DC McDonald’s Workers: What Protests? Union front’s fast food protests unlikely to draw D.C. workers BY: Bill McMorris, September 4, 2014 9:00 am http://freebeacon.com/issues/dc-mcdonalds-workers-what-protests/ Employees at a pair of Washington, D.C., McDonald’s said they were not planning on partaking in protests allegedly waged on their behalf by a union-backed front group seeking a national minimum wage of $15. Letica Sanchez, 42, started working for McDonald’s in 2001 after spending 8 years in the dry cleaning business and an assortment of odd jobs. She applied to the fast food franchise outside of the University of Maryland, as well as several other jobs assuming she’d only get part-time work. However, her manager soon gave her a full-time work schedule after she volunteered to take the weekend and night shifts that many of her teenage coworkers refused to work. “When they saw that I liked to work, they gave me my 8-hour shifts. I didn’t need to get a second job,” she said. “Sometimes people don’t take this job seriously, but I did.” She started working in the kitchen, but was soon recommended to take management courses paid for by McDonald’s. Her career took off and she supports two daughters, aged 8 and 11. Sanchez is now the store manager at one of the busiest locations in Washington, catering to tourists and workers as they pass between the White House and Capitol on 13th and F Street NW. “McDonald’s has helped me and so many people grow our career. They support us always and prepare us to manage,” Sanchez said. She said the SEIU-sponsored protests that are scheduled to take place in more than 100 cities on Thursday were unlikely to have much of an effect on her store. The last batch of protests drew “five or six people,” none of whom were employees. Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant, credited the franchise’s culture of upward mobility, hard work, and benefits with the lack of interest in protests. “They helped with discounted daycare, shoes, cell phones. They help us have better jobs and a better life,” she said. “We come to work to try our best and they treat us well.” When Sanchez walked off I began asking her employees about the protests. They had yet to hear of them. I walked two blocks up 13th Street to the New York Avenue McDonald’s location. When the white-shirted manager turned away I asked cashiers and fry cooks whether they planned on participating in the protests. “What? No. They treat us good,” said a man whose nametag read Rodrigo. His coworkers echoed the sentiments. The workers and managers both said they were fine with people showing up to picket, though they hadn’t seen many in the past few months. Customers were not nearly as sympathetic to the union front group’s cause. Liz Cruz sipped on her M&M McFlurry as she walked up 13th Street. She supports increasing the minimum wage, but the $15 hourly wage demanded by union front group Fast Food Forward is “too much” for her. “It would raise the cost of food and stop them from hiring,” she said. She could understand the wage demands from workers, but the union agitation at the foundation of the protests disturbed her. The September 4th protests would be more effective if actual workers stood in front of the stores holding picket signs, according to Cruz. “You shouldn’t be protesting if that’s not what you’re dealing with,” she said.
These protests are in a bit of an emerging, gray area state. They're using the new social media to organize, but using old tactics like the picket line.
This is probably true - but it's not likely to get the same effect in the end. Unless, that is, the online protests garner sufficient mass in order to spill over into the real world (like an Arab Spring, for instance). Too few, and people won't rally to it (even if they believe it) for fear of their own livelihood. It requires protection in numbers - just as the picket lines did.
Mav gave an eloquent and spot on opinion of what happens as a result of any attempt to significantly raise the minimum wage. In my much more earthy opinion this is what will happen. They'll automate the hell out of everything they can. They'll downsize the hell out of their workforce and say to those that are left, you now get to do the job of three people. Don't like it, get the fuck out. All you need to do is look at what happened to the steel and other heavy manufacturing industries during the late 70's and 80's. The boyz at the top will not take the hit. That you can take to the bank.
were not these people telling us raising the minimum wage won't impact jobs telling us that companies will just past on the cost of increased taxes and not impact jobs... did they not trot out warren buffett as proof. and now buffett helps companies leave the country to avoid taxes? You can't have logical conversations with leftists about economics and taxes cause they argue as if their model of the world is real and they discount reality. When you raise the costs of hiring and keeping workers... some workers will not be hired or kept.
Not necessarily true. The good majority of business won't fix something not broken. Once it becomes a problem, however, the benefit in spending money to fix the problem outweighs the cost.