I read an article from the Texas Tribune about the national strikes of fast-food workers. The article describes a growing situation of fast-food workers organizing together to protest the minimum wage of the fast-food industry. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, and the national median for fast-food workers is $8.94. These organized protestors are demanding $15 an hours, essentially doubling the current minimum wage. These efforts stem from the belief that the current standard wage is not enough for these workers to live off of. Within the next couple months, many employees are expected to walk off the job if their wage complaints are not addressed.
I thought this would be an interesting article for our class as many students work in the fast-food industry in order to make ends meet. In my opinion, the wage increase demand seems a little steep. I don't believe $15 an hour would be appropriate for the skills of the job. It seems like the employee holds the upper hand in this situation. Even if many workers walk off the job, it seems like they could bring in many of the current unemployed, who would gladly accept the current minimum wage. I have not personally worked in the fast-food industry, so I really don't have a valid basis for my assumption of the wage increase not being appropriate. However, I do believe that many of these workers should use the skills developed in the industry, to help further their careers in other opportunities. Changing their career direction instead of changing the economics of the industry seems a more probable solution.
I look forward to seeing how this plays out, as well as the opinions of those directly affected.
