Police arresting fast-food workers and their supporters outside McDonald's headquarters

a reply to: Aazadan

I was talking to a friend last night, and he said that at the time that Jimmy Hoffa was organizing unions, he helped people get better pay and be treated better, but then they got rid of Hoffa and the Communists took over the unions. Now the Unions have become organized mafia with socialist roots. Now take the example of one corporation which was in the news not so long ago, Hostess. Now the workers decided to strke for higher pay and benefits, Hostess said no. I heard on talk radio one day when that was all going on, and what the unions did to the bakery industry is they forced Hostess to change how they distributed their product, in that they created rules that workers were not allowed to put some items on the same truck as others, so then Hostess had to hire extra workers and use more trucks to deliver their product. This is an example of union manipulation designed to hurt a corporation while giving themselves more benefits. Remember the communists hate bourgeois capitalism. So, now we have a standoff because Hostess can no longer afford to keep hiring more employees to accommodate rules which the unions created which are causing Hostess to lose profits to keep afloat. So Hostess says no and then the employees lose their jobs and Hostess shuts down and reconfigures things.
Now Hostess is back up in biz.
Let's look at another example where unions have caused a loss in profitablilty. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker decided to take on the unions in order to get the state of Wisconsin back on track. They had all these unfunded liabilities and the workers were demanding more. The Unions said no way jose and they came and protested and trashed the state Capital. Walker still said no, and the Progressives in the Democrat Party said we are going to organize a recall cause we just don't like this guy reorganizing things in the State Capital. Well, the Democrats lost and Walker won even a re election.
Walker got the State back in the black column and the unions went back home.
Now a particular union leader was known to have bragged that his people were directly involved in the Arab Spring in Egypt. See, the unions in the US have tried to export their chaos and manipulation to foreign countries and get leaders of those nations deposed by angry mobs.
See how that works?

a reply to: WeRpeons

Don't forget that as wages rise, so does the price of the product those companies are producing. This is called the wage-price spiral. Companies left the US to find workers who didn't require big pensions etc. Now we are importing those goods from the Chinese so we can pay less at the local Wal Mart to purchase those goods which the unions forced to move to other countries.
See how that works?

a reply to: Aazadanell, you know that sounds great in theory, but then once those workers start getting paid 15 bucks an hour to mop the floors, what is going to happen? It WILL cause a rise in price for the product, and then poor people will not even be able to afford McDonald's dinners.
Good JOB!!!!!!

I support fair wages, the First Amendment and the right to protest.

However, I am annoyed by those who think entry-level, no skill workers are worth $15 an hour. The entitlement of my generation is frightening. I have yet to meet anyone who thinks McDonald's workers deserve a huge pay raise who understands basic economics. That is a problem all over the US.

a reply to: jrod

The unions, however good they started out, have become a tool for communists to reorganize our society and our system into a more socialist state.
Politichicks seems to agree that if we raise wages on McD, we are going to see a drop in hiring workers plus a rise in price of product.

McDonald’s is the latest target of the left’s push to force more businesses to either close their doors, or raise their prices. I don’t know about you, but since when did flipping burgers at McDonalds suddenly become a career? My own son worked a summer job at McDonalds when he was just 16. It was a job to teach him the basics. It was a great experience that he would take with him in to the future when he would decide to settle on a career. It is an entry level job that a lot of our teenagers depend on. How sad that the big-bad unions want to take that away.

We are all aware of what will happen if the unions get their way. A $15 an hour minimum wage could force McDonalds to not only cut the number of workers that they could hire, but could also force an increase in prices that would be passed on to the consumer. How much would you pay for a Big Mac attack? In my opinion, you don’t go through a drive-thru to pay high prices for a gourmet burger. You drive through to get something fast and cheap. Besides, the McDonald’s employees that missed work just to show up for this protest might soon find themselves replaced by a robot , or a kiosk.

politichicks.tv...

politichicks.tv...

So here is another part of the puzzle, organized unions involved in this protest.

The protesters — brought to the scene by 32 buses — were joined by Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry and William Barber, an official from the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. About 110 people were arrested for trespassing, police said. The protesters who were arrested included McDonald’s (MCD) workers and 36 community, clergy and labor leaders, including Henry, according to the organizers.

