Breaking News

Up to 200,000 people estimated to travel to Vermont for total solar eclipse How fast will April’s total solar eclipse travel? The UN Security Council demands a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan Mexico in the emerging world order Pennsylvania State Guard Organizes Lithuanian Foreign Minister US Abstention from UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza – US State Department USA beats Mexico 2-0 thanks to goals from Adams and Reyna to win 3rd consecutive CONCACAF Nations League Mexico x United States | Highlights Meaning | The Case for American Intervention in Haiti Julian Assange to hear results of key US extradition ruling

Minerva Rodriguez has worked at McDonald’s in Houston, Texas for more than 23 years. She is paid $12 an hour and says she does the work of two to three people because the restaurant is chronically understaffed. Now, like many Americans, she faces another crisis: runaway inflation. And while she’s noticed the grocery prices at her store have gone up, the pay hasn’t gone up.

“The wages are incredibly low and not enough for our jobs,” said Rodriguez, who joined the fight for $15 and a union movement to push for higher wages and better working conditions. “You don’t want to lose that extra money. If they can have their current workers do double the work and not have to pay another worker, that’s an advantage for them, but what about us? How are we supposed to live with rising food costs and rising gas prices?”

Inflation is hitting Americans hard. US consumer prices rose 8.6% from May 2021 to May 2022, the highest increase since 1981, and outpaced annual headline wage growth of 5.2% in May 2022. Food prices rose more than 10% over the year . A gallon of gasoline is over 50% more expensive than it was a year ago. The average monthly rent in the US hit an all-time high of $2,002 per month in May 2022.

Among those bearing the greatest brunt of rising basic-needs costs are fast-food workers, most of whom earn less than $15 an hour and few or no benefits. Many of these workers do not see wage increases that correlate with the rising prices they face for food, shelter, clothing and transportation.

And while workers in the fast-food industry are struggling with low wages and staff shortages, corporate fast-food chains have reported huge profits.

McDonald’s reported record sales growth of 13.8% and $7.5 billion in profit in 2021, and the company’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski, received more than $20 million in 2021, more than 2,250 times that average wage.

Delicious! Brands, which owns fast-food chains Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, reported profit of $399 million for the first quarter of 2022, up 22% from the first quarter of 2021. David Gibbs, the CEO of Yum ! Brands, earned a salary of $27.5 million in 2021, more than 2,100 times the average salary for an employee.

Chelsie Church, a shift supervisor at a Denver, Colorado-area Taco Bell for about a year, recently started a petition to coworkers urging the company to raise wages, since low wages are causing the Workers make ends meet. Church says shifts are severely understaffed and that low pay undermines hiring and retention as nearby competitors pay better.

“No one can live on $13 an hour,” Church said. “We’re constantly dealing with disgruntled customers because our prices are going up but our pay isn’t.”

Church said her biweekly paycheck doesn’t cover basic bills and expenses like groceries, gas and other necessities. As a shift supervisor, she received a raise to $16 an hour, but argued that the extra workload and responsibilities weren’t worth it and other employers were hiring entry-level workers at that salary.

“Some people have turned down the job because it’s not enough to pay rent or help you buy children’s clothes and food,” she said. “Everyone just kicks their ass doing extra work they’re not getting paid for. Nobody gets a break. I don’t get a break.”

In Kansas City, Missouri, where Fran Marion has worked as a shift supervisor at Taco Bell for about a year, she’s faced similar struggles of low pay, understaffing and overwork—all while inflation is ratcheting up her cost of living.

“I’m making $16 an hour and I’m still literally living paycheck to paycheck, and the pay is definitely not at all what they expect me to do,” Marion said. “I’m so exhausted from having to fill these extra positions and doing what upper management wants me to do in the timeframe that they need me to do it.”

She does not get paid time off and cannot afford the health insurance coverage that the company offers to employees.

“Everything will go up except numbers,” Marion added. “We are human like everyone else. We may not be doctors or lawyers, but we are still workers and we are people struggling to provide for our families.”

At Burger King in Independence, Missouri, Bill Thompson makes just $11.15 an hour after 10 years with the company. With inflation, Thompson has found it even more difficult to make ends meet. He hasn’t had a raise lately despite working understaffed.

“I do three people’s work,” Thompson said. “Food prices for meat and dairy products have tripled. We’re already going into pantries and getting foods no one else likes, like peanut butter, powdered milk, and mystery meats. Where’s the dignity in that?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *