Submitted by Darren Smith, Guest Blogger
The City of SeaTac Washington enacted a proposition narrowly approved by voters (77 vote margin among approximately 6,000 total votes) that would, among other issues, raise the minimum wage of hospitality and transportation workers to $15.00 per hour; one of the highest in the United States. The minimum wage for Washington State is $9.32 and the highest among all fifty states. Supporters of the proposition argued the cost of living for those workers is forcing them to live in substandard lifestyles given their working environment and lack of benefits provided in these industries. Opponents argue the law would put an unnecessary burden upon business and force cuts in employees and a disincentive to operate within the city. Much controversy has been generated on all sides.
There are and estimated 1,600 transportation and hospitality workers employed in SeaTac and 4,700 within the Port of Seattle; mainly serving the airport. The ordinance has sparked much controversy on both labor and business interests and could have an affect on other cities throughout the state. A recent superior court decision also has invalidated a significant number of employees working in SeaTac.
The ordinance is SeaTac Municipal Code Chapter 7.45.
SeaTac is located in the vicinity of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) south of Seattle. Adjacent to the airport, on International Boulevard, are a large number of hotels, motels, car rental agencies, and long term parking businesses that support travelers. The businesses subject to the ordinance generally are represented in the North American Industry Classification Codes (NAICS) as follows with some exemptions for small motels:
- 485999 All Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
- 488119 Other Airport Operations
- 488190 Other Support Activities for Air Transportation
- 488510 Freight Transportation Arrangement
- 532111 Passenger Car Rental
- 561720 Janitorial Services
- 721110 Hotels and Motels
- 722310 Food Service Contractors
- 722410 Drinking Places
- 722514 Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets
- 722515 Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
In addition to the wage minimum, adjusted annually for inflation, the ordinance provides a one hour sick and safe leave benefit per forty hours of work with a cash value to be paid at year end. Also there is a provision the employers must offer extra hours to part-time employees before a full time position is created. There are also provisions for employer/employee oversight related to labor relations.
The crux of the proposition was to provide this wage and benefit program both to employees outside the airport and those within the airport. However, recently the Superior Court of Washington for King County struck down the ordinance in part. In BF Foods, LLC, Filo Foods, LLC, et al., v. City of SeaTac, et al., (13-2-25352-6 KNT) Judge Andrea Darvas ruled the ordinance violated Revised Code of Washington 14.08.330 which declared the Port of Seattle which Seattle-Tacoma International is located and a state chartered municipality, had exclusive jurisdiction and the ordinance applying to this area was void declaring: “The Washington State Legislature has clearly and unequivocally stated its intent that municipalities other than the Port of Seattle may not exercise any jurisdiction or control over SeaTac Airport operations, or the laws and rules governing those operations.” Judge Darvas further decreed certain portions of the ordinance relating to employees suffering adverse actions for union activity or retaliation and such was pre-empted by federal labor law and void. Most of the remaining parts were upheld. Supporters of the ordinance promised a direct appeal to the state supreme court.
A few airports have labor rules similar to that of SeaTac. San Jose Airport workers are guaranteed health insurance and a $13.82 hourly wage. Los Angeles International workers receive $10.91 and health benefits.
Organized opponents to the SeaTac ordinance were mostly from businesses. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Alaska Airlines which has its main hub at Seattle Tacoma International. In 2005 Alaska Airlines terminated 500 unionized ramp workers and re-hired some as lower wage, non-union workers. Recently, Alaska Airlines spokesman Paul McElroy stated: “Alaska Airlines believes in fair pay and benefits for all workers, and we respect every worker and the job they do…This lawsuit isn’t about $15 an hour. It’s about an initiative that violates state and federal law.”
Local businesses have spoken out as well. Han Kim, who manages Hotel Concepts which manages eleven hotels in Washington stated he and his business associates decided to shelve plans to construct a new hotel on land they own in SeaTac. They currently have three in SeaTac. Kim stated “Uncertainty is bad for business, and right now we’re right in that area so we’re just putting everything on hold” The American Car Rental Association estimated five percent of workers’ jobs would be cut along with another five to ten percent who will be replaced by more experienced workers. A manager with Dollar Rental Cars spoke of outsourcing some functions along with cutting staff.
