Consequence of $20 minimum wage for fast food workers?

[Derec]

California Increases Minimum Wage, Protections for Fast-Food Workers

I never understood why fast food workers should have a higher minimum wage than other industries, or why burger flipping and cashiering should get you $20/hour anyway. In any case, forcing companies to overpay fast food workers is surely accelerating trends like this one:

California restaurant incorporates kitchen robots and AI

 

[TV and credit cards]

You never understood it? Your video of the Pasadena, CA restaurant can't get workers, not at $20hr. They'd be hard-pressed to get them at $30hr.

Walk into the light.

 

[ZiprHead]

California restaurant incorporates kitchen robots and AI

As if that wouldn't happen anyway.

 

[thebeave]

California Increases Minimum Wage, Protections for Fast-Food Workers

I never understood why fast food workers should have a higher minimum wage than other industries, or why burger flipping and cashiering should get you $20/hour anyway. In any case, forcing companies to overpay fast food workers is surely accelerating trends like this one:

California restaurant incorporates kitchen robots and AI

And it only applies to the larger chain fast food chains. Certainly would suck to be flipping burgers at Mom's Burger Shack when you can make $4/hr more at the Jack in the Box on the next street over. I wonder if there is going to be a mass exodus of burger flippers from the small business fast food joints to the big corporate burger behemoths. Small businesses are dying in California as it is, with crime and the covid hangover.

McDonalds is already heavily invested in the kiosks around here. I expect more are coming.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

In any case, forcing companies to overpay fast food workers is surely accelerating trends like this one:

California restaurant incorporates kitchen robots and AI

This is all inevitable. Soon you will have a job building Amazon delivery robotmen who deliver your scheduled lunch (burgers) to you based on your phone location. But then they will automate that job, too, and you'll get mad again. If the machines have to automatically feed you, then why do you get to run around pretty much doing nothing, jobless, and then they have to find you to feed you? That's when the machines will realize you are pretty useless except as a stationary battery. Of course none of this makes sense, but you saw it in a movie.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

California Increases Minimum Wage, Protections for Fast-Food Workers

I never understood why fast food workers should have a higher minimum wage than other industries, or why burger flipping and cashiering should get you $20/hour anyway. In any case, forcing companies to overpay fast food workers is surely accelerating trends like this one:

California restaurant incorporates kitchen robots and AI

I personally never understand why people can't understand that wages in one part of the country aren't necessarily equivalent to another part of the country. It has been known for quite a long while that California is a particularly expensive place to live.

Regarding automation, automation has been a thing in most industries across the planet. Machines have up front costs, but can be beneficial cost wise, not merely due to labor wages.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

California Increases Minimum Wage, Protections for Fast-Food Workers

I never understood why fast food workers should have a higher minimum wage than other industries, or why burger flipping and cashiering should get you $20/hour anyway. In any case, forcing companies to overpay fast food workers is surely accelerating trends like this one:

California restaurant incorporates kitchen robots and AI

And it only applies to the larger chain fast food chains. Certainly would suck to be flipping burgers at Mom's Burger Shack when you can make $4/hr more at the Jack in the Box on the next street over. I wonder if there is going to be a mass exodus of burger flippers from the small business fast food joints to the big corporate burger behemoths. Small businesses are dying in California as it is, with crime and the covid hangover.

So, are you saying that this is fair to small businesses because it doesn't increase their cost for labor or it isn't fair because it makes chain restaurants more attractive to workers though it will increase the chains' prices a little?

 

[ZiprHead]

Having read the OP's link about robot kitchen workers, the robots did not displace workers. There is always a technician on hand to keep the robot operational and to fill in as a cook if the robot stops. Not the great leap forward as first thought.

 

[starwater]

Perhaps paying more for fast food (a consequence of higher wages) will keep people from eating so much of it. A great benefit for the over all health of the nation.

Wishful thinking eh?

 

[Toni]

California Increases Minimum Wage, Protections for Fast-Food Workers

I never understood why fast food workers should have a higher minimum wage than other industries, or why burger flipping and cashiering should get you $20/hour anyway. In any case, forcing companies to overpay fast food workers is surely accelerating trends like this one:

California restaurant incorporates kitchen robots and AI

AFAIK, fast food workers do not get a higher minimum wage compared with other industries, unless you are specifically talking about undocumented workers who often are paid low wages because they have no recourse. I think we tend to talk about fast food workers because we are all aware of those jobs and a lot of us or our kids have worked at such places, often while in high school.

