Doubling Down On Fast Food Wages

Yesterday, thousands of fast-food workers around the country walked off of their jobs in  hopes of securing higher wages. The workers are pushing the fast-food industry to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The minimum wage is currently $7.25 while the average fast-food worker currently makes about $9 per hour.

So the big question......Do the workers have a legitimate argument? Or are they just being ridiculous?

Let's face it, flipping burgers at McDonalds was not intended to be a long-term career. At one time, fast-food jobs were largely reserved for high school students and acted as an introductory path into the workforce. These jobs were often the initial step in building work ethic and giving youngsters a sense of responsibility However, they were never intended to provide the necessary income to support a family.

But things have changed a bit......

Somewhere in the past 10-15 years, we've seen a shifting trend where more adults are now asking the familiar question, "Would you like fries with that?". So, why is this? Could it be because the economy is struggling and decent paying jobs just aren't out there? Or could it be because people are lazy and don't want to put forth the effort that's usually required to secure a more lucrative career? Perhaps it's just easier to demand that their current employer fork over a bigger paycheck.

For argument's sake, let's look at one scenario. Let's say that we have a 30-year-old high-school dropout who has been working at Burger King for ten years. Let's also say that he has done nothing to improve his value to the company (or the overall job market) over those past ten years. Is it reasonable for him to now demand to have his salary doubled? What has he done to earn it? In today's competitive marketplace, simply showing up for work everyday just doesn't cut it.

One of the arguments from the striking workers is that revenues are up roughly 13% in the fast-food business. They feel that some of this revenue should be passed onto employees. I can understand that logic. After all, it is the worker bees who keep the honey flowing.

But on the other side, many feel that these latest wage demands are the result the ever-growing sense of entitlement in today's society. The hypothetical McDonald's worker feels that he should have his salary doubled simply because he deserves it. After all, his neighbor is making $15 an hour. So, why shouldn't he?

And let's not ignore that there is at least some union interest in these latest walkouts. From what I understand, the Service Employee's International Union has been providing financial support and training for local organizers.

No doubt, the issue of minimum wage can be a sensitive subject. Who can't sympathize with the single mother who works double shifts at Micky D's to make ends meet. Trust me, if I could wave a magic wand and make everyone rich, I's be more than happy to do it. Unfortunately, the business world does not run of good intentions.

I'm sure opinions will vary, but here are some random statistics to consider:

• The fast-food industry is a $200 billion business
• Today, only 16% of fast-food workers are teenagers. A decade ago, the number was 25%.
• Almost half of fast-food employees over the age of 25 have at least some college education. Roughly 750,000 have Bachelor's Degrees (or higher).
• Only about 5% of fast-food workers earn minimum wage.
• 90% of salaried restaurant workers (including managers and owners) started off as hourly employees
• The restaurant industry is the nation's second largest private sector employer. McDonald's trails only Walmart and IBM when it comes to the most overall employees in the US.

So, let's assume that the workers get their way and the minimum wage does indeed increase to $15. What will the impact be? The additional labor costs will have to be made up somewhere. If the restaurants decide to trim the work force in an effort to offset these costs, the workers could actually be shooting themselves in the foot. At the very least, the costs will be passed onto the consumer. Could the Dollar Menu soon be a thing of the past?

Here's the way that I see it. When you take a job, the working conditions and wages are already established. Perhaps they're not ideal. But if they are that undesirable, there's a simple solution: Look for better job! In my younger years, some of my jobs included cleaning up banquet halls, mopping floors at Rite-Aids, working on construction sites in 100 degree heat and working crazy hours in a loud, dust-filled factory. I made little more than minimum wage on any of these jobs. Was I happy? Hell, no! That's why I moved on and pursued a more desirable (and better paying) career.

Flipping burgers is not what most of us would consider a dream job. And that's exactly why most people choose not to make a career out of it. But if the starting salary increases to over $30,000 a year, things could certainly change......

kw