Being Blunt About the Fast Food Workers Strike

[Nate]

First of all, you burger flipping morons, I would like to remind you that your job is what kids do  after school, so had you actually gone to school, you wouldn't still be in your 30s and trying to live the dream working for Wendy's on the night shift

 

Hells Bells, even Homer Simpson found a real job for crying out loud

 

But I would like to give you fast food workers some constructive suggestions...

 

When you are trying to lobby the government to force businesses to give you a $7 an hour raise (um, BTW...none of the actually skilled workers who put some effort in to their educations ever get a 100% raise)

 

...but when you are lobbying the government and going on strike and getting all this press attention, the LAST THING you need to do is THIS

 

You don't hide your blunts in the cheesburgers!  That's not even dope head smart!

 

What you do is drop the blunt on the floor and kick it under the bun rack, you idiot! then you can get it back when the manager goes back to do inventory. What you absolutely DON'T do is wrap it up in a kid's meal and hand it out the fucking drive through window! What the fuck kind of an idea is that??

 

Listen, Chucklehead, I was working at a Long John Silver's when a couple Houston cops came in for lunch and found Quaaludes ON OUR FRONT LINE! Did I panic and try and hide them in the coleslaw? Fuck no! I stood there and let the cop go on about how he knew what was going on around here and he's gonna be watching and all that and then asked him if he wanted me to hold onto them to see if anybody came back to claim them. That's how you could have handled the situation. You could have just put the blunt in the lost and found and pretended that somebody left it at the register.

 

But hell no

 

You hid a half smoked blunt in a cheeseburger

 

and you think you deserve $15 and hour

[Chopped Liver]

I say give 'em the $15/hr.  When the restaurants go out of business cause nobody will pay $10 for a pos burger, how much will they make then?

[JerrySTL ★]

I say give 'em the $15/hr.  When the restaurants go out of business cause nobody will pay $10 for a pos burger, how much will they make then?

$10 for a burger would be wrong. Therefore the Feds need to institute price controls on fast food (plus get rid of fat and empty carbs).

 

What could possibly go wrong?

 

As for BNs rant: 6.7 on the Rant-O-Meter. Much better than average.

[Square Wheels]

It's funny how I just don't care about things that don't affect me.

 

I have never worked fast food, retail or any other minimum wage job.  I would, I just haven't.

 

I also don't eat fast food, ever.

 

This doesn't affect me, I don't care.

[Chopped Liver]

It's funny how I just don't care about things that don't affect me.

 

I have never worked fast food, retail or any other minimum wage job.  I would, I just haven't.

 

I also don't eat fast food, ever.

 

This doesn't affect me, I don't care.

 

It does effect you....if you aren't familiar with how intertwined the entire economy is, you should do some reading.

[Nate]

 

This doesn't affect me, I don't care.

 

 

when they make the minimum wage $15, the wheels will come off the economy. Remember that we have actual skilled labor jobs that don't pay that, so it isn't just fast food workers

 

Then think about what happens when you can't even find a minimum wage job

 

do you think a $15 dollar minum wage would help our immigration and illegal labor problem, or make it worse?

 

but none of this matters when the morans are too stupid to not put their blunts in cheeseburgers

[Square Wheels]

It does effect you....if you aren't familiar with how intertwined the entire economy is, you should do some reading.

 

But then I get all bent out of shape.

 

For instance, I like to wear name brand sneakers.  There is probably $3 worth of material, a tiny amount to be paid to slave overseas laborers, a few dollars to distribute them to the stores, add a few dollars profit for all of the middle people.  I'm cool with all of that.  So a high end sneaker should cost about $15 right?  OK, add a ton in for the investors, and a ton more in for marketing so athletes can "endorse" a product they will never wear and get 28.3 million dollars to say how they love them.  Now my fancy sneakers cost $115 dollars.

 

See, if I think about it I get pissed.

[Chopped Liver]

But then I get all bent out of shape.

 

For instance, I like to wear name brand sneakers.  There is probably $3 worth of material, a tiny amount to be paid to slave overseas laborers, a few dollars to distribute them to the stores, add a few dollars profit for all of the middle people.  I'm cool with all of that.  So a high end sneaker should cost about $15 right?  OK, add a ton in for the investors, and a ton more in for marketing so athletes can "endorse" a product they will never wear and get 28.3 million dollars to say how they love them.  Now my fancy sneakers cost $115 dollars.