Ramifications and benefits are certain to be brought by this ordinance, some short term and others into the future. A higher standard of living is a simple but important issue to those workers having more of a livable wage and provided benefits for their families. And most would agree with that. But what could be some of the long term issues that might affect those workers, their employees and the community?
Essentially an island of wage disparity has been created in the King County which SeaTac is located. Workers outside the city limits performing the same tasks as covered workers inside are paid sixty percent lower if paid at minimum wage. Moreover, almost an archipelago of islands are within the city itself. Those in other service industries and manufacturing who can work just as hard as transportation and hospitality workers are not given the same wages and benefits in the same city. Workers in the hotel industry who work at smaller locations are exempt from this benefit. Would this be considered equitable? Is it fair for some semi-skilled or low skilled jobs to be paid differently based upon lobbying efforts by some groups and where workers might or might not have union representation?
Businesses in SeaTac are at comparative disadvantage to those a few miles away. With the possibility of sixty percent higher labor costs in industries that are labor intensive and have low margins some SeaTac businesses could be priced out of business. Consumers are also likely to bear the burden of this as costs are transferred to the customer. If businesses depart or do not locate in the city SeaTac can face decreases in taxation. There is also a regulatory cost that can be had if a patchwork of cities enacts differing labor laws and this can negatively affect businesses that have to account for many locations rather than simply relying on state law.
It has been argued that with increasing wages comes increasing quality of services, workers with more earning power buy more goods and services which increases revenue to businesses, government, and other workers.
There are, however, other analogues in Washington where wages differ officially based upon location. One example is Prevailing Wage as defined in Chapter 39.12 RCW and Chapter 296-127 WAC. Essentially certain occupations hired for public works and contractors bidding for projects of the State of Washington must provide minimum wage and benefit levels for workers. Each county has a prevailing wage rate that is assigned for that region, there are underlying rates for trade levels such as journeymen or apprentice for numerous trades and in fact some are even more granular as in the case of commercial divers who receive hourly premiums based upon depth of each dive. See Washington Department of Labor and Industries prevailing wage calculator for details.
It is clear this is new territory in Washington State and other cities might follow suit. But it also represents some challenges that might require time to address.
What do you think?
Sources
Reuters
Fox News
City of SeaTac Municipal Code 7.45
Superior Court of Washington [13-2-25352-6 KNT]
Revised Code of Washington
Washington Administrative Code
Bron, ” I wonder what the minimum rate would be if there was no minimum wage law? Employers just tell teenagers all I can pay is minimum wage. Maybe wages would be higher without the law?”
Might want to check out what those in non-government jobs are making in some southern states where there is no minimum wage or it’s well below the federal standard.
bettykath wrote: “Might want to check out what those in non-government jobs are making in some southern states where there is no minimum wage or it’s well below the federal standard.”
States without a minimum wage still have a minimum wage set by the federal government. This is the problem with federalizing all these laws. It limits social experimentation between the states.
It sure would be nice if a state could eliminate all the federal regulations entirely. Then we might be able to see how their economy is affected by the lack of federal regulation. If a state with a lot of regulations prospered while another state that lacked regulation did not, it could make a believer out of me in the liberal philosophy of economics.
David, please consider this when objecting to my opinion of the TeaParty.
Who am I?
Am I an African-American? Some here have views I consider racist.
Am I Roma? Some here have insisted on using the offensive “gypsy”.
Am I a Muslim? Some here are very prejudiced against Muslims.
Am I a communist? Some here hate communists.
Am I a relative of Obama? Some here hate Obama.
Am I a liberal? Some here hate liberals.
Am I an Indian? Some here hate Indians.
Am I a Democrat? a Roman Catholic? a Jew?
Am I pro-Choice?
Am I a fundamentalist?
Do I work for the NSA?
Am I a NRA member?
Do I receive SNAP benefits?
Who am I, David and what will make me “uncomfortable”?
My fun comment (to which Bron responded in a very interesting way) aside, I noticed that the Powell Memo / Manifesto ideology within some of the comments in this thread.
I am talking about Justice Powell, a democrat appointed by republican President Nixon, to the Supreme Court.
He penned a memo prior to becoming a Justice, which is also called a manifesto:
(The Military NSA Spy Program Is Part of the Powell Manifesto, emphasis removed). Powell, as a corporate lawyer, wrote the memo or manifesto because he envisioned a broad based attack on the American economy.
