By Mark Bittman
New York Times, July 26, 2013
... a rapidly increasing number of food industry and other retail workers are now fighting for basic rights: halfway decent pay, a real work schedule, the right to organize, health care, paid sick days, vacations and respect. Next week, organizers say, we’ll see a walkout of thousands of workers at hundreds of stores in at least seven cities, including New York and Chicago. ...
They don’t have much else. Those making minimum wage ($7.25) and just above have less buying power than their peers did in the mid-50s. Even business leaders are beginning to recognize that forcing workers onto food stamps is no way to sustain an economy — or a society. The chief executive of Costco, Craig Jelinek, for example, has endorsed President Obama’s efforts to raise the minimum wage. [Here is our release with Costco support for Fair Minimum Wage Act.]
The movement found an unwitting ally when McDonald’s offered its workers a sample personal budget that included such laughable features as the need for a second job and budget lines for “Heating” (zero) and “Health Insurance” ($20). Per month. (The company, which is worth $100 billion, give or take a few bucks, now says that heat costs $50 a month. But only if you speak English; the Spanish language site budgets heat at $30.) ...
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