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! 
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.
