I got on my Facebook last night and saw a post from my local news channel, Fast food workers will be striking in the area on Thursday because they wanted raises to $15 an hour. This is not an isolated incident. These strikes have been happening in various locales all across the nation over the past year.
Why do these workers believe that they deserve to have their salary more than double the minimum wage in this area? is it because they are highly skilled workers? Is it because they have lots of training? Is it because they have devoted their lives to the best customer service ever known? No! they want the raise simply because they feel they can't live on what they are getting paid.
What are the qualifications for getting a fast food job? These days all it requires is an application, an opening and either knowing someone or having more experience than the other applicants. Fast food does not require a high school diploma, a clean criminal or driving record, and no experience if there isn't a high demand for jobs in the area. Today's fast food workers often lack work ethic, speed, accuracy and customer service.
There are a few workers that are working fast food because they were laid off and it was the first available job, but those workers are actively looking for better work. There are a few workers who are in high school or college and the fast food hours fit their school schedule. There are a few workers who are developmentally delayed adults and are happy to have the job. I have no problem with those workers. There are even a few who are in the management programs whose ultimate goal is to own a franchise operation. These are not the problem. The vocal faction that believes they deserve $15 an hour have decided that they want to make fast food their career. They do not wish to make the effort to look for higher paying positions once they have gained experience. They do not wish to better themselves by either going to trade school, business training or college. They wish to put out the least effort possible but be paid high wages.
Certified nursing Assistants earn $10.00 an hour. EKG techs earn $10 an hour both of these positions require training that take less than a year. My son as an E4 in the military makes 1900 a month(he's in the nuke program so this is unusual for the average service person in less than 2 years most service members in less than two years are E2 and make a little over $1000 a month.) Pharmacy Technicians make $9 an hour. All these require short training periods and certifications. Police officers and fire personnel starting pay is about $2000 a month which is a little over $12 an hour.
Sorry but fast food workers get the pay they deserve. If they want to get better pay then they need to make the effort to find better jobs, get job training, or go to school. You may say but what if they can't afford it. If they are working fast food and are over the age of 21 then they can file a FAFSA application. They can have community college either degree or job training all paid for including both tuition and books through Pell Grant and Virginia Education grants. They can take their classes and still have a job for living expenses. If you are a single mother you most likely qualify for food assistance as well.
Because of this there is absolutely no excuse for expecting to get paid to do a job anyone with any ounce of work ethic could do.
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