 

See, if I think about it I get pissed.

 

Getting pissed isn't good...just get educated.  Then when someone says something, you can laugh at them....see, it can actually be a stress reducer.

[Nate]

All I know is those kids in the drive thru better not spit on those burgers!

[Square Wheels]

Getting pissed isn't good...just get educated.  Then when someone says something, you can laugh at them....see, it can actually be a stress reducer.

 

So, how do I purchase a nice pair of sneakers?  Those steroid freak, whining, overpaid, game players are wrecking it for the rest of us.

 

All I know is those kids in the drive thru better not spit on those burgers!

 

Better off not to eat there at all, for this and countless other reasons.

[Louielouie-FP3]

Evidently the second to last generation of individuals in this country never heeded the warnings which were given to them AD NAUSEAUM throughout their formative years. "Stay in school!" "Get an education" "Don't get pregnant at 16" "Aim high". End result, we now have a demographic whose average age is 25 and are heads of households working in positions which have been traditionally filled by teenage kids who still live at home or who are attending college. For some reason that escapes me, these people think that they can get the big bucks without having the marketable skills required to achieve this. They feel "entitled" to a 100% pay raise, well defecate in one hand and want in the other and see which one fills up faster! I don't see them protesting on the set of "Good Morning America"!! Good luck with that pay raise thing!

[Chopped Liver]

So, how do I purchase a nice pair of sneakers?  Those steroid freak, whining, overpaid, game players are wrecking it for the rest of us.

 

 

Better off not to eat there at all, for this and countless other reasons.

I hear there's steroids in some of that "beef" used for those burgers (as well as clenbuterol). 

That could help you.

[Chopped Liver]

Evidently the second to last generation of individuals in this country never heeded the warnings which were given to them AD NAUSEAUM throughout their formative years. "Stay in school!" "Get an education" "Don't get pregnant at 16" "Aim high". End result, we now have a demographic whose average age is 25 and are heads of households working in positions which have been traditionally filled by teenage kids who still live at home or who are attending college. For some reason that escapes me, these people think that they can get the big bucks without having the marketable skills required to achieve this. They feel "entitled" to a 100% pay raise, well defecate in one hand and want in the other and see which one fills up faster! I don't see them protesting on the set of "Good Morning America"!! Good luck with that pay raise thing!

Can you say "Occupy Wall Street"? 

[Square Wheels]

Skip to 51 secs.

 

[Louielouie-FP3]

Skip to 51 secs.

 

In the words of Peter Parker in "Spiderman"- "I'm sorry, I don't see the part where that's my problem." How's that Hope and Change working for ya?

[Randomguy]

I like the minimum wage going up $1/year.  It makes too much sense, doesn't it?  On all levels, doesn't it?  You agree, don't you?  Yuh huh, right?

[Randomguy]

Skip to 51 secs.

 

 

Somebody should be held accountable!

[Chopped Liver]

Somebody should be held accountable!

Somebody should be superglued shut. 

[Former member]

Somebody should be held accountable!

True.

That somebody is the baby-daddy.

[jsharr ★]

I give you a 420 on this rant.

[Nate]

what I don't understand is how people think having a hard luck story entitles them to sit around on their ass stuffing their pockets with my money

[Chopped Liver]

what I don't understand is how people think having a hard luck story entitles them to sit around on their ass stuffing their pockets with my money

Hope and Change 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI

[torch511]

I worked at McDonalds when I was 14. I started at $4.00 an hour. After 30 days I got a big fat raise to $4.10. After 6 months I got a raise to $4.50

 

The idea of paying a fast-food employee $15 minimum wage is just ridiculous. The job is meant to be held by kids, or by people looking for a second job. It is not meant to sustain a single mom and her half-dozen kids. Maybe the bigger problem is unskilled and unmarried parents who depend on minimum wage employment and government subsidies that's the problem, not the wage of fast-food workers. 

[Nate]

what we need is social welfare policies that put people to work doing something useful

[Olas Nah]

what we need is social welfare policies that put people to work doing something useful

 

Sounds like socialism to me. Marx is being proven correct....