Powell envisioned an attack by those who are “the most articulate, the most vocal, the most prolific in their writing and speaking”, who are of course the “minorities.”
His manifesto impressed Nixon to the point he appointed him, a democrat, to the Supreme Court.
Bron 1, January 4, 2014 at 3:31 pm
Dredd:
Sacrifice isnt necessary, just get rid of government control of the economy and things will work out. Government should be the ref, not the players or the owners.
=============================
Your comment was in reply to my first comment:
(first comment).
You will notice that I did not use the terms “government” or “economy” for any part of what I was describing, as you chose to. Further, notice that you characterized the dynamic as being made up of “players”, “owners”, and “refs”. Just sayin’ …
Then you advocated a particular characteristic for what you called “government.”
You advocated that “government” should only be a “ref” as in a game-like scenario owned or played by non-government, but that “government” should not “control” that game played by players and owned by owners.
The games I watch are or seem to be controlled by the refs, not the players or owners. That aside, is economy a game? Since it involves the well being of the nation of families of people, is it properly characterized as “a game?”
My second comment modified the language found in the first hypothesis somewhat:
(second comment).
Do the dynamics you alluded to change with the simple change of language from “afford to care” into “afford to provide security“?
Are the two comments I made substantially the same or substantially different because of the language morph?
Is “government” and “economy” involved in the second but not the first, or in both if the two hypotheses are substantially different?
And is it still a game with “players” and “owners” if it is about “afford to provide security” instead of “afford to care” ?
Just askin’ and sayin’ …
Hypothetical II: 1-No people should begin a nation unless they can afford to provide security for all families in that nation. 2-People in that nation should not begin a family unless they can afford to provide security for themselves and their children. 3-Both (#1 & #2) are lifelong obligations, implicating that nation’s laws, morals, and ethics. 4-All members of society are obligated to take part in those requirements and in that process. 5-Both sacrificing and profiting are involved as necessary to accomplish those requirements (#1 – #4).
David, I’ve not followed this thread closely and just now have come across your comment that says:
pdm wrote: “Just disgusting that our citizens and particularly members of the TeaParty and “independent” libertarians buy that crock.”
Can you tone it down a bit?
Some members here are Tea Party members, and some are independents and libertarians. Comments like this one are flaming and contrary to to the new civility policy of the blog. Let’s try to make this a place where everybody feels comfortable sharing their views
***********************************************************
Just to keep the record straight, my entire comment said:
I say HOORAY for the 50s and 60s!!! We had a growing middle class then, mobility then, wages growing then and UNIONS then.
Boooooo Boeing! It is disgusting the way corporations are holding taxpayers hostage by threatening jobs unless cities, states, and union workers pay them billions in tax rebates, loss of pensions, decreased wages.
Just disgusting that our citizens and particularly members of the TeaParty and “independent” libertarians buy that crock
********************************************************************
It is very unsettling that this would be considered uncivil or a personal attack. This is a political blog and opinions are shared on most every conceivable subject, from the intellectual capabilities of races, the role of welfare in America, guns, political parties, religious freedom , and lots on freedom of speech. Just recently there was the Sotomayer post where I specifically expressed my displeasure with the Church and Cardinal Dolan. There are a good many Catholics on this forum. They may certainly disagree with me, but I’d be surprised if they felt I was uncivil.
f your position still stands, I respectfully request that someone contact Mr. Turley and ask him to advise us if he agrees with you.
pdm wrote: “Just disgusting that our citizens and particularly members of the TeaParty and “independent” libertarians buy that crock.”
“It is very unsettling that this would be considered uncivil or a personal attack.”
Sorry about that. I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I found the sentence gratuitous and bullying toward me and some other members here. Because I support the Tea Party and many libertarians, I took you to say that you found me disgusting. I apologize if I was overly sensitive. I am not trying to call for an inquisition. I do think it would help prevent partisan gridlock if we could discuss differences based upon reason rather than exhibiting emotional displays of hurling epithets at the party with which we have disagreement. I’m just looking for small steps to facilitate communication between us.
Pete, hey – what’s the Correction Corporation of America to do? All this legalization is gonna cut into their god given FREEDOM to make a little money..
pdm
1, January 4, 2014 at 6:49 pm
How in the world are we ever going to compete with China’s endless supply of slave labor, if we insist on paying a living wage to all those poors?
