Fast food workers in the United States are staging a large-scale protest in search of higher wages. In over 60 US cities, fast food workers left their jobs and chanted fair wage slogans outside their workplaces in an organised movement for higher pay.
The recent protests are the culmination of a large effort by unions and community organisers to offer higher wages to fast food workers. Many fast food workers are paid the federal minimum wage of just $7.25 per hour at their current jobs.
That equates to just $15,000 for a full-time fast food worker – a wage that many of the industry’s workers believe isn’t justified for the amount of hard work that goes into their jobs.
The workers seek $15 in hour as a base rate, and believe that they should have the right to unionise without objection from their employers. The protests were staged in over 60 cities, including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and St. Louis.
While unions and labour groups have supported the protestors’ $15 per hour wage goals, retail experts and economists believe that such a significant increase in staff compensation would cause serious problems for the industry.
Labour costs are currently the most significant expense for US fast food companies, which employ millions of people across the country. Critics of the movement claim that pay increases could lead to hundreds of thousands of staff redundancies.
Other concerns include the possibility of fast food restaurants automating most of their kitchen in order to reduce costs, which technologists and economists claim is possible if the cost of labour increases.
Analysts have also noted that the cost of fast food would increase substantially if the average pay rates for fast food workers increased. Many believe that this would lead to a decline in revenue for fast food companies that market based on food prices.