[Chopped Liver]

Sounds like socialism to me. Marx is being proven correct....

Socialism and Marxism aren't the same thing.  Related, but not the same.

[Olas Nah]

Socialism and Marxism aren't the same thing.  Related, but not the same.

 

Sshh... Republicans are posting here....

[Randomguy]

I worked at McDonalds when I was 14. I started at $4.00 an hour. After 30 days I got a big fat raise to $4.10. After 6 months I got a raise to $4.50

 

The idea of paying a fast-food employee $15 minimum wage is just ridiculous. The job is meant to be held by kids, or by people looking for a second job. It is not meant to sustain a single mom and her half-dozen kids. Maybe the bigger problem is unskilled and unmarried parents who depend on minimum wage employment and government subsidies that's the problem, not the wage of fast-food workers. 

 

The "job is meant to be held by kids" is clearly false, as it isn't a law that any job is meant to be held by anyone.  Whoever the minimum wage was perceived to be for when we were kids has clearly shifted radically.  Seriously, with all the immigrants around, who is going to hire a kid when an immigrant will do a better job and be more reliable at the same time?  Business owners will take advantage when people have few options.  Who the minimum wage is for now is people who are too tired from working two jobs and raising offspring to take classes at a community college and improve their ability to find higher-valued positions.

[torch511]

The work ethic of our nation's youth is a totally separate topic. Back when I was in high school (1986-1990) most of the people I grew up with were like me and had a halfway decent work ethic and a good set of core values. I grew up in a really diverse town. On the rare occasion I hit the fast food places now (typically I take the kids there) it's STILL mostly a very young work force.

 

The idea that immigrants will do the job "better" is ridiculous. There was a Dunkin Donuts near work where an immigrant (Cape Verde) worker hired nothing but other Cape Verde workers (mostly illegals) and I stopped going there. The service was slow, often incorrect and inconsistent. Eventually the manager was fired and the workforce replaced. Huge difference.

 

Let's face it, Minimum wage jobs like McDonald's or working at Old Navy, The Gap or Aeropostle is not meant to be lifelong employment to support a family.

[Olas Nah]

The job is meant to be held by kids because the job usually doesn't require any real expertise and definitely little experience. A new kid who's been there 3 months knows just as much or is just as efficient as a 10yr employee.

[Olas Nah]

The work ethic of our nation's youth is a totally separate topic. Back when I was in high school (1986-1990) most of the people I grew up with were like me and had a halfway decent work ethic and a good set of core values. I grew up in a really diverse town. On the rare occasion I hit the fast food places now (typically I take the kids there) it's STILL mostly a very young work force.

 

The idea that immigrants will do the job "better" is ridiculous. There was a Dunkin Donuts near work where an immigrant (Cape Verde) worker hired nothing but other Cape Verde workers (mostly illegals) and I stopped going there. The service was slow, often incorrect and inconsistent. Eventually the manager was fired and the workforce replaced. Huge difference.

 

Let's face it, Minimum wage jobs like McDonald's or working at Old Navy, The Gap or Aeropostle is not meant to be lifelong employment to support a family.

 

Yep, the McDonald's near my office is staffed mostly by under the table Illegals, and they are 100x less efficient than the homo-hating ChickFil-A near my office, which staffs a bunch of HS teenagers and operates like a fine Swiss watch. I've actually complimented the restaurant on their speed, efficiency, customer service, etc. Maybe it's the hate that drives their efficiency, and maybe they're paid a little more than McDonald's, but I guarantee you that none of them will be working there this time next year, and it'll be a whole different crew of kids....just as fast and efficient. That store has been that way for years now.

[Randomguy]

Let's face it, Minimum wage jobs like McDonald's or working at Old Navy, The Gap or Aeropostle is not meant to be lifelong employment to support a family.

 

You see, there you go again with what things are "meant" to be.  Your ideas are wrong.  Millions of people are raising kids on one or two minimum wage jobs across the country, it is what it is.  You can individually tell them that they are stupid if you like, I don't think it will do much good, though.

