Thursday, August 29, 2013

Food workers protest in Union Square...

Fast food workers were on strike today trying to get a living wage...

Here is also a short video clip giving you idea of what it was like...

I heard a lot about the issue and the demonstration later on Public Radio (WNYC) here. 

Hardly news people cannot live on what they make as fast food workers, some live with relatives, others qualify for public assistance.

Fast food managers say paying workers more would mean the end of their businesses because they already operate on such a small profit margin.

Union Square was hardly mobbed as you can see...at North End of park, people just sat around at tables as usual and played with their laptops or whatever..

I remember they used to call the fast food jobs "McJobs"-- a real low paying dead end future.

Analysts say the labor market has only expanded since the Reagan era because of the addition of tons of jobs like this, while the old trade union jobs that had retirement programs and health insurance disappear or where the benefits just get taken away in what used to be comfy white collar jobs ( change at a company like Met Life being a prime example..went from being called "mother Met" back in the 1970's to being "streamlined" for greater profitability, jobs move way out to New Jersey,  benefits done away with, old offices closed-- Met tower now being turned into luxury hotel suites.

This is a really classic sort of labor dispute in that employees say they can't take it any more and owners say it would doom businesses as noted.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered