All over the US, fast food workers are protesting their low wages. On Thursday employees from chains such as McDonalds an Taco Bell walked out in 60 cities nationwide. They want to raise the minimum wage to $15. Congress has also suggested that the minimum wage be raised to $9. Some fast food chain restaurants are operating normally in most areas and are only being affected in cities like New York, where 150 people were chanting in front of Wendy's, "We can't survive on 7:25," which is the current minimum wage. Many workers also complain on not being able to work enough hours to live above the poverty line, and many are also protesting the restrictions on unionizing. The restaurants retort that higher wages would lead to higher costs and that many of their employees are young adults with little work experience or financial responsibility. No matter ones personal viewpoint on minimum wage, this issue is of utmost importance to the American population. Fast Food is one of the U.S.'s largest industries and it's success or failure greatly effects the economy. On the other hand, all countries should strive to keep as many people out of poverty as possible. The article I read appeared on BBC news and was very educational and informative with no obvious biases. The news source being from a non American viewpoint added to the impartial quality of the article, which is imperative when addressing an enormous issue such as this one.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23886031
That's good that this article came from BBC. If you got it from any American news program, the bias of it would have affected it's reliability.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is an issue that has both benefits and drawbacks on both sides. It's just a matter of whether you want some people to make more money or more people to make less money. It's a hard decision that doesn't really have a perfect outcome.
Claire Zimmerman
Although I agree that its hard to live off of just $7.25 an hour, it would be pretty difficult for employers to pay every single employee $15. There are a lot of people who seek jobs in fast food places, mostly including the young adults, and in order to give everyone a job, the people would have to work less hours. Working less for more money just doesn't make sense. Because a lot of people need a job,the employers are forced to pay everyone minimum wage. It indeed is a difficult issue for both the employers and the employees and i can see how this is a problem. But both sides should consider the other's argument. -Nia Edwards 5th period
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