 

In the big city, fast food and cheap restaurants are populated mostly with immigrants.  Same in the other big cities I have lived in.  I have seen a lot of small towns like that, too, maybe yours is different.  Most of them are better at their jobs than high-schoolers, who are typically pretty stupid individuals, and lazy as hell, too.  Your idea that they universally do a better job is just as ridiculous, actually a whole lot more ridiculous when you get right down to it.

 

At any rate, the point stands that no matter what you think about the way the world should be, it isn't.

[Mr. Beanz]

$15!?       Next they'll want a computer so they can waste company time posting in bike forums.

[Olas Nah]

You see, there you go again with what things are "meant" to be.  Your ideas are wrong.  Millions of people are raising kids on one or two minimum wage jobs across the country, it is what it is.  You can individually tell them that they are stupid if you like, I don't think it will do much good, though.

 

In the big city, fast food and cheap restaurants are populated mostly with immigrants.  Same in the other big cities I have lived in.  I have seen a lot of small towns like that, too, maybe yours is different.  Most of them are better at their jobs than high-schoolers, who are typically pretty stupid individuals, and lazy as hell, too.  Your idea that they universally do a better job is just as ridiculous, actually a whole lot more ridiculous when you get right down to it.

 

At any rate, the point stands that no matter what you think about the way the world should be, it isn't.

 

The majority of the world's population doesn't live in a big city where anyone who can actually live there has to be, by many definitions, rich, or at least be making upwards of $100k a year just to occupy a sidewalk corner for 10minutes.

[Randomguy]

$15!?       Next they'll want a computer so they can waste company time posting in bike forums.

 

Yeah, $15 seems a bit much.  Wherever the minimum wage is set at, it should be just enough to keep you out of qualifying for public assistance of any kind.  If you want a separate minimum wage for those under 18, I think you have to explicitly state that.

[Randomguy]

The majority of the world's population doesn't live in a big city where anyone who can actually live there has to be, by many definitions, rich, or at least be making upwards of $100k a year just to occupy a sidewalk corner for 10minutes.

 

In the town I grew up in, the majority of food service workers are not high-school kids, either, and it is cheap to live there.  Minimum wage still wouldn't cut it.  That said I think you are incorrect, I think the majority of the worlds population lives within 50 miles of a city.

[Olas Nah]

50 miles of a city perhaps, but NYC, LA and other places are the extreme. Nashville by contrast, and most other 'big cities' have maybe a handful of high-rises and most of the rest is just suburban sprawl. My point was that density wise, most of the people that populate restaurants and fast food joints are local kids who don't commute 3 hours just to find a job that exists in a city where only the rich can afford to live on its real estate. (Gawd, this guy I know in NYC pays something like $50 a DAY just to park his car at his office, and its not even comped!).

[Randomguy]

50 miles of a city perhaps, but NYC, LA and other places are the extreme. Nashville by contrast, and most other 'big cities' have maybe a handful of high-rises and most of the rest is just suburban sprawl. My point was that density wise, the people that populate restaurants and fast food joints are local kids who don't commute 3 hours just to find a job that exists in a city where only the rich can afford to live on its real estate. (Gawd, this guy I know in NYC pays something like $50 a DAY just to park his car at his office, and its not even comped)

 

Ok, take those few places out of the mix, and the majority of the population still lives within 50 miles of a decently sized city, like Nashville for instance.

[Randomguy]

50 miles of a city perhaps, but NYC, LA and other places are the extreme. Nashville by contrast, and most other 'big cities' have maybe a handful of high-rises and most of the rest is just suburban sprawl. My point was that density wise, the people that populate restaurants and fast food joints are local kids who don't commute 3 hours just to find a job that exists in a city where only the rich can afford to live on its real estate. (Gawd, this guy I know in NYC pays something like $50 a DAY just to park his car at his office, and its not even comped)

 

This is for people who live IN a city, not just within 50 miles.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

http://www.who.int/gho/urban_health/situation_trends/urban_population_growth_text/en/

Situation

Urbanization, the demographic transition from rural to urban, is associated with shifts from an agriculture-based economy to mass industry, technology, and service. For the first time ever, the majority of the world's population lives in a city, and this proportion continues to grow. One hundred years ago, 2 out of every 10 people lived in an urban area. By 1990, less than 40% of the global population lived in a city, but as of 2010, more than half of all people live in an urban area. By 2030, 6 out of every 10 people will live in a city, and by 2050, this proportion will increase to 7 out of 10 people. Currently, around half of all urban dwellers live in cities with between 100 000 - 500 000 people, and fewer than 10% of urban dwellers live in megacities (defined by UN HABITAT as a city with a population of more than 10 million).

