Wendy’s has joined a long line of food service establishments that will replace workers with self-service ordering kiosks to reduce labor costs as a result of $15 minimum wage ordinances. The fast food company’s decision comes after many locations have “increased prices to offset the wage hikes.”
In addition to the move, Wendy’s is also “preparing to launch mobile ordering and mobile payment, another labor saving move.”
As the Washington Policy Center reports, it is not just food service companies looking for new ways (all involving reducing the amount of workers) to decrease labor costs as a result of $15 minimum wage laws.
As it struggles to “balance its budget in the wake of higher labor costs,” the University of California at Berkeley announced its intention to eliminate 500 staff jobs over the next two years. Tragically, the cuts will impact low-skills jobs that many inexperienced workers rely on for entry in the job market. The include “those who clean buildings, work in food services and health clinics.”
The job cuts will not impact faculty or administrative positions. Via the Washington Policy Center:
“While UC Berkeley did not attribute the job reductions to California’s newly increased minimum wage, the announcement was made just after the state passed a $15 minimum wage law. To be fair, the school was in financial straits before the state’s minimum wage hike, and would have likely been forced to cut some jobs. But the new $15 minimum wage means those cuts are much deeper than they would have been.”
Advocates of the $15 minimum wage made a lot of promises. They painted a rosy picture in which low-skilled workers would see a jump in their paychecks while assuring that no one would lose their jobs and hiring practices would remain healthy. That didn’t happen.
Unfortunately, it appears to be low-skilled workers who are bearing the consequences of increasing the minimum wage by an exorbitant amount.
As University of Washington Professor Jacob Vigdor put it:
“Minimum wage is often touted as way to address poverty, and working poverty; my professional opinion is that it is a two edge sword and sometimes it’s the bad edge of the sword that can dominate.”
In addition to the move, Wendy’s is also “preparing to launch mobile ordering and mobile payment, another labor saving move.”
In other words, they’ll eventually get to where Chipolte was five years ago (!), when that fast food place introduced one of those newfangled “app” thingies the kids are all on about now.
Well, I guess “the libs and their socialism forced us into it!!1!” beats “we’re finally now just noticing what our competitors have been doing for half a decade.” If nothing else, die-hard ideological opponents of the minimum wage will swallow and regurgitate it uncritically, no matter how stupid it makes them look.
(How much do the top officers at Wendy’s get paid for such far-seeing executive vision and quick-footed managerial brilliance, anyway? Is it more than the minimum wage? If so, why?)
Just another example of Liberal derangement Syndrome rearing it pin head again, huh, tensie, making unintelligible remarks relevant to nothing… again?
Yep, that Liberal Syndrome will have it’s technical people who fix or service these automated machines making $60 per hr.
That would be equal to 4 working people. But then we don’t want the serf’s making too much money now, do we?
That would be a union worker making $60/hr.
Tensor, you are a kid too. How old are you? In your 20s. I saw you at the airport remember.
They climbed the corporate ladder through hard work, therefore it’s deserved.
What are you doing to earn more money? The American dream used to be work hard and earn more money. Now folks like you is what can the government do for me?
They climbed the corporate ladder through hard work, therefore it’s deserved.
Just like Wendy’s eponymous spokesmodel got her job there, right? Yay hard work and competition!
What are you doing to earn more money?
I work as a professional employee of a company with an office in Seattle — kind of like what Rob McKenna did after we rejected his request for a promotion. (You didn’t think he was going to associate with the people who’d voted for him, did you? Where’s the money in that?)
Why are you always negative? There are people there that start from the bottom and work their way up. You can do it too, but if your attitude is that you deserve it without earning it then you don’t deserve it.
I bet if your parents were wealthy and you were involved with their business you wouldn’t say anything about Wendy’s spokesperson.
You are just bitter and jealous of wealthy people. In order to achieve that status the original owners were perhaps hard working immigrants and made it to the top. Now folks of entitlements like yourself don’t wish to use their education to achieve wealth, but you rather take from the wealthy through some left wing means of redistribution.
Why are you always negative?
Compared to what, exactly — all of the positive material posted about liberals here?
There are people there that start from the bottom and work their way up.
I never denied there were. You just haven’t provided any evidence that any who did are relevant to this thread.
You can do it too, but if your attitude is that you deserve it without earning it …
Why do you assume that is my attitude? (Also, why do you assume I did not come from modest means, that I did not work long and hard for all I have achieved?)
I bet if your parents were wealthy and you were involved with their business you wouldn’t say anything about Wendy’s spokesperson.
She’s a fine spokesperson. I just doubt she’d have her position if she wasn’t (a) the daughter of the founder, (b) who named his business after her.
(You’d claimed, without the slightest hint of evidence, that other persons at Wendy’s had worked their way up and so deserve their huge salaries– even though Wendy’s has fallen behind the competition.)
You are just bitter,
Again, compared to what, exactly — the endless posts here attacking liberals, minorities, and women — all at a site owned by well-off white guys? Does such material just reek of happiness to you?
I am not going to play your game. The one thing I am going to say is that liberals in general are negative and bitter due to envy of others. They think the world revolves around them and are entitled what others earned. Why make a comment about Wendy if you don’t envy her.
I don’t take anything that people post anywhere because based on my experience and meeting some of these folks I realized they are not what they portrayed behind the computers. Some were awesome and some were out of touch with the world
I am not going to play your game.
It looks like you still are:
The one thing I am going to say is that liberals in general are negative and bitter due to envy of others.
This right-wing web site, owned by political consultants who lost a recent campaign to Gov. Inslee, publishes a new post almost every business day attacking him — often in deeply personal terms. Yet you won’t tell us if this shows a “negative” or “bitter” attitude, or is a symptom of “envy.” I’m genuinely curious as to how you can so easily make such broad, sweeping criticisms against “liberals”, but cannot say anything about specific behaviors right in front of you.
Do you mean the Chipolte (sic) that is regularly closed because of food poisoning and that has been raided by the Feds for hiring illegal aliens? That’s the newfangled chain you want the industry to emulate(!)?
Yes, contamination of the American food supply started only after the development of mobile ordering applications; it was unknown in centuries past.
Also, Chipolte’s hiring of illegal workers stands in stark contrast to long-standing labor practices in America’s restaurant and agricultural sectors.
But Wendy’s required government intervention before the top brass there started considering copying the same innovations their competitors had long since employed to improve efficiency, so yay free enterprise!
No, contamination of the American food supply is largely eradicated except in Chipolte’s (sic) and other companies that concentrate on the development of mobile ordering applications instead of food safety, requiring government intervention, so yay big government!
But really, comrade, can you name a business that DOESN’T require constant government intervention? Several dozen onerous regulations, at least? Name the industry where a $15 minimum wage has eliminated the need for government intervention.
Yes Biff, it’s totally impossible for a company to both develop web-based applications and practice good supply-chain management. It’s an obvious law of nature.
And no one else in the American restaurant or agricultural sectors ever hired an undocumented worker.
(They don’t let you out much anymore, do they?)
Tensor, meanwhile on liberalism mental illness institute in Oberlin College in Ohio, students felt there was no time for attending class or take the midterms due to other important activism around campus that take up too much of their time. The liberal students infinite wisdom decided to petition to abolish any grades below “C” and midterms.
I heard many mental illness rationale from the left and right wing, but this tops all of them.
Being graded in college is degrading and offensive. Why is it these thin skinned self esteem so low? I am surprised that WA colleges didn’t come up with that ridiculous ideas. Good job WA for not being like Oberlin College students.