Many of the activists were brought in by Action Now – an ACORN offshoot group.

www.thegatewaypundit.com...

looks like this is the real deal with SEIU and communist organizing, to bring down Wall Street and Capitalism and destabilize society. I hear a lot of class warfare in this too.(Marxist ideology)

originally posted by: ThirdEyeofHorus
looks like this is the real deal with SEIU and communist organizing, to bring down Wall Street and Capitalism and destabilize society. I hear a lot of class warfare in this too.(Marxist ideology)

Really, that is an interesting theory. Please tell us more.

I personally hate the hourly wage. The only job I have ever had where the hourly wage was 'fair' was as a Lifeguard. And I was paid burger flipping wages, even though my responsibilities were far greater.

a reply to: VoidHawk

The business owners are the ones taking the risk! Look, I am as against corporate greed as anyone else, but you need to come to terms with reality here. Nobody is forcing you to work at McDonald's. If you want to move up but say you can't afford college you are lying to yourself. Once you get home from work study online for free to catch up on certain things you aren't proficient in. Look into grants/scholarships. Try and learn as much as you can and try to test out of certain classes so you don't have to pay for them. Graduate with your degree, get a new awesome job, and be happy.

After going through all of that hard work(which most people do to make it in this world) you will look at those protesters asking for $15/hr in a new light.

a reply to: jrod

I just found that YouTube, but if you want more on SEiU, here's a good start

www.discoverthenetworks.org...

originally posted by: Euphem
. If you want to move up but say you can't afford college you are lying to yourself. Once you get home from work study online for free to catch up on certain things you aren't proficient in. Look into grants/scholarships. Try and learn as much as you can and try to test out of certain classes so you don't have to pay for them. Graduate with your degree, get a new awesome job, and be happy.

What about those of us who have records and loans in default who do not qualify scholarships or assistance?

The majority of degrees that are 'earned' today are pieces of paper that tell an employer you know how to show up and write reports. There are degrees that will land a decent job: healthcare and engineering are two I can think of, but those will at best land you an upper middle class lifestyle. The reality is most students find themselves over their heads in debt with a useless piece of paper that gives them nothing they did not have before(except of course the loan payments).

The college dream is being sold just like the home owner dream was sold to those who can not afford it and many of those who buy it will spend the rest of their lives paying off a debt that has compounded immensely.

a reply to: jrod

There are degrees that will land a decent job: healthcare and engineering are two I can think of, but those will at best land you an upper middle class lifestyle. The reality is most students find themselves over their heads in debt with a useless piece of paper that gives them nothing they did not have before(except of course the loan payments).

I'm inclined to agree with you that at this time, a college degree is no guarantee whatever that one will land a good job, and will also put one in debt for years to come. I got a degree in IT, and the school I went to promoted my degree as a potential $70,000/per year job. What the guy forgot to tell me was that employers in that industry are going to want 5 years minimum in the field experience. Also you have to get industry certifications for anyone to consider you. Even entry level jobs like IT help desk and call center support jobs want you to already have a few years experience. Then getting your resume out....Monster.com, Dice etc, none of these got me a single response except for one shark who was a scammer. This is a tough market, with many jobs outsourced overseas and companies laying off or delaying hiring due to a prolonged recession and Obamacare.
It's very complicated, and raising McD to 15 dollars an hour is not going to fix it.

a reply to: ThirdEyeofHorus
Anytime I ever employed anyone, they got their fair share. I am in construction, not paid by the hour but by the square foot. When I employed one person, I paid them ~30-40%. When it came to nailing, I was nailing more than triple what they were nailing, everyone I ever employed was brand new to the trade. I still paid them fair, and gave them knowledge of the business on top of that. And the people I employed were all ex convicts I met through a charity program I used to be involved with. They could take a job at MCDonalds, and make less than 1/4 what I paid them. I hired them because they were desperate as hell, out there busting their asses to find a job, and being turned down left and right.

a reply to: jrod

You are just another poor baby who thinks they are entitled to a great life. Sorry if I sound like a dick, but grow a pair okay? If you have a #load of debt or have a record than you made mistakes and will have to work extra hard to make it.

Or do you want everything handed to you? If you earn a degree that is just a piece of paper and won't make you any money, you are an idiot for going to school and earning that degree....quit blaming everyone else for your failures.

