Big Labor's Misguided Attempt to Double Wages at Fast-Food Chains

My latest piece at The Daily
Beast takes aim at tomorrow’s union-backed labor action at
fast-food joints around the country.

Here’s the start of it:

In what is probably the least inspired labor action since the
great Detroit Symphony Orchestra Picket Line of 2011, groups
such as the Service Employees International Union, Fast Food
Forward, and Fight for 15 are calling for nation-wide wage
strikestargeting McDonald’s, Burger King, Arby’s, and other
latter-day Dickensian workhouses. On Thursday, protesters in over
100 cities will stand outside of fast-food joints and call for
doubling the wages of burger flippers and fry-vat operators from
$7.25 an hour (the current federal minimum) to at least $15.

Regardless of how much solidarity or sympathy you might feel
about the people who assemble your Triple Steak Stack or
your Cheesy Gordita Crunch, this sort of demand is economic
fantasy at its most delusional and counterproductive. Doubling the
wages of low-skilled workers during a period of prolonged
joblessness is a surefire way not just to swell the ranks of the
reserve army of the unemployed but to increase automation at your
local Taco Bell….

Think
about this way: Are you worth double your paycheck? And
while I’m sure you are, what about the other slobs you work with?
The wage strike – which follows up on earlier iterations held in
August and last November – showcases just how devoid of vision
organized labor is when it comes to the private sector. There’s
almost 4 million jobs open in trades such as construction, welding,
carprentry, and the like – and there are employers ready and
willing to train new workers for these positions. Groups such as
the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of tomorrow’s
organizers, would do better by workers if they figured out a way to
match unemployed and underemployed folks with jobs that pay well
and offer chance for long-term growth.

Read the whole article.

Near the end of the piece, I cite Mike Rowe, the host of the
cable show Dirty Jobs, whom we interviewed recently for Reason TV.
Look for that Q&A to go live sometime next week at this here
website.