Low Wage Workers Protesting

It is a difficult situation. Minimum wage, depending on the state, requires workers to spend 40 hours at work, do the low end hard work, and live off that salary. I believe that if a corporation can earn billions in profit, it can afford to pay more than minimum wage.

Should it be 15.00 dollars per hour? I am not sure that a number suits well. What suits well is a decision based on what will it affect besides the company. Will it impact the economy as well? Will it benefit the workers?

 

A living wage is not something that should be debated. What is really up for debate is what people have decided is a living wage. Without the real definition of 'living wage' how do people feel they can define it? So:

So, if that is what we all mean by 'living wage' do you feel that you can live off of making $15 an hour working less than 30 hours (may I quote?) "Because of Obamacare"? However, 'normal' is up for debate now. What is normal? Now, implement obtaining Obamacare with that wage difference. Does that work for or against America? I'm not so sure they are on the wrong track. Numerically it makes all the sense in the world to me. If not morally.

 

I can relate to them as I get lousy pay too but protesting won't work. It does nothing other than hurt the economy. No workers mean no productivity, think about what will happen in the long term. Since when do employers ever give in to protests. How great it will be if everyone can seat down and talk about it calmly? Nothing a little compromise won't fix.

 

Agreed that it's not a living wage. That being said, they're asking to be paid the same amount someone with a college degree would get. My fiance makes $20.00 an hour with one year towards a Master's degree. I'm not sure that I think it's fair for someone at Walmart or McDonald's to get $15.00 an hour. Especially if others who are highly skilled workers are making the same amount.

Another thing to consider, that would mean that the cost of living in general would have to go up. If you pay them that amount, then other workers would more than likely get a market increase. So, I'm not sure how much it's going to help them in the long run.

I think what we really need is to realize that not everyone is college bound. I think we need to offer more vocational training in our public schools to train members of this society. I think that would be a good start.

 

While there demand for better pay is OK, the money they're asking for is rather high. The best thing for them to do would for them to demand for an increase in wages by the same percentage the cost of living has gone up by.

That would be fair. Otherwise, should they get the raise then it would in the end be counter-productive if the prices of everything also shoot up. That would negate any gain they made. Would they ask for another raise?

 

I would think that this is an argument for raising everyone's wage. If we agree that what is made cannot possibly be a 'living wage' then why are we rewarding and education with an amount that is that of just a living wage? That seems like nonsense to me. A living wage should surely be paid to anyone working even the most menial of jobs.
My biggest problem is the gap that is ever expanding between the rich and the poor. Losing the middle class hurts the rich almost as much as the poor. More people are coming to the conclusion that there is such a thing as having too much money while those with less are understanding its value because of how it personally affects them.

 

It does seem that the billion dollar companies are the one's that pay their workers the least! I know of many smaller "mom and pop" stores that pay their workers more than minimum wage. This doesn't make sense when they really can't afford it, but companies like Wal-Mart and McDonald's can!

 

I support the efforts of these workers to get what they deserve - it can't be easy to take the time and effort and risk to protest, but I certainly think it's important. Unfortunately, due to budget and convenience I find myself shopping at Walmart and eating at McDonald's, but I wish I could stop supporting these companies. There would only be a positive benefit to our economy if we increase salaries for lower-wage workers. They are more likely than millionaires to spend their money in their communities. I also think that the quality of the work they do will increase - money stress may make it hard for them to concentrate on their jobs and to be cordial while working. And if the workers are being paid more, it may be more appropriate for their employees to have higher expectations for them, something that will benefit us all.

 

I can understand the problem that these workers are having, since many of them don't even work a full 40 hour workweek, and then are paid a wage that is not enough to live on in our society.
However, the minimum wage job has always been just an entry level position. All of the big chain fast food places like Burger King do offer advancement to management positions, and this is what has traditionally happened for people to earn more money... they worked hard, were promoted, and then earned more.
The workers today are not wanting to learn more, or take any more responsibility, they just want to keep on doing the basic job, and earn more money than people are earning who are already doing higher skilled jobs. This is not fair, either.

