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Ok, now let's see what happens to fast food restaurants in Commiefornia



As a heart patient with type 2 diabetes I'm laughing.

The US NEEDS dramatic hikes in fast food costs, the people are the most obese in the world, not from eating too much, although that's part of it, but stuffing yourself with fats, sugars and salt with some 'additives' thrown in.

And here, they're already robo. The only thing humans do is wrap it and set it out. You order at a kiosk & pick it up at the other end.
 
Let's keep track of how much the price of a meal goes up in fast food restaurants & how many fast food restaurants go belly up in California:
You don't need to keep track. Just look at Denmark where they already have most of these policies in place...


At a McDonald’s location in Copenhagen, for example, this burger cost 30.00 kr (about $4.73). At a McDonald’s location in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a Big Mac costs $4.82.
 
Wow, even Newsom doesn't like it. From that link:



What a mess. But wait, it gets worse:
Why would you take issue with something that will improve working conditions for those affected most directly by and living with these conditions? Fast food workers get treated like crap!
I’m cool with paying an extra for a burger, especially when that dollar means American workers get treated fairly.

It’s about time the parent corporations bear some of the responsibility for franchises. For too long now, the consumer/worker has gotten screwed by this arrangement. Everyone can point to someone else “at fault” for anything. It’s flat out rigged, at least in how the system functions in practice. (See:subcontractors)
 
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Costs are going up. The article cites the rising costs of labor as a concern. But its ok because even though the costs are due at least in part to a constantly rising labor cost, it doesnt mean the increases are due to labor costs.

 
My thoughts exactly. I see plenty of fast food and American corporations still operate in those Nordic nations, they aren’t closing because of wages/benefits the host governments have put in place to protect their citizens’ quality of life.
Much better than in the US where it’s a ‘race to the bottom’ lately
 
In CA, we believe that people that provide us service should maker enough to live on. A business is not guaranteed to make a profit. If you can only succeed by screwing your workers, there are 49 other states you can move to.

And the govt doesnt owe you a living. You get free schooling and those years to develop skills to get entry level jobs. If you remain at low-paying entry-level jobs...unless you have physical or mental challenges/reasons...you should gain what skills/experience you can, move on and up, and leave those jobs to others starting out, or elderly part-timers, mom's returning to workforce, etc.

If you choose not to do so, the business doesnt owe you more $ for the same work years down the line.
 
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You are quite motivated with your framing. So, let me ask you again: have you ever done this work? Written department budgets for a year? Assigned labor hours? Set wage ranges, or advocated against them? Roundtabled all your suppliers? Offset food costs to other categories? Anything?
 
Irrespective of the wisdom or not of this measure, your post is the usual argument that appears when legislation or unions improve things for workers. A minimum wage, the sky is falling! Oh Lordy, if I have to hire black people, I’ll have to fire whites! A forty hour week, we’re doomed! Really, unemployment insurance, we are going to pay people when they are not working?

Chicken Littles of the world, unite!
 
Why would you take issue with something that will improve working conditions for those affected most directly by and living with these conditions?

Because the economy is not a jobs program.

Fast food workers get treated like crap!

Then they can quit and go do something else.

I’m cool with paying an extra for a burger, especially when that dollar means American workers get treated fairly.

Do you know which US industry treats workers the best? Healthcare. How's that working out?

 

Yeah but they had to develop those $1/"Value meal" menus for a reason. And now, they're more like $2-$3 menus.

When I see the cost of fast food burgers and chicken sandwiches...which are marginal quality at best, at $6 and up? And the cost of french fries? Come on. That food is not worth that. And I dont pay it. My forays into fast food are for McD's fries when out running errands. And they are too expensive...but they are really good and convenient.

Taco Bell too. I stop there sometimes because you can reheat their food, burgers and fries not so much. (I can rarely walk in the door and eat...other critters always need to eat first.) The prices for such mediocre food are ridiculous...but again...convenience and I love to drown everything in hot sauce. I mean really...it's hard for melted cheese to be bad

We have a high min wage here in WA St. It's at least partially reflected in those prices and IMO, the food isnt worth it and I rarely bring them my business. That sort of thing also affects bottom line.
 
