Minimum wage has been an issue in the western world for decades now, and as the years go by, not much have change. US federal min. wage is at 7.25$ since 2009 with a few states above 14$. In Canada, it’s in average around 12$, but they have a lot more benefits than US worker.
So to see how we can shook things up a bit, and see what the Rest of the World Workers Should Learn from Denmark Mcdonald’s Employees, today we will discuss the article of Matt Brunig:"McDonald's Workers in Denmark Won Good Pay and Benefits Through Striking".
So who's Matthew Brunig:
Matthew Brunig is an American lawyer, blogger, policy analyst. He founded the leftist think tank People's Policy Project. He has written extensively on social justice issues such as discrimination, wealth redistribution and democracy.
So you've probably seen it quickly on Slate, or Huffington post: McDonald's workers in Denmark earn $22 an hour, six weeks vacation and sick pay. All this is in addition to the general list of social benefits in Denmark, which includes, among others, child benefit, health care, childcare, paid holidays, retirement and university education.
The public discussions that these articles spark generally gloss over how it all happened. And as Bruenig puts it, It's a shame because it's a really interesting story and because this story helps to understand why the working conditions in the Nordic countries are what they are today.
McDonald's opened its first restaurant in Denmark in 1981...
sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/03/08/denmark-minimum-wage-mcdonalds-aoc/
https://jacobin.com/2021/09/denmark-mcdonalds-labor-unions-strikes-wages-benefits
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/opinion/sunday/us-denmark-economy.html
Those jobs are low skill and arguably for children and youth, adults looking to McDonalds for serious employment should probably go check into a mental health facility if they are not applying as a manager.
Litterally anyone who didn't just graduate or crawl out of a proverbial hole, would have more skill than the pay grade at McDonald's and raising the pay will not produce a better experience for the consumer who is the most important part of the business.
I would agree if it wasn't 56% of American wokers that earn minimum wage... and you are right the customer experience is important, but there's a difference between the purpose of a job and the purpose of a business. Earning a living and making profits are not incompatible and that's what the Danes are showing us.
Laborers are just cogs in the machine. The economy can only support what it can support. You can not pay more than your GDP allows. Yes CEOs are greedy, but then again, if you are calling them greedy, we can call minimum wage workers stupid for working for such a low rate.
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