Like many others, I’ve worked in chain restaurants as have some of my kids, who have also worked at high end restaurants. The work is hard, stressful, demanding, not necessarily without significant health and safety hazards and imo, quite unpleasant. It is hard to get the smell of grease out of your hair and clothes. It rarely pays decently although if you work at a nice restaurant, you might earn enough in tips to do ok.

I don’t understand why you seem to resent people earning enough money at their jobs to be able to afford a roof over their heads and food. Can you explain that, please?

 

[Derec]

You never understood it? Your video of the Pasadena, CA restaurant can't get workers, not at $20hr. They'd be hard-pressed to get them at $30hr.

If there was a difficulty getting fast food workers at $20/h, there would hardly be a need for Sacramento to impose that floor on the industry.

 

[Derec]

As if that wouldn't happen anyway.

It certainly makes the transition quicker, even if it would happen eventually.
I am reminded of flaggers. When I lived in Germany, in the 90s, they already had portable traffic lights to control one-lane traffic during construction. In the US (at least around here) they use human flaggers.
Presumably, human flaggers would have cost too much in Germany, so those jobs were automated even back then.

 

[Derec]

That's when the machines will realize you are pretty useless except as a stationary battery. Of course none of this makes sense, but you saw it in a movie.

Allegedly in the original draft of the script, humans were supposed to be used for processing power, not as "batteries". Whether or not that is true, it would have made a lot more sense.

 

[laughing dog]

You never understood it? Your video of the Pasadena, CA restaurant can't get workers, not at $20hr. They'd be hard-pressed to get them at $30hr.

If there was a difficulty getting fast food workers at $20/h, there would hardly be a need for Sacramento to impose that floor on the industry.

Given the time lag in legislation, and the fact that wages may be different in different locales, it means there could be a perceived need.

 

[Derec]

I personally never understand why people can't understand that wages in one part of the country aren't necessarily equivalent to another part of the country.

Who says I cannot understand it? HCOL areas will command higher wages than LCOL or MCOL areas for the same type of work.
But how that does justify having a higher minimum wage for
And not all of California is HCOL. There are plenty of rural areas where cost of living is much lower than SF or LA.

I do not think a statewide $20 minimum wage makes sense (and you can't use LA and SF to make that case given the heterogeneity of the state).
What is especially indefensible is singling out fast food for special treatment. What argument are proponents of this legislation even advancing to argue that fast food workers are more equal than other animals?

It has been known for quite a long while that California is a particularly expensive place to live.

Not the entire state, no.

Regarding automation, automation has been a thing in most industries across the planet. Machines have up front costs, but can be beneficial cost wise, not merely due to labor wages.

As you say, automation has its own cost. And not merely in dollars and cents. Some people will certainly avoid restaurants with kiosks vs. those with a flesh and blood person taking their order. But it makes sense more if you inflate prices of labor through legislation such as this.

 

[Derec]

Given the time lag in legislation, and the fact that wages may be different in different locales, it means there could be a perceived need.

There are big differences in cost of living in different parts of California.
And why single out fast food?

 

[ZiprHead]

As if that wouldn't happen anyway.

It certainly makes the transition quicker, even if it would happen eventually.
I am reminded of flaggers. When I lived in Germany, in the 90s, they already had portable traffic lights to control one-lane traffic during construction. In the US (at least around here) they use human flaggers.
Presumably, human flaggers would have cost too much in Germany, so those jobs were automated even back then.

We have portable traffic lights and we have flaggers. Setting up portable traffic lights for a short time job would be way overkill.

 

[laughing dog]

Given the time lag in legislation, and the fact that wages may be different in different locales, it means there could be a perceived need.

There are big differences in cost of living in different parts of California.

So? If you think fast food workers should make at least $20 an hour, then it differences in the cost of living is not relevant.

And why single out fast food?

You need to ask the CA legislature.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

That's when the machines will realize you are pretty useless except as a stationary battery. Of course none of this makes sense, but you saw it in a movie.

Allegedly in the original draft of the script, humans were supposed to be used for processing power, not as "batteries". Whether or not that is true, it would have made a lot more sense.

That's like saying Jehovah makes more sense than Allah.

 

[DBT]

People are not things to be used at the cheapest possible rate in order to increase profits and maintain multi million salaries for those at the top..