=========================================================
um, prison labor?
most people incarcerated in the u s aren’t there for violent crimes anyway.
what could possibly go wrong?
Darrel C Carlson:
how much is a living wage? And what does “structure the work mehtodology efficiently enough” mean? Most businesses do just that to be able to compete. I used to read about the Japanese tunnel builders who would try to save seconds per foot while building a tunnel to bring the cost down.
You seem to think competition happens in a vacuum.
By the way any good small businessman or woman has done many of the tasks themselves.
Any business owner who does not structure the work methodology efficiently enough to pay a living wage to those working and generating his profits is unfit to be in charge of his workers and deserves to do all of his/her work themselves. Watch how quickly their methods and job performance go ballistic!
Darrel Carlson wrote: “Any business owner who does not structure the work methodology efficiently enough to pay a living wage to those working and generating his profits is unfit to be in charge of his workers and deserves to do all of his/her work themselves.”
That is exactly what many small business owners have to do. I have worked many, many hours for zero pay because I could not afford to pay someone to help me. Even when I started hiring people, I would pay them while I worked for nothing more than the hope that one day I would be able to pay myself if I kept at it long enough. Back in those days, I relied on the income from my wife working to pay our personal bills. These days, her job is our household.
I had a young man not long ago ask me if he could work for free just for the experience. He was living with his mom who paid his expenses. He wanted to learn my business, prove he could do the work and eventually get paid for it. I would have loved to have done that, and if I was allowed, I could probably enable him within short time to earn a fair $50,000 a year income, but the law does not allow me to do that. I basically have to save up a year or two salary for the guy before I can afford to hire him. Entry level jobs at low pay enable a business owner to weed out those who he can provide a productive environment for and those who he cannot without losing the shirt off his back. Ultimately getting rid of the minimum wage would help our economy tremendously.
How in the world are we ever going to compete with China’s endless supply of slave labor, if we insist on paying a living wage to all those poors?
pdm:
interesting article. But anyone with a computer and a creative mind can probably figure out that we were hacking the Russians and the Chinese.
Look what Tom Clancy did with some minor information and some creative thought. People are people and most of us think the same way.
I am not in favor of what Snowden did but in the grand scheme of things the release of this information isnt going to change the world for the worst.
“Take price controls, for example. Anyone who has had an introduction to economics course knows the familiar concept of supply and demand. Supply being the stock of a good up for sale and demand being the hypothetical quantities the market will demand for that good at any particular price. When prices are free to fluctuate, then the ultimate price landed upon will allow everyone in the market who wants said good at that price to get it (ie: the equilibrium price).
However, if a control on the price is levied on the market and, say, restricts it from moving above a certain level (price ceiling), then there will be more people in the market who want the good at that price than there are sellers willing to sell the good at that price. In other words, a shortage will occur. Bastiat would say that we can see the lower prices and a shortsighted consumer may be delighted at this situation. However, what we do not see — at least not immediately — is the increased willingness to buy on the part of consumers and decreased willingness to sell on the part of suppliers.
The classic example of this principle at work was the 1973 oil crisis. The OLPEC nations, for political reasons, cut oil exports to the United States. In response, well-intentioned politicians enacted price controls on gasoline which, of course, led to shortages. Rather than having to deal with higher prices and maybe forgoing that weekend scenic drive, drivers too slow to get to the gas station after the pumps were refilled were forced to deal with no gas at all. This, in turn, led to arbitrary rationing of gasoline and popular discontent — all problems that could’ve been avoided with a free price system.”
You set a minimum wage by government fiat without regard to market forces and you distort the market place. In regard to minimum wage, it keeps people out of the work force.
“Unfortunately, the real minimum wage is always zero, regardless of the laws, and that is the wage that many workers receive in the wake of the creation or escalation of a government-mandated minimum wage, because they lose their jobs or fail to find jobs when they enter the labor force. Making it illegal to pay less than a given amount does not make a worker’s productivity worth that amount—and, if it is not, that worker is unlikely to be employed.”
― Thomas Sowell, Basic Economics: A Citizen’s Guide to the Economy
http://www.fee.org/files/docLib/0703williams.pdf
“I am embarrassed that so many members of my profession
are willing to argue that the price of something
does not affect the quantity taken of it.”