[Randomguy]

Furthermore, according to infallible wikipedia:

 

"As of 2011, about 250 million Americans live in or around urban areas. That means more than three-quarters of the U.S. population shares just about three percent of the U.S. land area.^[48]"

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States

[Randomguy]

"America has grown even more urban. According to new numbers just released from the U.S. Census Bureau, 80.7 percent of the U.S. population lived in urban areas as of the 2010 Census, a boost from the 79 percent counted in 2000. That brings the country's total urban population to 249,253,271, a number attained via a growth rate of 12.1 percent between 2000 and 2010, outpacing the nation as a whole, which grew at 9.7 percent.

Overall, these results aren't very surprising."

 

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/03/us-urban-population-what-does-urban-really-mean/1589/

[Olas Nah]

In the town I grew up in, the majority of food service workers are not high-school kids, either, and it is cheap to live there.  Minimum wage still wouldn't cut it.  That said I think you are incorrect, I think the majority of the worlds population lives within 50 miles of a city.

 

Minimum wage never should cut it though. If you were working there and weren't just in HS or there for a part time job as a greeter (already retired and just needing some extra cash) it's because you got fired from something that paid better and needed a temp job, or you were a felon.

 

I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that somebody working at McDonald's should expect to be able to pay a mortgage or something similar. Why? In my day, you worked a job like McD's and then shot for a real job like something in a factory, a managerial job, etc, or you went to college and got a 'career' doing whatever and making the big bucks on that next level. And if you had a difficult life situation such as 16 kids or an ailing family member with tons of bills, you were gonna have a sucky life no doubt, but that should not entitle you to a raise.

 

I know for a fact that if the min wage goes up as much as they're suggesting, I won't get ANYTHING as a compensatory measure...costs of things will just go up (this does happen), and I'll simply be poorer by X dollars a month...all because we're trying to raise up the entry level disposable job market and turn those jobs into 'real' jobs. My job and my salary will just be devalued.

[Olas Nah]

So they've redfined what a 'city' is. That's just population growth...We also didn't have 7 billion people in previous decades.

[Randomguy]

Minimum wage never should cut it though. If you were working there and weren't just in HS or there for a part time job, it's because you got fired from something that paid better and needed a temp job, or you were a felon.

 

Yeah, or an immigrant, or you live in a craphole town with one employer, and that employer left town or something.  Anything can happen.

[Olas Nah]

Yeah, or an immigrant, or you live in a craphole town with one employer, and that employer left town or something.  Anything can happen.

 

In small town America, this happens a lot just to the regular old Americans, and yeah, it sucks, but don't live there if there aren't any jobs. Or don't immigrate. I see in the news all the time these small towns that were solely dependant on a single business for jobs get pissed at the company because it can't stay open anymore....It's sad, but hilarious too...what do you think these companies are, the Government?

[Chopped Liver]

In small town America, this happens a lot just to the regular old Americans, and yeah, it sucks, but don't live there if there aren't any jobs. Or don't immigrate. I see in the news all the time these small towns that were solely dependant on a single business for jobs get pissed at the company because it can't stay open anymore....It's sad, but hilarious too...what do you think these companies are, the Government?

We have become a country of panty waisted pansies.....no one wants to take on the risk of going into business for themselves.  They want the employer to guarantee  them a job and a "living wage" (whatever the fuck that is), and a retirement account, and healthcare, and whatever else is next.   

[Olas Nah]

Well...back in the day if there weren't any good jobs or 'real' jobs...you moved or you cohabitated so that the job was a living wage. A lot of those immigrants do this... and so did the depression era peeps

[Road Runner]

Our country and our version of democracy appears to be headed for the dumpster.  The politicians have managed to co-opt a huge chunk of the electorate by simply promising them more and more.  The majority of the electorate then votes for the politican that promises them the most.  

 

John Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."  That sentiment being expressed by a politician today would lead to sure-fire defeat at the polls.