McDonalds on strike?!

How do you think Obama got elected twice? The people that voted for him want to get on that government tit.
 
Rodney, I personally know there is a lot to driving a truck including and not limited to charting, budgeting, stress of the road. They have also made it harder with logging your eight on/ eight off etc. Please don't misunderstand I know there is a lot to it. It's tough and with rising gas prices it's only gotten harder over the years. What I am trying to convey is how although poorly executed some of what these unions are trying to do are a good thing. Now if you took away McDonald's as the poster child and say swapped it with the middle class; and switched the money grubbing worthless Union out for say the middle class we might get somewhere. Pushing the upper 1% of the money holders in this country to dig in their pockets is truly where the reform needs to happen and will repair our economy. How we go about doing that fairly and efficiently is completely beyond me.
 
Why should the 1%ers owe more? They already pay high tax rates. Most of them worked hard to get where they are.
 
blt2krawl, I get your point, its not that the 1% should pay higher taxes its that there has been a change in the upper and lower classes. What do I mean? Well it seems that 50 years ago business owners actually cared about their employees and tried to take car of them. Most small companies are still like this, but the big businesses like Mcdonalds and Wal-Mart really don't give a shit about their employees. All they care about is their profit margins and share holders.
You see this all the time where a CEO is overpaid and given bonuses for cutting the little people out. Do I expect big companies to take a loss so they can pay non skilled workers? No, but they should pay a fair wage for the work done. I worked in fast food in H.S. for $5.25 an hour and it made me learn how hard it was to even pay my car insurance from working there. That was drive enough to do something with my life. I worked with some burn outs that were twice my age and there was a reason they worked there, they had no desire to do better with their lives. However, they were people and deserve to be able to at least survive without government assistance.
Which brings me to my next point, why should the government help support these people with food stamps, medicare, ect when the company that pays them so little is making billions and not paying their workers a survivable wage. I would rather pay $1.50 for a mcdouble and not have the government supplementing the fast food companies by allowing them to pay their workers so little and then making up the difference by way of gov assistance.

end Rant
 
Here's my take...I went to school for 4 years to get a degree to be met with a job in my degree's field. It paid me $15/hr, no OT. Potential punishment if I screwed up, I go to jail. What happens if a fast food worker screws up??? They scrape the ketchup/onions/mayo off the bun. Considering I only get what I ordered 50% of the time anyway, why should they get paid more? Heaven forbid you go through a drive thru with 2 lanes, you may as well tell them to surprise you, because you had no chance at getting what you wanted to start with. Hell, I'll bite on paying them $15/hr if we prorate it on their accuracy...we'd probably end up paying them less. The toughest part I have with this is, 30 years ago, flipping burgers was looked at as an opportunity, not a career. A fast food job should be for high school and college kids or a guy hard on his luck, too proud to take one red cent from my pay check. A fast food job should not be something you can make a career out of. You want to make money, get your lazy ass out there, pick up a trade or a degree...it's just that simple. I graduated 4 years ago, and I've more than tripled my income over that time...it's amazing what you can accomplish with a little bit of incentive. I say what really needs to be re-evaluated here isn't minimum wage, rather people learning how to live on bread and water instead of $500 phones with $100/mo bills. You eat bread and water long enough, you start to decide to get your shit together.
 
Blt,

I tried to quote your post but for some reason its not quoting...

Anyway, your comment about the 1% digging deeper into their pockets implies that they should give more. Tax rates on the top 1% are already higher (much higher) than the typical fast food worker. Why should they also dig even deeper in their pockets to pay the workers more??? They already pay much higher taxes, likely to cover the lack of the fast food workers having a tax liability.