Besides, when the wage goes up, then all the other costs of living go up next, so they still can't earn enough money to live on, but are now in a higher tax bracket, and paying more of their earnings to the government. No one wins this way, except the IRS.

 

I find it that in the long run, the workers going on protest are at a lose because those hours that you lose while you protest can seriously affect their lives like no paying rent. The corporations don;t really lose too much because they have other incomes to keep them afloat. This will also cause less jobs if the wage goes up because I learned in Economics that higher wages for workers doesn't always turn out to be good. In end Corporations are the ones that win.

 

This is the difficult one, I think McD can afford to increase their wages a bit, but for them to request similar wages to that of someone with the degree its a bit ridiculous to be fair. Buy anyway who am i to say anything!

 

Corporations are expecting to be able to get government services for free. The tea party and the Ayn Rand crowd are all for eliminating corporate taxes and making everyone fend for themselves. The public is unaware that many backroom deals are being made and the common person with a degree or not is in for a big shock. Atlas is in the process of shrugging. Only people familiar with the pseudo philosophy of "objectivism," can know what that means. I suggest that everyone educate themselves, as to the meaning of these terms and act, before it's too late. Some people have expressed the sentiment that people should not make the same or comparable wage as a degreed person. If you were to look at India, using google earth, with the schools feature turned on, you would see that in many areas there are MIT type schools every 2 square miles. When you consider how costly and difficult it is to get into a good school in the US, this becomes an ominous fact. Companies can hire an Indian engineer to do anything for pennies on the dollar, as compared to a US engineer. In fact, there are very few telecommutable positions that can escape this dilema. If you think that education is going to make you more valuable in the future, you are deluded. Soon, the only people that will be able to make money are the ones that own the machines that automate everything worth anything anymore. If the public in the United States don’t wake up soon, the Koch brothers and the rest of the .1%, will be renting everyone their lives. Yes, support the lowest paid workers in their demands! Society is like a wet paper bag with handles. While the handles look like the common sense solution, you will only succeed in lifting it from the bottom.
Minimum wage should be a matter of location. It should be determined on a monthly, not hourly basis. Minimum wage should be tied to the cost of housing in a given zip code. If the median monthly average cost for rent/mortgage payment is $900.00 in that zip code, then the minimum wage should be 4x $900.00 = 3600.00 a month. If the business thinks that is too much they can move to a less expensive area. I really doubt McDonalds would do that and by the way this has worked out in New Zealand, they won’t be closing any stores either. The only thing that would happen is that certain well-heeled individuals, will become very angry. I can live with that.

 

Here in the UK, minimum wage is £6.31 which works out at just over $10 an hour. $15 is around £9.13 and I think that is a great wage to get paid! A very good one indeed considering you are just flipping burgers. I would go work there if they paid that much in this country!

 

Sometimes the labor do react on things certainly and it can go over the top especially when their demands aren't being accepted its more like a way that help us a lot with understanding the basics according to me and if their protest do work then i guess that is all that matters.

 

This. I know a woman with a college education who works the phones/switchboard at a hospital for $17 an hour. For a fast food worker to say that they deserve the same money as someone who answers emergency phone calls in the middle of the night is just wrong. I respect that fast food is an honest job, but it shouldn't pay the same as medical office work.

 

I do agree that all workers should be paid a decent wage but at the same time like you said if you want to make more money you need to get the education that earns you a bigger paycheck or get into a job that pays decent but doesn't necessarily require a higher education like a real estate agent for example. I do understand that fastfood places are sometimes the only place people can get a job though.

 

I have not personally seen anyone protesting about their pay here in Mississippi but I do feel that these companies should pay their workers more. The owners of the companies are making billions of dollars everyday and are to cheap to pay their workers what they are worth. They need to realize that all of their employees are the ones who is making them rich, so why not increase their pay. Without people working for them, they would not be where they are today.

 

Maybe there could be a structure where those who are fresh out of school or have no experience and limited education can work for minimum wage until they prove themselves worthy. Those with education or heavy experience can make a salary that equals minimum with benefits and stock sharing. I think this would cut back on frustrated over-worked employees who do strange things to food or are rude to customers.

Not only do I think the big names can afford it but it would force them to create a little more organization and harmony instead of rushing employees like cattle.