“Ask one of the 650 economists
for a yes or no answer to the question of whether the
demand curve for low-skilled labor has zero elasticity, or
for that matter whether any good or service has a zeroelastic
demand curve. I am hoping he will say no. But if
no is the answer, ask how it can be said that increases in
the minimum wage have no effect. He might respond
that modest increases in the minimum wage would produce
little or no unemployment effect. In other words,
the demand curve has zero elasticity for relatively small
increases in the minimum wage. Then ask whether he
knows that demand curves are more elastic in the long
run. That is, while employers might
not respond immediately to higher
wages, in the long run they will find
substitutes such as automation, change
production techniques, or relocate to a
lower-wage country.“
http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2011/05/11/minimum_wages_discriminatory_effects/page/full
“The best way to sabotage chances for upward mobility of a youngster from a single-parent household, who resides in a violent slum and has attended poor-quality schools is to make it unprofitable for any employer to hire him. The way to accomplish that is to mandate an employer to pay such a person a wage that exceeds his skill level.”
OT
Folks, this is a Must Read article from Slate for anyone interested in a serious discussion regarding the Edward Snowdon affair and the matter of clemency.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2014/01/edward_snowden_doesn_t_deserve_clemency_the_nsa_leaker_hasn_t_proved_he.single.html
You may not agree with the author but he does deserve points on credibility. He was one of the first to support Ellsberg and he called for the firing of clapper. He has made some very interesting points (and to me fine arguments). I sure would love to hear your opinions.
pdm wrote: “this is a Must Read article… I sure would love to hear your opinions.”
Something smells fishy when he starts off proclaiming himself a supporter of Elsberg, but barely notices the great praises that Elsberg sings about Snowden being a much greater whistleblower than he was.
Elsberg wrote:
“In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden’s release of NSA material – and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers 40 years ago. Snowden’s whistleblowing gives us the possibility to roll back a key part of what has amounted to an “executive coup” against the US constitution.”
http://www.ellsberg.net/
There is no doubt that what Snowden did was criminal and wrong. The call is for a pardon, not declaring that he was justified. The idea is that what the government has done is so egregious that Snowden must be forgiven. The idea of our government prosecuting him and putting him in prison is like the worst murderer in the prison putting another man on trial for murder. Elsberg basically got off on a similar premise. Nixon was up to his eyeballs in illegal activity. Who cares about the whistleblower prosecution when that happens by the highest officer in the country?
I still support a pardon for Snowden after reading the article.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUBK9_4OQIs
minimum wage rate is racist says Walter Williams.
Bron – thanks for that video link. Very interesting how minimum wage hurts unskilled laborers. YouTube led me to another video that is a little longer where Williams says that in the 1940’s, black teenage unemployment was less than white teenage unemployment. Today it is nearly double. He says that around 4:18 in the following interview:
http://youtu.be/85OIBOSJTwg
He attributes the change to the rise in minimum wage. He makes some brilliant points.
DavidM: When I think about racism, for example, it is not really racism that is wrong.
Then you aren’t thinking about racism at all. Racism is NOT about recognizing differences between races, Racism is about discriminating against a group because of their race. A doctor looking for sickle cell anemia in an African American is not “discriminating” against them or engaging in “racism.”
It sounds to me like you want to redefine the word “racism” because you DO want to discriminate against others by their race, or your own stereotypes stated previously on this blog that you think are “scientifically” justifiable, but are really just worthless correlations that ignore the causative variables altogether.
DavidM says: Perhaps it would be better if we did not create the stereotypes in the first place,
Stereotypes are a natural consequence of the unscientific operation of the brain in finding every pattern of correlation it can, and assuming causation as a matter of erring on the side of survival and safety.
What would be better is if people better understood how their brains evolved to solve real world problems, and how they make such errors a thousand times a day, and how to contemplate such conclusions and dispel the false causations with intentional logic. What would be better is if they learned some science and how to manage their brain. That would be made much easier by free quality education, sufficient nutrition, and a safe environment and shelter.
DavidM says: I think it would be a more fruitful discussion to discuss the problems with Nazism rather than just using pejorative language about Nazism.
I don’t think so, I think that would be pointless. Shall we pretend any modern person that sympathizes with the Nazis has never heard those arguments? That by some miracle, they have never even heard what is wrong with Nazism?
