washedupmxer Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/11/29/thanks-to-fight-for-15-minimum-wage-mcdonalds-unveils-job-replacing-self-service-kiosks-nationwide/#2154092b762e Thanks To 'Fight For $15' Minimum Wage, McDonald's Unveils Job-Replacing Self-Service Kiosks Nationwide Capital Flows , CONTRIBUTOR Guest commentary curated by Forbes Opinion. Avik Roy, Opinion Editor. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. GUEST POST WRITTEN BY Ed Rensi Mr. Rensi is the former president and CEO of McDonald’s USA. Play Video McDonald's restaurant employees rally after walking off the job to demand a $15 per hour wage and union rights during nationwide 'Fight for $15 Day of Disruption' protests on November 29, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (David McNew/Getty Images) As the labor union-backed Fight for $15 begins yet another nationwide strike on November 29, I have a simple message for the protest organizers and the reporters covering them: I told you so. It brings me no joy to write these words. The push for a $15 starter wage has negatively impacted the career prospects of employees who were just getting started in the workforce while extinguishing the businesses that employed them. I wish it were not so. But it’s important to document these consequences, lest policymakers elsewhere decide that the $15 movement is worth embracing. Watch on Forbes: $15 Minimum Wage, What We Can Expect Play Video Let’s start with automation. In 2013, when the Fight for $15 was still in its growth stage, I and others warned that union demands for a much higher minimum wage would force businesses with small profit margins to replace full-service employees with costly investments in self-service alternatives. At the time, labor groups accused business owners of crying wolf. It turns out the wolf was real. Earlier this month, McDonald’s announced the nationwide roll-out of touchscreen self-service kiosks. In a video the company released to showcase the new customer experience, it’s striking to see employees who once would have managed a cash register now reduced to monitoring a customer’s choices at an iPad-style kiosk. Recommended by Forbes The Ugly Truth About A $15 Minimum Wage Fight For $15 - Demonstrations, Civil Disobedience and Job Losses With the Minimum... OracleVoice: How Top Retailers Are Using Tech To Score Points On Black Friday And Beyond '$100K Minimum Wage' For 220,000 Highly-Compensated California Public Employees... MOST POPULAR Photos: The Richest Person In Every State MOST POPULAR Photos: The World's Highest-Paid Musicians Of 2016 It’s not just McDonald’s that has embraced job-replacing technology. Numerous restaurant chains (both quick service and full service) have looked to computer tablets as a solution for rising labor costs that won't adversely impact the customer’s experience. Eatsa, a fully-automated restaurant concept, now has five locations—all in cities or states that have embraced a $15 minimum wage. And in a scene stolen from The Jetsons, the Starship delivery robot is now navigating the streets of San Francisco with groceries and other consumer goods. The company’s founder pointed to a rising minimum wage as a key factor driving the growth of his automated delivery business. Of course, not all businesses have the capital necessary to shift from full-service to self-service. And that brings me to my next correct prediction--that a $15 minimum wage would force many small businesses to lay off staff, seek less-costly locations, or close altogether. Tragically, these stories—in California in particular--are too numerous to cite in detail here. They include a bookstore in Roseville, a pub in Fresno, restaurants and bakeries in San Francisco, a coffee shop in Berkeley, grocery stores in Oakland, a grill in Santa Clara, and apparel manufacturers through the state. In September of this year, nearly one-quarter of restaurant closures in the Bay Area cited labor costs as one of the reasons for shutting down operations. And just this past week, a California-based communications firm announced it was moving 75 call center jobs from San Diego to El Paso, Texas, citing California’s rising minimum as the “deciding factor.” (Dozens of additional stories can be found at the website FacesOf15.com.) A crowd of about 350 protesters stand on Broadway in front of a McDonald's restaurant, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Other states are also learning the same basic economic lesson: Customers have a limit to what they will pay for service. Voters in Washington, Colorado, Maine and Arizona voted to raise minimum wages on Election Day, convinced of the policy’s merits after millions of dollars were spent by union advocates. In the immediate aftermath, family-owned restaurants, coffee shops and even childcare providers have struggled to absorb the coming cost increase—with parents paying the cost through steeper childcare bills, and employees paying the cost through reduced shift hours or none at all. The out-of-state labor groups who funded these initiatives aren’t shedding tears over the consequences. Like their Soviet-era predecessors who foolishly thought they could centrally manage prices and business operations to fit an idealistic worldview, economic reality keeps ruining the model of all gain and no pain. This brings me to my last correct prediction, which is that the Fight for $15 was always more a creation of the left-wing Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rather than a legitimate grassroots effort. Reuters reported last year that, based on federal filings, the SEIU had spent anywhere from $24 million to $50 million on the its Fight for $15 campaign, and the number has surely increased since then. This money has bought the union a lot of protesters and media coverage. You can expect more of it on November 29. But the real faces of the Fight for $15 are the young people and small business owners who have had their futures compromised. Those faces are not happy ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1trailmaker Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Pretty sure Obama stated this in snakes post "jobs are not coming back" We have had them in Canada for a few years now. This piece is bullshit - Businesses will automate if they can plain and simple....... Fight for higher wages not lower ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoslinger Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 because corporate America wasn't interested in cheaper automation prior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravy davey Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 1 hour ago, washedupmxer said: http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/11/29/thanks-to-fight-for-15-minimum-wage-mcdonalds-unveils-job-replacing-self-service-kiosks-nationwide/#2154092b762e Whats up Drifter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold War Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Sad but true. They don't get sick, high, pregnant, play on the internet, personal problems, or even require light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecat Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Meanwhile every member of Trumps cabinet is a billionaire. your all fucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bussman Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 13 minutes ago, Mainecat said: Meanwhile every member of Trumps cabinet is a billionaire. your all fucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEFF Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 22 minutes ago, Mainecat said: Meanwhile every member of Trumps cabinet is a billionaire. your all fucked. Filet and risotto. If this is fucked, I'll take it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motonoggin Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Ugh. Class Traitors are the worst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravy davey Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 41 minutes ago, bussman said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im4snow Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 1 hour ago, Snoslinger said: because corporate America wasn't interested in cheaper automation prior. I bet for many years now MCD has known the exact labor rate, ie, when the economics made sense, where they'd install the self-serve technology. We're on the verge of self-driving cars......not surprising that order taker/change maker jobs will be gone soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washedupmxer Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 42 minutes ago, motonoggin said: Ugh. Class Traitors are the worst Were you wearing an Ascot and sipping Chardonnay when you said that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motonoggin Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 36 minutes ago, washedupmxer said: Were you wearing an Ascot and sipping Chardonnay when you said that? Why would I wear clothing of the bourgeoisie and comment on class treason, dripshit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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