I hate that an unskilled labor force is asking for nearly twice the pay. I surely wish my labor force would ask for double the pay as well! :rolleyes:


Fast food workers differ from truck driving or a machinest as they are "unskilled" jobs that require zero skills other than some basic common sense and a smile (many of which still lack...). Would you trust the McDonald's French fry maker to drive an oversized load weighing 90,000 lbs 55mph down a public highway? How about while you are out with your family on the same road or even with multiple school busses passing by? The skill and experience for a truck driver are much more important as a mistake on the job could result in multiple deaths. I highly doubt leaving the French fries in the oil too long would result in anything other than a foul smell of burned potatoes and a waste of $.32 worth of product. The same goes with a machinist. The precision of this trade is something that even with 10 years of experience result in you still being "green" when working around the old timers. Precision is your job and anything less than precise is equilavent to burning every batch of French fries. Would you trust a burger flipper to read drawings and make precision parts, usually with a tolerance of +/- .002"? Many people complain of Chinese companies making crappy parts; would you be OK with a burger flipper making your spindles with zero experience? Even the Chinese crap would be better than some unskilled burger flipper making my bearings and spindles. Ask the burger flipper what a G95 code means and how to use it and see what response you'll get. I'd G00 his ass to the nearest EXIT!!!

Really, your argument, or suggestion of an argument is invalid. You don't get hired on as a truck driver right out of high school with zero work experience, skills, or education and neither for a machinist. There is experience and training that is required to qualify you for such a skilled trade. These are "skilled" trade jobs (or better yet, Career), which, believe it or not, really does mean "SKILLED". I think burger flipping and cooking French fries would be categorized as "unskilled" and "entry level" JOBS. They are not meant to be careers and pay should reflect such. For those who choose to turn it into a career, I do at least applaud the commitment to work and not being a 100% fawk-off but just only about a 75% leach. However, there has to be a drive for them to do better and to use the job as a stepping stone for something better and better paying, not a requirement of an employer to pay more because the workers are lazy asses and fail to understand the role of the job or themselves as "worker bees".


Oops, was I insensitive? Good, it was on purpose.
 
2010nctaco said:
but the big businesses like Mcdonalds and Wal-Mart really don't give a shit about their employees. All they care about is their profit margins and share holders.
Click to expand...

Ehhh...not so much...alot of the big companies have the tiniest margins, their key to money is volume.

2010nctaco said:
You see this all the time where a CEO is overpaid and given bonuses for cutting the little people out..
Click to expand...

Take a look at the importance of decisions the CEO makes, he makes the wrong one, people are out of work. He makes the wrong one, he's sitting beside Madoff. A burger flipper makes the wrong decision...you get a customer that has scrape the ketchup off. You want the same pay check, you take the same risks.

2010nctaco said:
Do I expect big companies to take a loss so they can pay non skilled workers? No, but they should pay a fair wage for the work done. ..
Click to expand...

Who says it's not??? I've worked in machine shops making $10/hr...and fast food is a tougher job??? I don't think the issue is getting a fair wage as much as it is people need to live within their means. You want more money, go after it.


2010nctaco said:
I worked in fast food in H.S. for $5.25 an hour and it made me learn how hard it was to even pay my car insurance from working there. That was drive enough to do something with my life. I worked with some burn outs that were twice my age and there was a reason they worked there, they had no desire to do better with their lives. However, they were people and deserve to be able to at least survive without government assistance. ..
Click to expand...

If they're not willing to help themselves, why should anyone else??? It shouldn't come out of my pocket because they're not motivated enough to do anything with their life.

2010nctaco said:
Which brings me to my next point, why should the government help support these people with food stamps, medicare, ect when the company that pays them so little is making billions and not paying their workers a survivable wage. I would rather pay $1.50 for a mcdouble and not have the government supplementing the fast food companies by allowing them to pay their workers so little and then making up the difference by way of gov assistance.

end Rant
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To which I say...it shouldn't be anyone's responsibility to support 'those people'. No one has a gun to their head, if they don't like what they're getting paid go somewhere else. If you don't have the skills to go somewhere else, that's on you. Now go get those skills. If you refuse to go get those skills, that's on you too. Personal responsibility.
 
