The workers strike back! BK, Wendy’s, Event Cinema workers take action
This weekend it is likely that you will see workers at Burger King, Wendy’s and Event Cinemas taking action to bring an end to their status as part of minimum wage industries as well as to protect or establish margins for skill and service.
Each company has its own special problems.
Event Cinemas want to keep their start rates at no more than the minimum wage while having a truly pathetic increase of five cents an hour after 360 hours worked and 40 cents an hour after 18 months. The company refuses to increase rates above the minimum wage by the same percentage as the minimum wage movement and so continues to compress margins for skill.
Wendy’s wants to introduce a performance hoop that they will make it incredibly difficult to get pay increases and give managers the ability to deny existing service increases based on crude subjective standards. Supervisors on sole charge can’t even get the living wage. They have also cut rostered hours for union members by up to 20%.
Burger King salaried staff wages are so low that it is almost impossible for them to even earn the legal minimum wage because of the extra unpaid hours they are forced to work.
So if you see a picket line this weekend give these companies a miss. In fact, play safe, and try their competitors until these disputes are settled.
These employers love new migrants, I note, and they know they can exploit them.
I NEVER buy anything at Wendy’s or Burger King or most other US style chains, I always prefer the small Kiwi entrepreneur burger shop, and of need be the Chinese or other take aways, the US chains can go and get screwed in my view, any person working for them deserves pity and compassion, unless they use the job for ulterior motives, just to get residency.
Slavery and servitude are the enemy of human civilisation, let us get rid of that and its masters.