Sure there are people who need help, but the majority are just self entitled ass holes who refuse to work hard to make it. They would rather complain and fail instead.

a reply to: TKDRL

Not to nitpick, but you said they wouldn't make 1/4th at McDonald's compared to what you payed them. Min Wage = $7.25 x 4 = $29/hr....

You are trying to tell me you were paying ex cons at the very least $29/hr to work construction?!? Sorry I just don't believe that in any way shape or form. If so...bravo...and can I have a job?!

a reply to: Euphem
When work picks up again, maybe. It's been years since work was going good. Put it this way bro. The jobs I took on employees, people were living in houses, where my whole house could fit into just their living room, sometimes even their garage. These are rich people, I charged them top dollar no doubt. I would personally be working on the fancy work, like fancy borders or whatever, while the employees were doing the easy stuff. Talking weekly pay, the largest I recall was signing a check for over 3 grand. Like I said, getting paid per unit, there is way more profit available then pay per hour, when you know what you are doing.

I went to tech in high school for auto mechanics, it's the same kinda thing with that. You get paid blue book value for your work. If it takes you ten minutes to do a job that blue book value says takes an hour, you make money. If you take 3 hours to do a job that blue book says should take an hour, you lose money. Same thing with construction.

Point is though, I always paid my employees fair wages. I wasn't making way more than I was paying them. Maybe if I was a douchebag, and exploited people, I would be rich right now. But I am not, and I am not.

a reply to: TKDRL

Fair enough...and I respect that. The main reason I said I didn't believe it was because most people go to school for 4+ years before they break into the $20/hr - $30/hr barrier. I suppose depending on where you live (NY/CA etc..) paying them that much wouldn't be that far fetched. Even with that in mind millions of people would KILL to work a construction job paying 60 grand a year.

a reply to: Euphem
Yeah this was back in NY, I worked mostly in NY and CT. Lots of mcmansions were going up left and right in the burbs there.

originally posted by: Euphem
a reply to: VoidHawk

The business owners are the ones taking the risk! Look, I am as against corporate greed as anyone else, but you need to come to terms with reality here. Nobody is forcing you to work at McDonald's. If you want to move up but say you can't afford college you are lying to yourself. Once you get home from work study online for free to catch up on certain things you aren't proficient in. Look into grants/scholarships. Try and learn as much as you can and try to test out of certain classes so you don't have to pay for them. Graduate with your degree, get a new awesome job, and be happy.

After going through all of that hard work(which most people do to make it in this world) you will look at those protesters asking for $15/hr in a new light.

It's not that easy. I've attended multiple colleges and while at this point I can skip many classes I actually run into the issue that I have to take classes simply because a college requires x credits from their school in order to graduate. There's also the issue that the colleges want the money so you have to make a very good case to test out. In my case I've won two game jams in Ohio put on by the school I'm attending in the fall, I did all the programming, all the artwork, and most of the design/development. It only qualified me to get out of some art classes, I'm still starting at step 1 in the degree program which is programming heavy (11 classes total), I just get to skip much of the other associated classes. When you skip classes you not only need to have done the work but in many classes (atleast the ones I've taken) you need a piece of work that's similar to the classes final project as well.

I've gone through the "hard work" of obtaining a degree, I have 4 of them. I completely support those protestors asking for $15/hour, actually I would favor them getting $22/hour.

The way I see it is that by agreeing to work for a company the employee is sacrificing their future potential to learn new and more valuable skills in exchange for the money they need to survive right now. They deserve a wage that allows them a decent life in exchange for that sacrifice. The allure of school isn't that you make more money (though that's a possibility) but rather that you have the chance to work in a field that you want to work in and that interests you. Isn't getting to do what you want to do for a living what we call a dream job? College enables that... twisting college into an investment to earn more in the future at the price of a huge cost right now is what has lead to the current problems.

I'm all for the pay raise. Of course I'm for it out of greed. Artificially increasing the pay rate will lead to more automation in the industry. More automation in the industry will lead to more jobs for equipment technicians like myself. College grads in the robotics field will have more jobs to look forward to. Of course the people doing the manual labor don't realize this. They will be forced out of the field due to lack of education. Ironic really.