselves to be able to make a living wage at a place where they just happen to be working at right now because(insert reason here!),and has a reasonable amount skill connected with it! Most jobs aren't very glamorous, in fact , they're down right difficult, the job itself might not be as much, once you've gained experience there.....Sometimes it's just dealing with stress,or the obnoxious co- worker or supervisor....Let's just say that it's not a walk in the park! Let's not add to peoples burdens by telling them they don't deserve anything for their effort and hard work! That's just short-sighted and slightly(completely) insensitive.....

they totally deserve raises, especially when they have to deal with dorky customers like me that yell at their faces, "Hold my nuuuuutz!", every time I order a sundae

If they get a raise to $15, then they should be taxed triple!