Michigan legislative action thread
Posted on 05/11/2013 12:02:04 PM PDT by mdittmar
Fast food workers at more than 60 restaurants in Detroit walked off the job Friday. This may be the largest fast food strike in American history, involving more than 400 workers from McDonald's, Long John Silver's, Burger King, Popeyes and KFC. Some locations were forced to shut down. At issue is workers' right to form a union and an increase in base pay to a minimum of $15 per hour.
Pastor W.J. Rideout III, a leader in Detroit’s Good Jobs Now coalition, said the organic action was a result of a long history of mistreatment of fast food workers:
“They’ve been wronged in so many ways, it really doesn’t take much coaching to say, hey, we’re going to organize together, we’re going to stand up together,” he said.
“There are 50,000-plus fast food employees in the Detroit metro area…and they’re not even giving them the proper amount of hours,” Rideout said. “At 40 hours a week, they’re making about $15,000 a year, and they’re not even getting 40 hours a week.” Instead, managers hire many employees on an exclusively part-time basis. “Some of them are getting between 15 and 20 hours a week, and that’s barely enough to pay a cellphone bill.”
Reports are coming in that one McDonald's called in replacement workers, some of whom then joined the strike.
The strike in Detroit follows on the heels of similar actions in New York, Pennsylvania, Chicago and St. Louis.
Oh that’s ok...let them walk off....
We are working on amnesty. You know...the jobs Americans won’t do.... the new “citizens” will take those jobs...
I thought McDonalds et al were exempt?
McDonald’s, 29 other firms get health care coverage waivers http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2010-10-07-healthlaw07_ST_N.htm
Not that long ago, houses were selling for $1 in Detroit and no takers.
... Still, the cost-conscious consumer is the mainstay of the fast-food business, and the big players have to cater to their preferences. These customers spend less on each visit, but they visit more frequently. So the fast food companies are willing to sacrifice profit margins to increase their share of the market. ...
After spending my two years aboard the USS Perkins (DD-877) making a few GRAND PER YEAR, I got a 40 hour job while going to college, working as a receptionist/multi-purpose worker at a funeral home. My pay was $1.60 an hour.
I was glad I had a job!
The only thing that is left to feed the masses in this war zone and thier going to kill this too
There are more people on Welfare in Illinois than there are people working.
Chicago pays the highest wages to teachers than anywhere else in the U.S. averaging $110,000/year.
Their pensions average 80-90% of their income. You can’t blame that on republicans because there aren’t any.
Wow, are Illinois and Chicago great or what?
Be sure to read till the end. I’ve never heard it explained better.
Perhaps the U.S. should pull out of Chicago ?
Body count: In the last six months 292 killed (murdered) in Chicago .
221 killed in Iraq AND Chicago has one of the strictest gun laws in the entire US.
Here’s the Chicago chain of command:
President: Barack Hussein Obama
Senator: Dick Durbin
House Representative: Jesse Jackson Jr.
Governor: Pat Quinn
House leader: Mike Madigan
Atty. Gen.: Lisa Madigan ( daughter of Mike)
Mayor: Rahm Emanuel
The leadership in Illinois - all Democrats.
Thank you for the combat zone in Chicago . Of course, they’re all blaming each other. Can’t blame Republicans; there aren’t any!
Chicago school system rated one of the worst in the country. Can’t blame Republicans; there aren’t any!
State pension fund $78 Billion in debt, worst in country. Can’t blame Republicans; there aren’t any!
Cook County ( Chicago ) sales tax 10.25% highest in country. Can’t blame Republicans; there aren’t any!
This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois . And he is going to ‘fix’ Washington politics for us???
George Ryan is no longer Governor, he is in the big house. Of course he was replaced by Rob Blajegovitch who is...that’s right, also in the big house. And Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned a few weeks ago. That is because he is fighting being sent to...that’s right, the big house.
The Land of Lincoln , where our governors make our license plates.
But you know what?
As long as they keep providing entitlements to the population of Chicago , nothing is going to change, except the state will go broke before the country does.
“Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian.”
I don't know for sure, but probably most of the McDonald's are franchises...so the owners simply can't just close...it's their livelihood.. and their investment...
Not sure what the answer is, but most likely everyone of the part timers are on some sort of government handout so they have room to bitch...
Fast food and regular restaurants have always paid little money and given less than 40 hours so they don’t have to give benefits. Just how it works, if they don’t like it they can work somewhere else.
so not the fast food corporations should just start automating.
Automatic french fry makers (drop in potato out comes perfect untouched fries)
This is how we got to self serve soda machines. It was cheeper to give free refils than to hire some idiot.
I think for $50,000 you could buy several houses in inner city Detroit and some other cities as well. That area of Cincinnati where the women were held prisoner- I saw where those houses are valued at $30,000 but claims are that they bring closer to $8,000-$12,000.
The problem is that a lot of these people think it should be a career when fast food jobs are career starting points.
My 21 year old nephew is staying with me while he earns some money ahead at Pizza Hut so he can get an apartment. He knows its not a great job or a career choice but he needs what he can get right now so he and his girlfriend (Who works at Office Max) can get their apartment. They’ll actually have considerable money ahead when the apartment is ready.
I’m sure the good folk in Detroit will pay $10 for a Big Mac. Add on five bucks for fries. That pays for one hour of union restaurant labor. My guess is that this demand falls into the crapper and gets flushed.
An increase in pay will be gobbled up by the increased cost of living as prices rise to compensate.
More like about $10K or less. Nobody wants to buy a house in a "city" with no municipal services.
If I go to McDonalds, it's to get 2 McDoubles, from their "Dollar Menu." Discard 1/2 the buns, and make 1 bigger sandwich from them. I recall when the Quarter Pounder was released, at $.59, $.69 for a quarter w/ cheese. That same burger is now about $4.00. I won't pay nearly $7.00 for a meal at McDonalds, but if the $15 minimum wage is imposed on Mickey D's, look for that same "value meal" to jump to about $14.
Mark
No teens at any of the fast food restaurants in my neighborhood. Latino's most of whom barely speak any English at all.
Mark
I went to one like that in Texas once. About 10 people working there. They had to call the manager over to take our order. Geeesh. When I crossed the Texas/New Mexico state line, I thought I was still in America. Silly me.
Because they would and then where would we be.
Right out of "Atlas Shrugged," where people "deserve" to get jobs, whether they are capable of performing the job, and whether the employer needs them, or can afford them, or not.
Mark
They were also an important tool to teach new workers what it means to have a job, the importance of doing work, the importance of showing up on time.
You're absolutely right. These jobs were never meant to be careers.
Mark
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