That’s silly. They have heard it, they have rejected that reasoning, there is nothing to talk about. Pejorative language is used for a reason, and it is the response of choice when reasoning has failed for a reason. Because sometimes it works when all else has failed; because sometimes people respond to emotionalized peer pressures by revisiting their assumptions. Sometimes anger works where civility has failed, and not just with children.
Tony C wrote: “Then you aren’t thinking about racism at all. Racism is NOT about recognizing differences between races, Racism is about discriminating against a group because of their race. … It sounds to me like you want to redefine the word “racism”…”
No, I’m not trying to redefine racism. Perhaps I poorly worded what I was trying to say.
The Oxford Dictionary defines racism as: “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.”
The foundation of racism starts first with recognizing that a race has certain characteristics or abilities specific to it. Secondly, they create a stereotype about that race. Lastly, they develop negative feelings, perhaps even hatred, toward that race. They setup a scheme whereby one race is superior and another race is inferior.
I recognize differences in races. For example, I consider the typical black man to have superior genetics for athletics. This is why professional football and basketball teams tend to hire more black athletes. However, I do not think that the white race is inferior to the black race simply because of this difference. Differences do not necessarily equate with inferior and superior status. Furthermore, there are other racial differences that might be interpreted in the other direction. Another consideration is that when we talk about law, the law does not apply to people because of their abilities. The law applies equally to all regardless of ability.
People create stereotypes not just for race, but for gender, for religious affiliation, for sexual behavior, for political party affiliation, for just about anything. Unfortunately, the law has not recognized this generality, but instead works to perpetuate the stereotyping by protecting stereotypes that suffer discrimination. The list of protected classes just keeps get longer and longer, and once the class is no longer discriminated against in the same way that it was before, the law is not changed. The anti-discrimination law stays indefinitely, resulting in laws that do not apply equally to everybody.
A better approach IMO would be one of two possibilities: 1) for the law to recognize the overall general immorality of discriminating against anyone for belonging to a particular class of people. In this version, even Nazi’s should not be discriminated against; or 2) the law should not address discrimination and leave these issues in the realm of education, religion and public discourse.
davidm2575: “How many people working for minimum wage in your the McDonald’s and Burger King franchises that you own are expecting to stay at minimum wage as a career choice? What percentage? In my community here, most of these workers are young people, mostly in high school. I have several children in high school, and these are the kind of jobs they get”.
David, I have no idea where you live. In the Las Vegas/Henderson area where I have my franchises, 97% of the workers are adults with families. Many of them are ex- cocktail waitresses who used to make more than 60k a year before they turned 35 and were fired. This is the reason I am fighting hard with the corporations. It would not make a dent in their profits while the people can live and add to the economy by spending more.
“The last time I helped a homeless guy get a job at Burger King, he was made a shift manager and earning above minimum wage in less than 3 months. Within six months, he was able to afford his own apartment and marry his girl friend and have children. Are you saying that this is not possible in the franchises that you own”?
David, the person is a lucky and a rare one. How many managers one can have at one place? You know the number and mind you, all the salaries are paid by us, not by the Honchos who make billions for their corporations.
Teji Malik wrote: “David, I have no idea where you live.”
I am in central Florida in a rather rural community. The primary employer here is a power plant.
Teji Malik wrote: “In the Las Vegas/Henderson area where I have my franchises, 97% of the workers are adults with families.”
I am blown away by this statistic. That is certainly not the case here. It makes me a little more sensitive about the wage arguments you make.
Teji Malik wrote: “David, the person is a lucky and a rare one. How many managers one can have at one place?”
The problem here is turnover. Although the number of managers are few, I guess they keep leaving for other jobs creating more openings for managers. Maybe some of them relocate or become a district manager or something like that. At least twice a year I see this same Burger King post on their sign, “Hiring Managers… Start a New Career.”
Teji Malik wrote: “In the Las Vegas/Henderson area where I have my franchises, 97% of the workers are adults with families.”
This statistic really disturbs me. It caused me to do some more investigating about this subject. I came across the following statement that seems to be at odds with your experience:
“The popular belief that minimum wage workers are poor adults (25 years
old or older), working full time and trying to raise a family is largely untrue. Just 4.7 percent match that description.”
http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/PA701.pdf
Do you have any comment concerning the large disparity between your experience and this study?