Tommy used to work on the docks…..

The union’s been on strike, he’s down on his luck…..it’s tough. So tough. That was a little Bon Jovi right there. You should hear me rock that one out in the shower. Shampoo pho-hawk and an air guitar….it is a cringe worthy sight I am sure. I am usually rocking out in the morning from my shower all the way until I hit the drive thru at the McDonald’s in Sherwood. Don’t judge, I have very few bad habits and I do enjoy my large Coke and sausage mcmuffin in the morning. But since we are talking about McDonalds, you ever wonder why there is this sudden demand for $15 minimum wage? Believe it or not….McDonald’s employees and other fast food workers are not organizing these “walk outs” we are hearing about on the news. That is being done by the big unions. The same unions that put Tommy out of work in Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer. You see, many unions have clauses in their contracts with employers that require mandatory wage hikes for their members if the minimum wage goes up. So why pay your employees strike wages when you can just bamboozle some fast food workers to walk off the job and demand the government to increase the minimum wage? I say bamboozle because many of these first time workers don’t realize they will lose their jobs once the wage increase takes effect. Automation is a much cheaper option than $15 per hour labor and McDonald’s business is based on selling inexpensive, albeit tasty food. Now I am for strong wages, but a minimum wage is a beginning wage, not a living wage. It is designed for people to enter the workforce to learn skills and increase their value. These improved skills will allow them to move up and out and increase their incomes as they find better employment opportunities. But by pricing many beginning workers out of the job market through too high of a base wage, we are making it very difficult for them to even find a job. If we continue to allow the unions to manipulate these workers, Tommy won’t need to go on strike, but Johnny in high school won’t be able to find a job.