Unions seek exemption from LA minimum wage law they helped pass

For months, organized labor went after companies like McDonalds and Walmart, shaming any business that paid the old minimum wage. Carrying signs saying, "We see greed" and "We are worth more," union members marched outside businesses and appeared at City Council meetings demanding Los Angeles raise the minimum wage from $9 to $15 by 2020.

"We say, 'Don't leave anybody out, don't cut anybody out, a wage raise for all workers!'" Mary Elena Durazo, the longtime leader of the 600,000-strong Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, told a cheering crowd of supporters at a recent council meeting.

As if I needed more reasons not to shop a places like McDonalds. Seriously, though, who pays a fast food employee $15 an hour...that't insane when a kiosk terminal could do a better job taking my order.

"It was a real surprise that in the 11th hour that labor was saying, 'well, we basically support a sub-minimum wage if a company decides to enter into collective bargaining,'" Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell said. "And that really is a complete contradiction to what they've been saying the last couple of months."

Councilmen Mike Bonin and O'Farrell are opposing the move.

"It is not acceptable to expect the L.A. City Council to become a vehicle for union organizing," said O'Farrell. "That is not what we were elected to do and that is not what I will engage in."

Uh, oh. Apparently they want to use this high wage to punish non-union employers and reward businesses that support collective bargaining. So this isn't actually about helping people out of poverty, but punishing business owners that don't have union shops that pay union dues.

More classic hypocrisy from those people trying to 'help' us. No matter if they are on the right or left the only constant is that people trying to 'help' us really are trying to screw us or someone else. Disgusting.

Source

Are we really surprised? They know how bad this is for business, this was probably their plan all along. Make it so anyone who doesn't unionize will go out of business.

a reply to: Metallicus

The cash flow and power unions have is going to vanish because of poor leadership and decisions. If I was running the union I would take a much different route and truth be told it would work. I would focus on value and workers.




If unions continue down this path they will fail......Every last one of you...........

a reply to: SubTruth

Unions are the same as the businesses they once fought against. They don't care about workers, they care about lining their pockets.

It's a shame, workers still need guardian angels, Unions just simply are not them any longer.

I guess the unions just figured out that if employers are forced to pay more per employee, they are going to employee fewer people. Boost wages by 20% and that is 20% less employees.

I got a taste of $15/hour fast food on Wednesday. We went to the local amusement park. They had three workers in the booth. A footlong hot dog chili-cheese combo with fries and a 20 oz drink cost $13.50. It's not like it was horrible, but it's not like it was any better than Sonic quality, either.

I was sitting there with my husband and said, "You know ... we could be paying this much and having a nice meal at somewhere like Olive Garden with table service, endless salad/breadsticks, bottomless drinks."

They could not get our drinks out in an organized manner, and the rest of the meal came in similar pieces. Granted, they had some issues like inexperienced staff and one of them was working on a bum foot. But still ...

I have seen that future.

originally posted by: SubTruth
a reply to: Metallicus

The cash flow and power unions have is going to vanish because of poor leadership and decisions. If I was running the union I would take a much different route and truth be told it would work. I would focus on value and workers.




If unions continue down this path they will fail......Every last one of you...........

GOING to vanish??....here's something easy to read
www.wsj.com...

the steady decline in union membership follows the steady decline in the middle class....I guess you are all for that....you must want 2 classes of Americans, the gated communities people, and the low-rent apartment people.

and for those that do not think Bill Moyers is a commie pinko...
billmoyers.com...
this is a pretty easy read with quality sources....but there are hundreds of sources with basically the same figures.

originally posted by: ketsuko
I got a taste of $15/hour fast food on Wednesday. We went to the local amusement park. They had three workers in the booth. A footlong hot dog chili-cheese combo with fries and a 20 oz drink cost $13.50. It's not like it was horrible, but it's not like it was any better than Sonic quality, either.

I was sitting there with my husband and said, "You know ... we could be paying this much and having a nice meal at somewhere like Olive Garden with table service, endless salad/breadsticks, bottomless drinks."

They could not get our drinks out in an organized manner, and the rest of the meal came in similar pieces. Granted, they had some issues like inexperienced staff and one of them was working on a bum foot. But still ...

