The “Fight for $15” Minimum Wage movement hits the fast food franchise industry.
Nowhere in the US economy is the minimum wage labor movement, called “Fight for $15”, being more felt than in the fast food industry. Fast food restaurants employ millions of young adults at or near the minimum wage as this type of unskilled labor is an excellent opportunity for teenagers to get work experience and also make a little spending money. Now, perhaps because by the lack of decent paying jobs in the economy, the movement seeks to increase the minimum wage to a “livable” wage.
In a series of “one day strikes”, fast food employees are prodded to walk out of their restaurants in the middle of the work day, often during a busy lunch hour as a sign of protest at what their leaders say is an unlivable minimum wage. It is not uncommon for 500 to 1000 workers to spontaneously walk out from their place of employment for the day.
Several major US cities like Seattle and San Francisco have approved the $15 minimum wage, double the current federal minimum of $7.25. The increases in major cities are somewhat dubious, as the cost of living is so much higher in a San Francisco, than it is in say Montgomery, Alabama. This is prompting lawmakers to stress that the minimum wage increases should be on a state by state basis in order to be fair. Along those lines, and in an effort to reduce “federal” regulations on businesses, president-elect Trump favors that minimum wage laws be enacted on a state by state basis, not by the federal government. Each state should be allowed to compete for labor based on the demand on the local level.
And the “Fight for $15” minimum wage movement is not limited to only fast food workers. Convenient store clerks, airport, and childcare workers, as well as all other minimum wage jobs, will be affected when there is a change in the law. In the meantime, it may take a little longer to get service at a convenience store or get through the check-in lines at airports when minimum wage employees stage their spontaneous walkouts.
