It's politics season, and during this time many issues have arrived and been discussed over the past couple of months. One that has gotten attention from the young people is minimum wage.
Is raising minimum wage a big issue in the United States?
California and New York have just raised the minimum wage to $15/hour and it has caused an uproar within the community. They question whether people working minimal jobs deserve to make this much. The answer is split into two sides; those who believe that yes, minimum wage should definitely be raised, and those who think that people, such as fast food workers, do not work hard enough to be paid at higher rates. This article isn't to dispute about whether or not minimum wage should be raised, but to prove that fast food employees do bust their asses enough to make more than $7.25.
I've worked at the most fabulous place ever for the last five years, McDonalds. Since sophomore year of high school, I have been putting up with the constant bullshit of working at a fast food restaurant, and have experienced many different problems in which I believe I deserved much more than what I was getting paid. So here is a list of activities that fast food employees have to face on a daily basis:
1. Rude customers
When starting at McDonalds, I was trained as a cashier, and customer satisfaction was strongly enforced.
"Welcome the customers with a smile"
was a phrase I was bombarded with for the first few weeks of starting the job. But the question that I always wanted to ask was, "How do you handle an angry customer?" Every employee has endured the bitchy customer who is pissed because you have messed up their food. At that moment when she's cussing you out, making you feel incompetent and small you're forced to fake a smile and apologize for causing an inconvenience to her.
2. Long hours
First of all, you should know that NOT everyone who works at McDonalds is a student working a part-time job trying to earn a little extra cash. Some adults HAVE to work at restaurants to take care of their families, and lets be real, $7.25/ hour isn't enough to raise a family. As an employee at McDonalds, I have met single mothers who work 40+ hours a week JUST so they can provide for their family. But even after working long, stressful 10 hour shits everyday, paychecks only amount to about $500-$600 every two weeks. That isn't enough money to raise a family.
3. Physical and mental stress
This goes along with the long hours on the job, but I'm well accustomed with the physical stress and consequences of working 9+ hours. To be honest, I'm the most lazy person I know, and naps are my best friend, but I am also money hungry, so I will do whatever it takes to keep money in my pocket. Even if that means staying later at work after already enduring an 8 hour shift, but working overtime, non-stop started to cause my body and mental state to deteriorate. I began to get acne, which was very uncommon for me, and since McDonalds was my go-to meals, I began to gain weight. I started to become very irritable, rude, and depressed.
Do I believe that minimum wage should be increased? HELL YEAH! Why? Because employees at fast food restaurants, and other "minimal" jobs bust their ass off to make a living.
Now do I believe that employees deserve $15/hour? That's debatable, but next time you go through a McDonalds drive-thru cussing out the employee for making ONE of your sandwiches, out of the FIVE you ordered, wrong. THINK to yourself:
1. Do they get paid enough to deserve this cuss out?
2. Did my fat ass need all these sandwiches, AND this diet coke?
And to the actual employees, I'm in your shoes, and I know it's rare to get the appreciation we deserve. Every day you want to rip your hair out and quit, remember you are doing the job that others don't have the balls to do. Lastly I want to leave you with a quote from one of the best rappers alive,
"You are appreciated" - Tupac Shakur
