Protesters gather outside a McDonald’s restaurant to ‘Fight for $15′ increase in pay wage on April 15, 2015 in NYC. (DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)
I do have concerns about what happens next. We need to have a discussion. What happens as the hourly wage increases? Do prices increase on our burgers? Do fast food workers lose their jobs as they are replaced with technology or robotics? Will having employees make a decent living save McDonald’s sales?
There is no question as you scroll through the photos and comments on #FightFor15 that many workers in fast food, home care and other sectors are feeling empowered to stand up and speak out on their plight: not being able to afford to live in our country on the wages they make. A very timely and first of its kind report from the Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education entitled The High Public Cost of Low Wages published Monday points out that 73 percent of people who are enrolled in public assistance programs across the United States live in a working family where at least one adult earns money.
The emotional demonstrations today remind me of those that took over the college campuses and cities in the late 1960s and early 70s protesting the Vietnam War. Certainly a much different issue as back then the average American had little power over the decision makers to end the war but were able to highlight their concern being shown almost on a daily basis on the network newscasts through protesting or burning draft cards. Emotions ran high then, as they do today. In what is expected to be the largest demonstration today over 15,000 protestors are expected to march on New York City’s Westside at Columbus Circle at 5:30 pm Eastern Time. FightFor15 protests are about feeding one’s family, and much like in the Vietnam Protests many college students are supporting the efforts.
College students today are mostly Millennials (born approximately 1980 to 2000) who do not have the same connection to brands like McDonald’s or Burger King as does Generation X (born 1960-1980) or Boomers (born 1946-1964). It has been noted in news reports many times over the past couple years how McDonald’s in particular is just not connecting with Millennials and Generation Z – so it comes as no surprise that these protestors are joining these underpaid workers to form an in-person and social media campaign that we haven’t experienced in decades. After all, they really don’t care if McDonald’s goes out of business and is replaced by a chain similar to Chipotle that better reflects their tastes and values.e

Back in 1969, my first real job was a minimum wage part-timer at the McDonald’s on Washington Avenue in Belleville, New Jersey. The minimum wage back then was $1.60, needless to say more money than I had ever had in my wallet as a teenager, and this year’s July 1 increase will bring it in most states to $9.90. CPI calculates that adjusted it would be at $9.01 per hour. A McDonald’s cheeseburger sold for 19 cents – today the average is $1 and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator, which uses the average Consumer Price Index for a given calendar year to index what the change in prices would be over a given period, should cost and in this instance it is $1.22. A Big Mac in 1969 cost 65 cents (today it’s retail is $3.99) and the CPI Calculator says it should be $4.16. (Note: I have not researched if the ingredients or recipes in these two sandwiches have changed over these 46 years which may also have an effect on the retail price).
I point out these comparisons for one reason and that is to see how realistic the price of our foods are today. Back in 1969, 100% ground beef sold for 59 cents a pound and theU.S. average price in February according to BLS was $4.23. The CPI Calculator adjustment is $3.77. The price of food is going up, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service Food Price Outlook which will have a further effect on the retail prices of foods for all of us, regardless of our income.
Which puts McDonald’s and others in quite possibly a no-win situation. Customers who have less money to spend on food coupled with higher costs for these foods alongside a couple future generations that don’t find you relevant is not quite the target market to attract, or to support your position. For McDonald’s and their competitors to succeed they have to do more than offer “healthier” offerings, more sustainable practices (such as their recent announcement to limit antibiotic use in chickens) or even higher wages.