National fast-food wage protests kick off in New York

By Alana Semuels, August 29, 2013,.

NEW YORK -- Beginning a day of protests that organizers say will spread to 50 cities and 1,000 stores across the country, a crowd of chanting workers gathered Thursday morning at a McDonald's in midtown Manhattan to call for higher wages and the chance to join a union.

About 500 people, including workers, activists, religious leaders, news crews and local politicians, gathered outside the McDonald's on Fifth Avenue. The protesters chanted "Si Se Puede" ("Yes, We Can") and "Hey, hey, ho, ho $7.25 has got to go," holding signs saying "On Strike: Can't Survive on $7.25," referring to the federal minimum wage.

The protesters plan to spread out to other stores throughout New York during the day. Protests are also expected in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., and other cities……"They don't seem to care," he said about his employers. "It's horrible how they manage us, how they talk to us, how they treat us. They don't respect us as human."

The fast-food industry used to employ mostly younger people just trying to make some extra money as they went through school. Now, workers are older and depend on the work to feed families. Analysis by the Economic Policies Institute shows that the average age of minimum-wage workers is now 35, and that 88% are 20 and older.

"This morning, I'm out here taking a stand for all the fast-food workers around the world," Langley said. "If you're not going to stand up for yourselves, we will."…To Read More….

For my readers:  I have had some comments sent to me that were inappropriate when I posted about this earlier in the week, and as a result I didn't publish them.  You don't have to agree with me to get a comment posted, but you must keep comments civil and intelligent.... and I will post it.  I don't like nasty comments.  I don't like smarmy, snarky, nasty, rude, crude or stupid.     

My Take - This is an effort in futility. These companies aren't going to pay over 15 dollars an hour for the work they do. Why? Because anyone can do what they do and if they paid that kind of money a ton of fast food restaurants will go out of business. Do they really believe that won't happen? Do they really believe they will be better off? Fast food is normally a temporary job, and even if it is less so now, it will be again. 

As for the abusive behavior of managers....I agree.....food managers treat everyone rotten.  For reasons I have never been able to understand food service managers have egos way out of proportion to their intelligence or to the importance of their position in society.  But, that is part and parcel of the industry.  I have been around the food business in one capacity or another for 35 years and there is one incontrovertible fact that we need to understand; it draws the strangest people in the world. It’s the only industry in the world where you get credibility for working at a lot of different places.  The other incontrovertible fact that becomes obvious to people like me who are outside the food business, but have to interact with it is this; when you talk to them or watch what they do……you quickly realize that most of these people can’t hold down a job elsewhere…..that’s why they are where they are.  That may be a sad reality, but it is a reality, and no one is going to pay them over 15 dollar an hour.  This is not going to be any more effective than the Occupy Wall Street movement.   Get over it!