The ‘Fight for $15’ Suffers A Setback As McDonald’s Flirts With Automation

[rangerrebew]

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The ‘Fight for $15’ Suffers A Setback As McDonald’s Flirts With Automation

Posted By Derek Hunter On 5:26 PM 10/25/2014 In | No Comments
 

The “Fight for $15” movement to increase the hourly pay of fast food workers to $15 per hour has gained a lot of momentum in the past year. Led by unions, who seek to expand into the fast food industry, and progressive activist groups, there have been protests nationwide demanding fast food chains raise the starting pay of employees to more than double the minimum wage. That fight may be on the verge of backfiring.

Conservatives have long warned that raising the minimum wage would harm businesses, cost low-skilled workers jobs and lead to automation to replace many of them. Unions and progressives, on the other hand, swore fast food chains could easily afford the inflated labor cost without much of a price increase.

Now comes word that McDonalds’, the largest player in the fast food industry, revenues are down significantly. A 5 percent decline in quarterly revenues led to a 30 percent decline in profits. A doubling of labor costs would only exacerbate this and lead to massive layoffs.

In addition to demands from labor for a higher starting wage, the National Labor Relations Board in July ruled fast food companies are responsible for the labor practices of their franchisees. That ruling makes the prospect of unionization of the industry a larger possibility and places additional pressure on the future of the industry.

As such, McDonald’s is looking to the future, a future with fewer employees.

The Wall Street Journal reports, “The McDonald’s earnings report on Tuesday gave a hint at how the fast-food chain really plans to respond to its wage and profit pressure—automate.”

Further, the Journals says:


By the third quarter of next year, McDonald’s plans to introduce new technology in some markets “to make it easier for customers to order and pay for food digitally and to give people the ability to customize their orders,” reports the Journal. Mr. Thompson, the CEO, said Tuesday that customers “want to personalize their meals” and “to enjoy eating in a contemporary, inviting atmosphere. And they want choices in how they order, choices in what they order and how they’re served.”


Customization and choices are what consumers want, but humans already do offer that. What the machines offer is the additional stability of a known and stable cost.

As the “Fight for $15” gears up for future fights and the NLRB helps it gain steam, economic realities and market forces may be letting the air out of their tires.


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URL to article: http://dailycaller.com/2014/10/25/the-fight-for-15-suffers-a-setback-as-mcdonalds-flirts-with-automation/

[Oceander]

I, for one, look forward to having the already-surly "staff" at McDonald's in NYC replaced with automated ordering machines.

[Atomic Cow]

Pretty soon the only employees at most fast food restaurants will be people to clean the place, and someone to keep an eye on the machines.

These $15 an hour idiots are going to put themselves right out of a job.

[jmyrlefuller]

It seems that the fundamental problem here is that labor, the primary way for people to make money for the past two centuries, is no longer worth anywhere near as much as it has been. Machines now provide the labor provided by many men, often more reliably, for a much lower cost. What can't be done with machines, in many cases they can send it off to some third-world country where their laborers will gladly take market value for that work, then ship the finished product here.

The whole premise of a labor union is to use the collective strength of the workers to be able to force the employers to concede more. Yet today, quite frankly, we're rapidly approaching an era where companies simply don't need to hire people. The initial investment in the machines, plus $0 an hour, will eventually even beat the current minimum wage.

The lazy won't be hurt by this. It will be the underemployed, who do their jobs well but can't get ahead for various reasons out of their control, that will lose the most out of this trend.

[Politics4us]

It seems that the fundamental problem here is that labor, the primary way for people to make money for the past two centuries, is no longer worth anywhere near as much as it has been. Machines now provide the labor provided by many men, often more reliably, for a much lower cost. What can't be done with machines, in many cases they can send it off to some third-world country where their laborers will gladly take market value for that work, then ship the finished product here.

The whole premise of a labor union is to use the collective strength of the workers to be able to force the employers to concede more. Yet today, quite frankly, we're rapidly approaching an era where companies simply don't need to hire people. The initial investment in the machines, plus $0 an hour, will eventually even beat the current minimum wage.

The lazy won't be hurt by this. It will be the underemployed, who do their jobs well but can't get ahead for various reasons out of their control, that will lose the most out of this trend.

I don't think McDonald's could do automation. It's not like WaWa or Quick Chek with only a few customers at a time. I agree about the corporations, but these attacks on McDonald's are being done to hurt fast food and the corporation. It's ridiculous to expect to make $15 per hour.

[GourmetDan]

It's quite simple, actually.

All businesses are always looking for ways to reduce costs.

By increasing the cost of labor (wages, benefits, taxes, regulation, etc), government makes workers more susceptible to cost-reduction alternatives.

Works every time...

[Cyber Liberty]

I don't think McDonald's could do automation. It's not like WaWa or Quick Chek with only a few customers at a time.

Have you seen the stats on how many burgers a machine can make in an hour?  Momentum Machines, which has had an automated hamburger machine out for a couple of years, boasts ~360 burgers per hour.  That's an average of one every 10 seconds.  http://momentummachines.com/

[ABX]

I, for one, look forward to having the already-surly "staff" at McDonald's in NYC replaced with automated ordering machines.

I love automation. I use the self check-out at grocery stores all the time. Now you can check in at airlines without talking to a single person other than the TSA. National Car Rental also has an automated self-serve now at a lot of airports. Unskilled jobs are becoming fewer and fewer. Thus, you'll see the left try to stop this progress. From the Communist Manifesto: "...the bourgeois exploits the proletariat through the constant revolutionising of production [and] uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions".. IE, progressives oppose real progress, especially industrial and economic progress.

[olde north church]

Robots won't spit in your food.

[flowers]

Robots won't spit in your food.

[flowers]

Robots won't spit in your food.

Way back in my yutes days I worked at a Carl's Jr. Saw the nephew of the owner take a hamburger patty out of the trash can and place it on a bun, made a burger and gave it to a customer.

[olde north church]

Way back in my yutes days I worked at a Carl's Jr. Saw the nephew of the owner take a hamburger patty out of the trash can and place it on a bun, made a burger and gave it to a customer.

I worked in several food joints as well in my yute as well.