^^^I think you kind of missed my point, I'm not saying they should make $15 an hour, I would just rather these big company's pay their people better so that they are not on food stamps being paid for by who? Me and you! I would rather the company take the responsibility than the government subsidizing them by making it OK to pay their employees so low.
I an not saying they shouldn't try to go get better jobs, they should, but that may be all they can do. Just like I wouldn't tell you that if all you make is $15/hr that you should strive to do better. If that's all your skilled to do, that's all you can do.

sent from the north pole
 
I gotcha...and didn't mean to single you out like that. But realistically, the same amount will continue to come out of our paychecks...regardless of how much the burger flippers get paid. Then you and I will get doublely screwed, taxes still taken out AND pay for more expensive fast food. I just think it's a slippery slope allowing folks to take something for nothing. There are stratified classes for a reason. I stand by what I said earlier, I think it's a lack of pride and a sense of entitlement, not a wage issue.
 
Your totally correct. I think that either way you look at it the people that work and don't ask for anything get the shaft (not even lubed first). I think the country is to far gone when half of the people are on some sort of assistance. It would take a dramatic change in government to fix anything. And the politicians are to scared to stop entitlement programs because they know it's a way to get voted out.

sent from the north pole
 
blt2krawl if you think driving a truck is not skilled, I invite you to go first thing Monday, to the DMV, and acquire your CDL.
 
I lost my skilled job in '02. I used the govt teet while i searched for another job that paid a similar wage. The problem I ran into was the economy had crashed, and the only only company hiring was about $10/hr. With that wage I could pay the rent and power, but that's about it. I wasn't going to settle for that so my only choice was to make something up. I drove around and asked builders if I could do some labor. Someone gave me a chance, then another saw my work ethic and gave me a chance and so on. I bought my own pencil, then a hammer then some more tools. Today I depend only on myself. I know many people that were in my business that are nowhere to be found today but I'm still here and backed up with more than I can handle. The bottom line has been stated before. I didn't like my situation and did something about it.


Btw, I spent my first 4 years working at the dairy queen.
 
Wanna fix the problem... do away with the IRS and income taxes! Incorporate a (fair) sales tax. You pay tax on what you spend. If you can only afford a mini-car, you will only pay tax on a mini-car. If you have millions, and want a Porsche, you will pay taxes on a Porsche. Fair for everyone, but it will never happen in a million years. o_O

Oh yeah... sorry for going off topic.
 
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rockcity said:
Blt,

I tried to quote your post but for some reason its not quoting...

Anyway, your comment about the 1% digging deeper into their pockets implies that they should give more. Tax rates on the top 1% are already higher (much higher) than the typical fast food worker. Why should they also dig even deeper in their pockets to pay the workers more??? They already pay much higher taxes, likely to cover the lack of the fast food workers having a tax liability.



I hate that an unskilled labor force is asking for nearly twice the pay. I surely wish my labor force would ask for double the pay as well! :rolleyes:

Are you paying them a fair wage? Are you doubling $8 an hour or $30 an hour who knows. Weekends and manual labor need not be frowned upon any longer, everyone who thinks they have some formal education or "skill" feels they are entitled to sit on their butt. There should be shift differential and pay increases for manual labors and those working odd shifts. It is only fair. I also encourage you not take the fast food debate at face value, i'm am looking at the workforce as a whole. That includes all different trades skilled or not. They all require some sort of specialized skill or ability. That skill might be dealing with the public, work retail some time I know I have. I developed a skill- staying out of jail because people are idiots.


Fast food workers differ from truck driving or a machinest as they are "unskilled" jobs that require zero skills other than some basic common sense and a smile (many of which still lack...). Would you trust the McDonald's French fry maker to drive an oversized load weighing 90,000 lbs 55mph down a public highway? How about while you are out with your family on the same road or even with multiple school busses passing by? The skill and experience for a truck driver are much more important as a mistake on the job could result in multiple deaths. I highly doubt leaving the French fries in the oil too long would result in anything other than a foul smell of burned potatoes and a waste of $.32 worth of product. The same goes with a machinist. The precision of this trade is something that even with 10 years of experience result in you still being "green" when working around the old timers. Precision is your job and anything less than precise is equilavent to burning every batch of French fries. Would you trust a burger flipper to read drawings and make precision parts, usually with a tolerance of +/- .002"? Many people complain of Chinese companies making crappy parts; would you be OK with a burger flipper making your spindles with zero experience? Even the Chinese crap would be better than some unskilled burger flipper making my bearings and spindles. Ask the burger flipper what a G95 code means and how to use it and see what response you'll get. I'd G00 his ass to the nearest EXIT!!!

Once again, devil's advocate here- seeing as I have worked in a machine shop environment there are many different definitions of a machinist. Formally and in the "business." What bothers me is the fact that people can't see the big picture. Grabbing a part out of a CNC machine and loading another piece of stock in doesn't make you a machinist.

Really, your argument, or suggestion of an argument is invalid. You don't get hired on as a truck driver right out of high school with zero work experience, skills, or education and neither for a machinist. There is experience and training that is required to qualify you for such a skilled trade. These are "skilled" trade jobs (or better yet, Career), which, believe it or not, really does mean "SKILLED". I think burger flipping and cooking French fries would be categorized as "unskilled" and "entry level" JOBS. They are not meant to be careers and pay should reflect such. For those who choose to turn it into a career, I do at least applaud the commitment to work and not being a 100% fawk-off but just only about a 75% leach. However, there has to be a drive for them to do better and to use the job as a stepping stone for something better and better paying, not a requirement of an employer to pay more because the workers are lazy asses and fail to understand the role of the job or themselves as "worker bees".

Invalid?! Hardly… everyone has to start some where. Do you think that the General Manager of Taco Bell isn't skilled or the District Manager? Payroll, inventory, cleaning, scheduling, associate management, and customer service- You know what most shift managers that actually make $15 have to deal with all of this. Is that unskilled labor or just flipping burgers? All I am saying is from the outside looking in they all could be considered single function jobs.

Oops, was I insensitive? Good, it was on purpose.
Click to expand...

Kamel said:
blt2krawl if you think driving a truck is not skilled, I invite you to go first thing Monday, to the DMV, and acquire your CDL.
Click to expand...


I hope you read my post earlier to Rodney. I am very familiar with what it takes to drive a truck as well as be a machinist. Believe it or not i've done both. If you can't fully read a post, i'm not sure why you are commenting without reading. Try pulling a 100' high line pole on the back of an old International single axle Pike truck on to the I40/85 merge in Greensboro during rush hour traffic, i'll see your CDL and raise you a pair of dirty underwear.

The whole point of my post was that bad business and legislature allows for the ultra rich to control even in the upper class in an unfair way. This is what is lowering the quality of our country.Granny is absolutely right you spend 10k a year you pay 10%, you spend 10,000,000 a year- well you guessed it you pay 10%.
 
blt2krawl said:
I hope you read my post earlier to Rodney. I am very familiar with what it takes to drive a truck as well as be a machinist. Believe it or not i've done both. If you can't fully read a post, i'm not sure why you are commenting without reading. Try pulling a 100' high line pole on the back of an old International single axle Pike truck on to the I40/85 merge in Greensboro during rush hour traffic, i'll see your CDL and raise you a pair of dirty underwear.

The whole point of my post was that bad business and legislature allows for the ultra rich to control even in the upper class in an unfair way. This is what is lowering the quality of our country.Granny is absolutely right you spend 10k a year you pay 10%, you spend 10,000,000 a year- well you guessed it you pay 10%.
Click to expand...

I cant quote the stuff you put into the above quote.

But why is anything "should be"?
Dont want to work 3rd? Leave and go somewhere that doesnt require it. When they cant find anyone to work 3rd they will offer incentives to get 3rd shifters. This is not a job for the government. The government needs to get out of business.

