So this new minumum wage thing?

[skep419]

Can't believe how callus some are that begrudge someone making a decent wage.
$15 isn't a living wage far from it but at least a respectable wage. Why is freeloader talk coming up were talking about people that work and might be stuck at the bottom for moment or forever. But more and more families depend on low wage jobs. Doesn't make you a freeloader.

Now I'm sure a lot of you that think it's unfair that they raise minimum wage also probably think it's unfair that jobs are leaving to Mexico and the like. But you can use your own argument against ya. Obviously your over paid unskilled labour don't be so greedy a company has to make a profit it's not the job of the compay to make sure you can live on what they pay you. If you lowered your wages equal to Mexicans problem solved. A lot can be said about most jobs. Most are semi skilled at best unless your a chemical engineer or similar with a little training you probably can be replaced for a cheaper worker. Look at construction lot of over paid people there to. My buddy makes $35 an hour driving cement truck hard job? Hardly that might be my next move. A lot of you probably could take a good pay cut with your reasoning. Is your job really that harder than someone working is a sub shop ? I've worked in a pizza place it can be pretty stressful at times and would say harder than driving a cement truck but paid a lot less.

 

[Bodyperson]

My son has been working at the same place for a couple of years and worked his way up to beginning management from what used to be minimum wage $7.25 an hour.
Now he makes about $10 and hour and has taken and passed all the requirements for management.
He has been in charge of the store and responsible for closing and end of day bank deposits for almost a year now.

Now he finds out that the new minimum wage is pretty much what he makes after working his way up, but the company has no apparent plans for dealing with this issue.
At this point he will be responsible for training new employees that will make the same pay he makes after two years of hard work to get where he is now.

Needless to say, he's pretty pissed off about it.

I saw this coming when they voted the new minimum wage in, and I mentioned it back then.
I also warned that Jobs were going to get scarce when the new wage passed because employers were going to get rid of people they figure are not worth $10 an hour and hesitate to hire any new people.

Also, AZ is a "right to work state" and as nice as the name sounds it isn't very nice.
It basically means you work but the employer doesn't have to follow a lot of labor laws that other states have.
For example, I have a Mopar friend that works for a well known local automotive repair business.
He makes $8.50 an hour for shifts that are 11 hours a day with no lunch time and no breaks.
He has to eat while he works if he gets to eat at all during the 11 hours.
When the new min wage goes into effect he has no idea what is going to happen, as he doesn't think the owner of the shop is going to give everyone a $1.50+ an hour pay hike.
More likely they will cut it back to less employees, and try to make them work harder and faster.


Anyone know more on this?
No politics or blame of one party or another, just a discussion please.

I have read over 100 responses to this posting. Some interesting reading for sure.
The message I get from most of it is that people compare themselves to others more than they should. Worry about yourself. Do your best. The rest will fall into place. Your Son should be happy he is gaining experience in managing people. Managing people is a hard job and can mostly be taught through experience. He has that over the people that are making the same as him with less experience .The right attitude, not being pissed, is everything to an employer. This is what can set him apart from the rest. The money will come with more experience while people with arrogance will remain idle.

 

[skep419]

 

[GeorgeH]

To think that the government is raising a wage for the benefits of the citizens is pure unadulterated bullshit. The government is raising the wage to increase taxes on the lower wage worker. Let that sit in for a minute.

And there you have the truth. It only benefits the tax base, Minimum wage is somewhat relative to the cost of goods. It hurts those that have nickled and dimed their way up the ladder a bit as now they're back at the bottom again, and puts more people at the bottom. It's ridiculous to think employers are going to hand out like increases across the board.

 

[GeorgeH]

That's rather oversimplified. A single mom recieves more than $130 month in food stamps, and if the demographics came from a more rural area I'm sure those percentages would be much higher. A single mom with 2 kids is more in the $400-500. 3 it's even more. Some collect $700 plus, and quite a few turn part of that back into cash. A basket full of ribeyes for sale, and if it gets down to reduced benefits they'll find a way to get fired. I just don't really feel bad for people that only develop their skills far enough to put macaroni on a shelf and that's as far as they want to go in life. At some point you have to look at the big picture, some retirees that didn't plan so well a $20 week grocery increase might put them out of touch with buying cat food.

 

[ramenth]

That's rather oversimplified. A single mom recieves more than $130 month in food stamps, and if the demographics came from a more rural area I'm sure those percentages would be much higher. A single mom with 2 kids is more in the $400-500. 3 it's even more. Some collect $700 plus, and quite a few turn part of that back into cash. A basket full of ribeyes, and if it gets down to reduced benefits they'll find a way to get fired.

Isn't that some of what we were hearing out of Seattle? The minimum wage hike was making a lot of people in the fast food industry realize that they were now disqualified for benefits and were either quitting, getting fired, or asking for reduced hours so they could keep their benefits?

 

[GeorgeH]

Isn't that some of what we were hearing out of Seattle? The minimum wage hike was making a lot of people in the fast food industry realize that they were now disqualified for benefits and were either quitting, getting fired, or asking for reduced hours so they could keep their benefits?

I don't follow Seattle, I see what's going on around me, and what's happening on my In-laws side of the family. Downright disgusting.

