(WNCN) – Drive-thru customers waiting for their meal Wednesday were greeted by McDonald’s workers in Durham joining a nationwide daylong strike.
“The fact that people are standing here for $15 an hour should send a clear message not just to corporations, to people in general,” said Ana Ilarraza Blackburn with the Poor People’s Campaign.
While McDonald’s said it is raising its entry-level minimum wage to $11 an hour, it only counts for corporate-owned restaurants – not franchises.
“They did $5 billion last year during a pandemic and all of that money went to their shareholders and not one cent went to raising wages for us,” said McDonald’s employee Precious Cole.
Bank of America, Amazon, Chipotle and Under Armour have announced minimum wage increases without any federal or state legislation forcing them to do so.
“It’s certainly an indication of something that we knew for a long time. There are a lot of companies out there that had the money to pay people a decent wage and just weren’t doing it because they could get away with not doing it,” said economic analyst Patrick McHugh with the NC Justice Center.
But McHugh said by lawmakers not bringing wages up over time small and medium-sized businesses suffer the most.
Many of which barely managed to survive the pandemic and recession.
McHugh worries about a deeper divide.
“You hit a crisis and then suddenly it’s only the companies that have billions of dollars available to them that are able to raise wages enough to get folks to come to work for them,” he said.
McDonald’s employee Nah’shon Blount said a wage increase would mean he could hopefully one day go to college.
“We’re the ones who give you your profit so why are we still getting poverty wages, we deserve a $15 minimum wage,” he said.
But who makes that decision, legislators or businesses, is a long way from any conclusion.
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“We Deserve A $15 Minimum Wage”. No, the only thing you “deserve” is to work your way up the ladder in society. That is called getting educated, competing and working hard to get ahead. That is called “equality of opportunity”, not “equity” where everyone gets a trophy.
YET another reason to not bother dining with mcdonnalds.
“We’re the ones who give you your profit so why are we still getting poverty wages, we deserve a $15 minimum wage,” he said.
What an ingrate! He should be thankful that he has a job & use the opportunity to advance himself. If I were his boss, I’d kick him to the curb. “Get to the back of the line & try again boy.”
Let me tell you something—I had to work a good number of years to ever reach $21 per hour as a staff accountant—a job requiring more education and analytical ability than that of a fast-food worker. As many times as my order gets wrong at a fast-food establishment, there is absolutely no justification for a $15 per hour wage. That is insane.
The fast-food industry provides entry level work for those entering the workforce. It is designed to teach basic skills and set one on the road to advance to higher paying jobs requiring higher skill levels. This $15 per hour minimum wage idea is AIC economics thinking and it isn’t very smart.
Exactmudo… THESE JOBS are supposed to be for TEENS to learn working ethics and such.. NOT FOR SOMEONE TO LIVE OFF OF.
This $15.00 was tried in Washington State. The workers collecting welfare world only work part time because they didn’t want to loose their welfare checks. These people worked less hours, made more money and still collected welfare paid for those taxpayers who do work.
And notice that now they have robot order takers, Now they don’t need these greedy school drop out kids and @#$%&.
Rumor has it the Hamburgler left McDonalds and is now working for the Biden government in a high position of welfare distribtuion. Why work for small fry potatoes when you can steal from a whole government agency and a government run by a president way short his frys for a happy meal, or happy populace.
I also asked how many people will get off welfare and food stamps if given 15 dollars an hour ?? I was called racist.
That’s why we need to END THE bloody welfare system…
All fast food outlets should go on strike. It would improve the overall health of America. McDonalds; obesity and a heart attack in a bag.
I’d rather get some chilli from wendies if i want fast food.
That food is NOT: fast, cheap or healthy. It even taste bad now. I’d rather have a $12 meat & two vegestables than an $11 combo anyway.
“McDonald’s employee Nah’shon Blount said a wage increase would mean he could hopefully one day go to college.”
Why? If you think you are going to fund college with an “entry level job” you have enough problems already.
First try a high school economics class, conducted by a conservative.
Great, You go to college, get a liberal arts degree, because you don’t have the basic intelligence to take real courses, graduate with a C-, and go back to work at McD’s. The only problem is that at $15/hr you can be replaced with a machine. Machines don’t do drugs, are always on time, don’t call in sick, and never spit in a cops meal. Bye bye loser.
I honestly wonder. WHEN THE HELL did ‘liberal arts degreee’ being pushed as a way to get an Associates/bachelors, started to be pushed???
Today it’s $15 per hour and next year it will be $18 per hour. Your pay should be commensurate on your value to your employer, i.e. how many $’s can you earn for your employer.
If minimum wage doubles, my salary (& yours) should double too. Now that’s an increase I could support.
going to college is an even bigger waste of money. i say defund the universities. I’m not paying an stink-wade low-life cry-baby $15/hr to lip burgers. I’ll eat baloney first and fry it myself.
Wal-Mart has more self checkout Cash registers than Cashiers.
Is there a message in that gesture of Walmart’s?
When I am prompted by a Walmart employee to use the self checkout, I calmly remind them that I do not work there. When they insist, I tell them to piss off!
Also have you noticed they always put the slowest cashiers at the registers?
This is Walmarts design to herd people through the self check and avoid paying cashiers.
I still go to Walmart when they are the only option for what I am looking for but on whole I find other places to support.
It tells you why they aren’t hiring. you get to do the work of scanning and bagging your own groceries for free. The worst part there is still a line at the self-service registers.
same thing happened at the gas pumps years ago, remember? Save $o.o3/gal to pump your on gas. Now there are NO attendants and gas prices are higher than ever. History repeats itself.
That seems to be true…
My local one, has two groups of self-check outs.. The one on the left most part has six registers, the right most has 8. BUT they still have 16 or so regular registers, though only 8 or so, are ever open at the same time..
$15.00 an hour for what and why?
these fools can not get my order right now and they want more pay to keep on messing up my order?
the times we live in are very scary.
Because “WEZZZ BEEEZZZ ENTITLED DAWG”..
I was at the drive through a couple of days ago, got two cheeseburgers that used to cost $1/each and now cost $1.50/each. They were lukewarm and the bun was stale. It they get $15/hour, the burgers will be cold, the buns moldy and they’ll cost $3/each. I remember when they were 15 cents.
I used to remember the days, where you could go to McD’s and get a 79 CENT cheeseburger (59 cent regular burger), or taco bell for a 79 cent taco…
I remember $.17 hamburgers, $0.19 cheese burgers, but then everything must go up. One place had $0.13 hamburgers, but the health department closed them on a more or less regular basis. When they were open I still ate there. Never got sick.
Y’all are just a bunch of old white men (lol). You should be ashamed of yourselves (sarc).
They have just signed the demise of the entry level positions they want to intimidate the company into paying more for. I can only hope that they find themselves on the streets without any possibility of getting an entry level position. Here is a case of stupid is what stupid does. Nobody else cares what amount of money you make, as long as their burgers are cheap.
Ok, I’ll share this little true story.
My 1st job was McD at 16, took the 2 week training class that I had to travel 30 mins on my bike to and from. On my 1st day, I worked 4 hours and it was enough for me to change my mind and go to Godfather’s Pizza closer to my home and apply. Yes, got that job and loved it!
As for $15 / hour for flipping burgers, get ready for smaller jumbo sized French fry containers!
The burgers are already too crappy and too expensive. Anyone living on a fixed income is being priced out of the market. They aren’t going to buy this malarkey. And now they’re pushing veggie burgers. If you want to eat a carrot or a head of lettuce call it a salad. Don’t call it a burger. Hell the cheese isn’t even real. They’re destroying the foundation of why fast-food was popular and successful to begin with. Its not rocket science. it use to be cheap, good food fast. Now its just over-priced **** with bad service. Half the time they forget the napkins and catsup in the drive thru. I’ve had it with the cold greasy $6.00 combo meal.
AND if you want to eat a salad, MAKE IT YOURSELF at home.. IMO ITs a lot cheaper than buying the salads from these fast food outlets.
It looks like Ronald McDonald is a down-voting troll!
$6.00? Try $9.50 – $12.00 combos. Chances are you’ll throw some of it away as it’s unfit to eat. I’ll give ’em a raise. “To the moon soul brother, to the moon.” (pardon me Jackie Gleason for borrowing your line)
Good luck with $15 an hour minimum wage, McDonalds way ahead of you , they will be automating soon , sorry ! Besides try getting a real job where you can prove you earned it !
What.. How dare you say these snow flakes must ‘prove they earned’ something..
RHEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Yea like the person up above said , if you raise the minimum wage you are going to lose your welfare check, that’s what these big companies want to do pushed by the Biden traitors.
You want to earn MORE?
Then become VALUABLE to the company!
Learn a skill that MILLIONS of people can’t do!
McDonald’s employee Nah’shon Blount said a wage increase would mean he could hopefully one day go to college.
I know a young man who started working at McDonald’s about a year ago. He has worked hard, come to work on time, and kept a good attitude toward his coworkers and customers. He’s received a few raises and it now making over $15/hr. He’s graduating high school in a few weeks. By the end of the summer he will be an assistant manager making over $17/hr. He’s been saving his earnings and not spending on foolish stuff. He’s also going to be adding hours during the summer so that he can make even more money and save for college.
Oh, and he’ll be using the McDonald’s provided scholarships to attend college in the fall. If you are working at McDonald’s and putting forth effort you should be able to rise in the ranks, get beyond minimum wage, and use their college incentives to attend college. The trick is you need a good attitude, a work ethic, and a desire to move forward by hard work and focus.
Work ethic. Desire.. Good attitude..
ALL THINGS foreign to leftists.
A bath and clean clothes worn properly will go a long way too. Also, try a haircut & a shave. Pull those britches up boy, nobody wants to see your crack. We’re trying to eat!
They should submit to workers demands to pay 15 hr but then McD should go out and hire folks who are worth it. Fire everybody! Why would you buy a basic model car instead of a top of the line for the same price?
Why only $15/hr? Oh, that’s what the Federal government/Dem Congress persons suggested is the “right” minimum starting wage. I get it now!
Why not take what is offered, work hard, set a goal to achieve higher pay/better job/company supported college tuition aid?
That was the US of A I started my career in. Has it changed so that is not possible any longer…. To those wanting this $15/hr at McD’s – join the US military and experience the world to better understand how good you have it here in the US of A, and stop complaining….plus, you will have college tuition benefits to apply at the end of your service !
They are entitled. You are entitled to work your way up to making more money. Economics 101- when the cost to not hire((maybe use machines) out ways the cost to pay you what you “think” your entitled to that results in NO job. Also don’t complain when that burger and fries now costs $20 when the costs are passed on. Simple business economics.
“”There are a lot of companies out there that had the money to pay people a decent wage and just weren’t doing it because they could get away with not doing it,” said economic analyst Patrick McHugh with the NC Justice Center.”
By “not doing it” he is referring to the passing of the cost onto their next customer. Yes, there are a lot of small businesses that can’t “get away with it”.
Thanks to the Left’s insane reaction to the illness that shall not be named there are a lot fewer today.