Your argument against CEOs is invalid as well. It comes down to scarcity of resource. Anyone in this country smart enough not to lick lead paint of an uncleaned toilet seat can make a Big Mac, there are very very few who can handle the job of the big corp CEOs. When there are fewer people who can do the job they can demand more money.

To be honest, the GM of a Taco Bell is a semi skilled job in most cases. If the GM is also a franchisee then no. Otherwise in the grand scheme of things they are making decisions around $100k/month of business. Fawk I was somewhere north of 10x that TODAY and I'm not that skilled nor a CEO by any means (dont believe me take a look at my paycheck, lol)

Whenever people stop talking about what they "should get" and start talking about what they "could do" we will begin to fix this mess.
 
Ron said:
I cant quote the stuff you put into the above quote.

But why is anything "should be"?
Dont want to work 3rd? Leave and go somewhere that doesnt require it. When they cant find anyone to work 3rd they will offer incentives to get 3rd shifters. This is not a job for the government. The government needs to get out of business.

"Should be"- Do you shop on the weekends? Do you want your power turned back on in the middle of the night during an ice storm or natural disaster? Would you prefer to wait til' tomorrow? I'm guessing you want your power on ASAP esp. if you have small children. We all want to blindly expect these creature comforts but we rarely stop to think what it takes in order to have them. Maybe some do, but it isn't easy.

Your argument against CEOs is invalid as well. It comes down to scarcity of resource. Anyone in this country smart enough not to lick lead paint of an uncleaned toilet seat can make a Big Mac, there are very very few who can handle the job of the big corp CEOs. When there are fewer people who can do the job they can demand more money.

Would you like to use the CEO of Wachovia as an example? Have you sat down with a CEO of a fortune 100 company and picked their brain in the last year. I have. What I experienced was alarming and enlightening all at one time. In the end it's just my opinion, i'm not in the position to really say whether they all are worth their paycheck or not.

To be honest, the GM of a Taco Bell is a semi skilled job in most cases. If the GM is also a franchisee then no. Otherwise in the grand scheme of things they are making decisions around $100k/month of business. Fawk I was somewhere north of 10x that TODAY and I'm not that skilled nor a CEO by any means (dont believe me take a look at my paycheck, lol)

Do you work in sales?

Whenever people stop talking about what they "should get" and start talking about what they "could do" we will begin to fix this mess.
Click to expand...

I honestly agree with what everyone in here has said. My intention is not to argue or insult anyone. I actually do value what everyone on this forum has to say and their opinion of me. I may see you out on the trail one day, but mostly because we all share a lot of the same values and socioeconomic status. I do like a good debate every once in awhile and I love hearing what other people think and feel about certain issues. I also like when they show me a side or viewpoint that allows me to broaden my way of thinking. I usually avoid such conversation because most get upset more so than enjoy engaging in intelligent banter.
 
I like big macs and quarter pounders with cheese.but no effing way should the burger jockeys make more than 8-9 dollars an hour what the hell most of them cant wear there hat straight or pull up there pants
 
blt2krawl said:
"Should be"- Do you shop on the weekends? Do you want your power turned back on in the middle of the night during an ice storm or natural disaster? Would you prefer to wait til' tomorrow? I'm guessing you want your power on ASAP esp. if you have small children. We all want to blindly expect these creature comforts but we rarely stop to think what it takes in order to have them. Maybe some do, but it isn't easy.


Would you like to use the CEO of Wachovia as an example? Have you sat down with a CEO of a fortune 100 company and picked their brain in the last year. I have. What I experienced was alarming and enlightening all at one time. In the end it's just my opinion, i'm not in the position to really say whether they all are worth their paycheck or not.


Do you work in sales?
Click to expand...


Regarding the power, I want mine to never go off. So I spent MY MONEY to invest in a generator back up. If I did not do this, I would have no right to bitch about how long the power company took to restore the power as I had not done everything in my power to control the situation.