 

[DesertRat]

I have been wondering if I should chime in or not. I think everyone is responsible for themselves and should not expect to be given anything. If money is the problem, figure out what it takes to make more of it, don't waste energy worrying about not having it. I get it that it is my "old school attitude" but I am speaking from personal experience here. Both for myself and my kids and grandkids. One of my mentors told me when we were coming up together that he found that "the harder I work, the luckier I get" I adopted that as my philosophy as well and have found it to be true.
All that being said, I voted and will continue to vote in favor of every minimum wage hike that comes up. The argument against it is weak in my opinion and the argument for it is self evident, again in my opinion.
I know this is not the prevailing thought here but as a manager responsible for hiring and training I will pay exceptional compensation for exceptional people.
DR---------------------Cheers and Happy new year all you Mopar folks----------------------

 

[DesertRat]

Isn't that some of what we were hearing out of Seattle? The minimum wage hike was making a lot of people in the fast food industry realize that they were now disqualified for benefits and were either quitting, getting fired, or asking for reduced hours so they could keep their benefits?

People who settle for fast food jobs know what they are letting themselves in for. It is truly just that------------settling-----------Don't treat the symptoms, fix the effin problem!

 

[ramenth]

I know this is not the prevailing thought here but as a manager responsible for hiring and training I will pay exceptional compensation for exceptional people.

Which puts management in a unique position.

I was a hiring manager in retail. I forever heard from HR and the DM's as well as the GM's how hard it was to hire and retain qualified personel. I watched one of my Parts Pro's take a walk when Corporate asked him to take a three dollar an hour pay reduction.

So, you ask someone who's more than qualified to run the show himself, without me, to take a three dollar an hour hit and then can't understand why your can't keep talent on staff.

Yeah, there's a disconnect there.

 

[GeorgeH]

I have been wondering if I should chime in or not. I think everyone is responsible for themselves and should not expect to be given anything. If money is the problem, figure out what it takes to make more of it, don't waste energy worrying about not having it. I get it that it is my "old school attitude" but I am speaking from personal experience here. Both for myself and my kids and grandkids. One of my mentors told me when we were coming up together that he found that "the harder I work, the luckier I get" I adopted that as my philosophy as well and have found it to be true.
All that being said, I voted and will continue to vote in favor of every minimum wage hike that comes up. The argument against it is weak in my opinion and the argument for it is self evident, again in my opinion.
I know this is not the prevailing thought here but as a manager responsible for hiring and training I will pay exceptional compensation for exceptional people.
DR---------------------Cheers and Happy new year all you Mopar folks----------------------

If they show initiative and are trainable then they're worth more, not many show that work ethic. The work for what you want and go get it is not there. Different world....

 

[DesertRat]

You sift through a lot of drek to get to the rare gem. We just roll them until we get what we want. Pay them and have very little turnover. It costs what it costs but our market is willing to pay what we have to have to gear and staff our company. You're right though, it is a very different world than the one we came up in-----

 

[greymouser7]

I have been wondering if I should chime in or not. I think everyone is responsible for themselves and should not expect to be given anything. If money is the problem, figure out what it takes to make more of it, don't waste energy worrying about not having it. I get it that it is my "old school attitude" but I am speaking from personal experience here. Both for myself and my kids and grandkids. One of my mentors told me when we were coming up together that he found that "the harder I work, the luckier I get" I adopted that as my philosophy as well and have found it to be true.
All that being said, I voted and will continue to vote in favor of every minimum wage hike that comes up. The argument against it is weak in my opinion and the argument for it is self evident, again in my opinion.
I know this is not the prevailing thought here but as a manager responsible for hiring and training I will pay exceptional compensation for exceptional people.
DR---------------------Cheers and Happy new year all you Mopar folks----------------------

Working harder doesn't always translate to succeeding in today's job market. Not without job skills that make the laborer more valuable than replaceable.

You say you have grandkids, the job market you experienced and the job market now are very different, entirely different in some areas. Most civilians I know that are younger than me live with (blood relations) family, not from choice, or lacking hard work ethics, due to necessity. I have family with college degrees that put out resumes, these people have work experience, are currently employed, and can't get better jobs.

It IS a PROBLEM. It's not that most of the young generation are lazy or less productive. The labor jobs ARE NOT THERE.

 

[kowalski440]

I agree with much of what has been said but am going out on a limb here so please take what I say with that spirit. The higher the minimum wage, the more employers are going to look at automation/robotics to fill those positions. Just look at the what has happened in the auto industry. Owning a manufacturing business in the past I was faced with this dilemma. We where non union however paid higher wages and had better benefits than like unionized companies in our market and still had to automate to stay competitive. So please don't paint all of us "Ruling Class" with the same brush.
When we automated some jobs we also trained personal from with in when possible to over see the new manufacturing process. There are many employers looking for this type of help now so it is imperative to reinvent yourself. Change is constant. As far as the original post about the 11 hour days and no breaks I would certainly look into the state labor laws. That situation sound unfair and extreme. Wish all you guy/ladies the best.

I know from experience in Indiana that if you are over the age of 18, without a Union contract saying
otherwise, an employer is not legally required to provide any breaks, lunches, or shift/hour limits (truck
drivers not included). Indiana recently became RTW, but so far in my (union) plant the changes have been minimal.