I have seen that future.

gee...you would think that olive garden would be in all the amusement parks, for those prices...hmmm...I wonder what it could be?

originally posted by: stormcell
I guess the unions just figured out that if employers are forced to pay more per employee, they are going to employee fewer people. Boost wages by 20% and that is 20% less employees.

companies will employ the fewest people possible, needed to make a profit, no matter if the wage was 15.00 dollars an hour, or 1.50 an hour....it doesn't matter. I don't know why people do not know this?

that's why companies move to southeast Asia, they can pay workers, that live in one-room shantys with dirt floors, work 80 hour weeks, and if you die on the job, a relative will be the first to fill that job that very day....companies don't care, unless governments force them. period, bottom line.

And the irony is that the union, being involved in drafting this legislation, was adamant until this reveal that there would be no exemptions of any kind allowed, then this pops up.

a reply to: jimmyx

I'm saying that if you pay your labor those rates, then likely you will have to increase your product prices to close to those amounts to compensate.

Service wise, it was about the same as any fast food.

My point is: Do you want to pay for standard fast food fare what you now pay for much nicer fare at other places?

$15 bucks an hour is a union wage.

They keep on with this raising the minimum wage crap there won't be any unions left.

That is why the union wanted a waiver.

MCdonald's stores are ran by franchise operators. That's a small business owner that can't afford that wage increase.

There only alternative is to raise the prices of goods. Like many other small business owners.

OF course business will leave else where like some of the comments here. Going elsewhere.

Then what's left is closing the doors.

Remember now employers are matching employees social security contributions increased wages means employers have to shell out more cash they don't have in to that fund.

If people wanted more money cut taxes, and get rid of everything else employers are paying for employees'.


SS contributions,unemployment insurance,workmans comp etc.

Can't squeeze blood from a turnip.

a reply to: neo96

I can see it now - The Unions lobby the workers to agitate for ruinous government policies like Obamacare and disastrous minimum wage, and then they fight to exempt themselves. In the end, the only to protect yourself and your family and even your business will be to contract with a union, and the union continues to take dues to elect the politicians who make life impossible without union protectionism.

In the end, no one has any liberty or independence left - worker or business.

Nice life you have there ...

a reply to: jimmyx

We get it. You're a Dem mouthpiece. This is about Unions demanding a wage increase, then demanding it not apply to them.

It's a pretty smart move by the unions. Here's why;

Say you're an employer that's opposed to paying your employees $15/hr, the only way you can escape that is to let your employees unionize. Now you have to bargain with your employees, collectively, on what to pay them. If they agree to take less than $15/hr, then you might escape the minimum wage...but now, your employees are unionized and can now demand things like better benefits or more time off. All the while paying union dues to fight you in court if it came down to it. Union membership grows and everyone else makes $15/hr.

Raising the minimum wage was just the first step, the next step is forcing opponents to the minimum wage to allow their employees to unionize.

a reply to: links234

Yes, it was brilliant for the unions. They get fat on the workforce, while workers get nothing in return. Disgusting, but brilliant.

"You can't live on less than $15/hr, so that is why we think anyone not in our Union should make that, and if you don't want to pay it then Unionize and we are alright with our workers getting $9/hr as long as we get rich."

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

Yes, but, you're missing the collective bargaining part. You think the employees are going to agree to less than minimum wage with no benefits? Would you agree to that?

Exempting unions from the minimum wage is great for unions and employees, not so much for employers, which isn't such a bad thing.

a reply to: links234

Exempting unions from the minimum wage is great for unions and employees, not so much for employers, which isn't such a bad thing.

You actually think that a bad thing for employers is a good thing?

originally posted by: links234
a reply to: OccamsRazor04

Yes, but, you're missing the collective bargaining part. You think the employees are going to agree to less than minimum wage with no benefits? Would you agree to that?

They have no say in the matter. If the job is Union it's automatically exempt from the wage increase. This has nothing to do with workers, it's a power grab by unions to destroy non union business.

Exempting unions from the minimum wage is great for unions and employees, not so much for employers, which isn't such a bad thing.

So it's great for employees to make less money and pay union dues? Wow that Kool-aid must have you drunk.

This is ridiculous. They fought for the law. No exemptions. Zip, nada, nothing.

If you fight for a law, you should be celebrating its passing, not trying to exempt yourself from it.