Even still. If the Power Company wants to keep their best employees it is up to them to dip into their profits and incentivize and compensate their people. When government mandates what they pay that is all they will pay.

I have spent considerable time with the CEO of 4 major Fortune 500 companies in the past year. But no not one of a Fortune 100. By the way, Wachovia hasnt had a CEO since 09 when they were acquired by Wells Fargo.

And yes I am in sales and engineering and 100% production/commission compensated.
 
"I hope you read my post earlier to Rodney. I am very familiar with what it takes to drive a truck as well as be a machinist. Believe it or not i've done both. If you can't fully read a post, i'm not sure why you are commenting without reading. Try pulling a 100' high line pole on the back of an old International single axle Pike truck on to the I40/85 merge in Greensboro during rush hour traffic, i'll see your CDL and raise you a pair of dirty underwear.
The whole point of my post was that bad business and legislature allows for the ultra rich to control even in the upper class in an unfair way. This is what is lowering the quality of our country.Granny is absolutely right you spend 10k a year you pay 10%, you spend 10,000,000 a year- well you guessed it you pay 10%. "



I've been a machinist and know what it takes to be one. 4 years in a CNC machine shop and I'd be luck to be called an apprentice. Truck driving, well, I've done some, nothing heavy or OTR but the rigs I've driven I know it takes a lot of skill to do even the easiest OTR driving.

I did read the comments and responded with my opinion. I've been in the ditches welding during a hurricane in a shutdown in Chessapeak, VA. It sucks. The $$$ was crap. But, guess what? I didn't demand double pay. I worked my ass off in school (while I worked 60+ hours in a night shift and on the road doing industrial construction) and earned my own pay increase.

As far as your last statement about bad business and legislature allowing ultra rich to control everything in an unfair way; I'd like facts rather than opinion. Show me some facts to support your claim, then we'll discuss. I'm not sure how your claims have affected me, or even the McDonald's workers? I've earned (rightfully) what I deserve in pay just as much as the McDonald's worker has earned their pay. Seriously, I just saw a post on FB from a good friend this weekend that shows his burger from McDonalds that was given to him WITHOUT a burger! Really, you feel that this type of idiocracy deserves $15/hr??? How is their being paid what they are worth ($8/hr but I'd argue less in many cases) big business and the top 1% controlling in an unfair way???
 
I went to 2 fast food places this weekend. The first was cookout, had a double drive thru. When I get to the window to pay I was told 'I think the guy in front of you just got your order, do you want his,' DOH. I also swung in to Burger King for a quick dollar menu lunch. I ordered one single plain spicy chicken sandwich. When I got home and opened it up, it was value double cheeseburger with the spicy chicken sammich sauce on it, and it wasn't plain. You know, I don't mind a screwed up order every now and again, but I literally can't remember the last time I was given an order that was 100% accurate, from the proper size fry to getting the correct number of sauces I was charged for to the proper sandwiches, etc. And those buffoons want $15/hr...c'mon, get real.
 
Just for reference, $15/hr equates to roughly $30k annually.
My wife had been a teacher in WSFC schools for >4 years before she made that much.

Hell when I was in grad school, I had a college degree, working as a part time lab tech doing neurosurgery on animals and all kinds of crazy technical experimental stuff I didn't make $15/hr.
 
Blah fuckin Blah, the deal is this. Flipping Burgers is not a position that warrants $15/hr. It's never meant to be a position that is to SUPPORT A FAMILY. It's a high schoolers part time job. You flip burgers and do a good job, then you get move to be Burger Flippin' Supervisor and make a little more. Do a good job at that, then you get to supervise Burgers Fries and Soda machine people and get a paid a little more. Keep up the progression and you're managing your own McDonalds in 10 years.

THAT's how it work you wanta be entitled little fucks!
 
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UTfball68 said:
I went to 2 fast food places this weekend. The first was cookout, had a double drive thru. When I get to the window to pay I was told 'I think the guy in front of you just got your order, do you want his,'
Click to expand...

So did you take his order or not?
 
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