I skipped out again end of 2019 (thankfully missing covid onset), because I was losing crew to any other industry. I sat in a room with our franchise holder while we were berated for hours because across his hundred and thirty plus stores, his personal yearly profit was 'only' $17 million (his kids, brother, wife, nephews also all made millions) and this was a failure 'at every level'. Guy never saw that he completely lost the room, including thirty or so store levels, his compliance and accounting departments, and most of us in labor development.

He simply could not hear 'pay more, pay better, schedule favorably' as anything but a personal attack. And we were already dealing with newer entries into the category that priced competitively but paid on average four dollars more an hour, and scheduled at higher volumes.
 


You think bumping up minimum wage for minimum wage workers and creating greater dependency on poverty income is 'an improvement' for workers.



Heres MY observation. People like you always think you are really good at knowing how business should be run...yet...you never run businesses and never put your money where your mouth is.
 


It's a new world order, power to the worker.

What we're experiencing here is that service jobs go unfilled. Since the pandemic and they were shut out,. they found a different lifestyle and many improved their situation.

Employers no longer set the terms and shortages are being played out in Restaurant service work, medical staff and retail work. People in Vancouver got 'very comfortable' working from home. A neighbor in my building took on two jobs not to have to go into work.
I get a feeling hair salons are becoming a thing of the past
 

Gee I envy you. To me, $2 more for a mediocre burger or sandwich is a lot. Now think of a family spending there. Plus sides and drinks?
 
You don't think an experienced worker isn't more valuable than a new worker?

The government doesn't owe the business anything, it owes the people equality before the law and of opportunity. Allowing a business to pay less for their labor to increase the business profits steps outside of equality of opportunity.
 
Gee I envy you. To me, $2 more for a mediocre burger or sandwich is a lot. Now think of a family spending there. Plus sides and drinks?
What do you mean $2 more? The article above just showed that a Big Mac in Denmark was actually cheaper than it was in Tulsa, OK.
 
What? You mean fast food workers - the ones who are shit on more than almost any other line of work - are going to get a huge pay raise?

Well good for them. I’m happy for them, and would gladly pay a little more for a burger, if it means they can make a living wage.
 
In 2018 - 2019, in super high cost New England, our starting pay for adults at 32 to 40 hrs - handling food under high pressure conditions, constant customer abuse with constant surveillance and to a performance timer was $9.00 per hour. When I was store level, three quarters of my 22 crew members were in treatment or advanced to subox self-maintenance, because to stay on the outside, every one of them had to have recorded min hours. These are who must work for such shit money.

This is an easily exploited labor pool, and most of them had other jobs, because they had to pay for their clinic time or probation, plus rent and food.

The failure and turnover rate was catastrophic for most stores, and I had to build retention with guaranteed schedules, and 'lending' to stores with over-time budgets. Some of my crew wouldn't have days off at all in entire quarters. For starvation money.
 
I have no idea how a business should be run. But if they can’t afford to pay decent wages and mandated benefits, they shouldn’t be in business.
 
Because the economy is not a jobs program.



Then they can quit and go do something else.



Do you know which US industry treats workers the best? Healthcare. How's that working out?
The economy IS about jobs. Labor creates all wealth.
 
Why should taxpayers subsidize the profits of private businesses?

If full time employees qualify for assistance the business should be fined to recoup the full amount the taxpayers are spending subsidizing their labor force .
 

Then you know better than anybody how bad it actually is. And it’s not all kids. There are lots of people out there who have grown kids who are still working fast food because it’s all they can find, or all they are qualified for.

I am so thankful that I’m not 50, and having to work in fast food, just to pay the electric bill and cover the rent.

We should all wake up thankful every day for where we are and what we have. Even if it isn’t much, what we all have is what others pray for.
 
The economy IS about jobs.

No, it isn't. Society gets richer when a robot or automation kills a job and puts someone out of work. If McDonalds completely automated their restaurants, we, as a society, would be richer and better off.

Labor creates all wealth.