In 1968, Lenoir Dining Hall at UNC Chapel Hill served food to nearly 2,000 students and faculty a day. The lunch ladies managing the cafeteria worked through long hours, short wages and demeaning work conditions. Though state workers, the food workers were neither represented by a union nor were their grievances acknowledged by their oppressive supervisors. Food service was tough enough for food workers at the university because students and faculty did not typically regard the non-faculty employees with much respect or recognition. This lack of respect or recognition was amplified by high racial tensions of the Civil Rights era and the reality that most non-faculty employees were African Americans serving a predominantly white student population. …show more content…
Paychecks for the lunch ladies were often miscalculated and did not include overtime pay. The supervisors of the cafeteria also assigned “split schedules” for employees, leading to frustrating inconveniences for employees who commuted to Chapel Hill. In terms of upward mobility, the lunch ladies were also classified as temporary rather than permanent employees, barring them from fringe benefits such as health care or sick leave. Workers in the cafeteria were denied promotions and worked as temporary employees for months or years without raises or promotions despite experience and skills. One woman, Mary Smith (also a prominent leader of the strike), was essentially performing managerial tasks like training new employees and assigning supervisors and was still employed as a temporary worker. They were also not getting paid or were underpaid for overtime. The lunch ladies were also not assigned set positions but ordered to fulfill odd jobs as necessary, another example of how the employees were getting underpaid for tasks on the …show more content…
Presently, workers in the fast food and minimum wage jobs seek respect and an increase in wages as it is a sector of the food industry that is underrepresented by unions. As cost of living increases in cities nationwide and the government subsidizes underpaid employees with welfare funds, organizations such as Real Food Real Workers and the Fight for $15 are demanding a raise in the minimum wage, particularly for food workers. Similarly to the food workers at UNC Chapel Hill, many minimum wage workers in the fast food industry are women and minorities, sectors of the labor pool already marginalized by wage disparity. The Fight for 15 movement has recently gained momentum in raising the minimum wage to $15 in California, New York, Seattle and the District of Columbia, and this year Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington state voted to increase the minimum wage as well. In the 21 states where the minimum wage is still as low as $7.25, s minimum wage increase movement should partner with other organizations from outside labor unions such as women 's rights organizations and organizations similar to the BSM, including mass participation of solidarity with college campuses, to make a substantial statement about their work
Poverty continues to grow in America. The average minimum wage in the United States is $7.35 an hour- far too low in today’s society. Key expenses, for example, gas and housing prices, have gone up significantly since the minimum wage was last changed in 2007 (Wagner 52). The laws creating the minimum wage were intended to improve the standard of living and decrease poverty. Raising minimum wage is a vital step in decreasing poverty and giving every family the opportunity to survive and succeed. Millions of hard-working Americans are below the poverty line and need an increase in pay. Minimum wage must be raised because it will diminish poverty and assist the working class to support their families.
They were forced to go out to work and make a rapid transition into adulthood. In these work places they, like any other adult, had a limited amount of time to eat. Patience Kershaw, a miner at the age of 17 recalls having cake for dinner- in inadequate dinner- and she does “not stop or rest at any time for the purpose” referring to her inability to eat throughout the day . She of course is not the only one, Elizabeth Bentley who works in the mills was asked whether she had the opportunity to eat in the factory. The 23 year old who began working at the age of 6 replied with a “no” saying how she had little to eat. The human rights were furthermore diminished as I read further on about the consequences there were if a child were to arrive late to work or became drowsy. Clearly the long hours and often times the long travel from home to work would severely tire anyone, to keep the kids under control and alert while working, the over lookers resorted to strapping them “when they became drowsy”. Matthew Crabtree explains the dread that these kids had of getting beaten, due to the fear they had we can infer that the means of physical abuse was prevalent in these factories. In the mines the young girls and women had to adapt to the conditions of their workplace. The vigorous lifting and loading was a strenuous activity done by both sexes, males worked naked to combat heat while females also worked
”(Weber, 96). Their job was to stop the strike breakers. They would do things such as taunt them, and in some situations it would become very violent. The strike would end, but the stories of what these women did still continue. Women have always been an important part of history.
This tragedy brought attention to the unregulated/unsafe working conditions that the women who had lost their lives were experiencing. In response, the Ladies Waist-makers Union formed one of the world’s largest female strikes. This is an example of a successful strike that was effective in achieving higher wages and improved working conditions. This strike marked the significance of women workers organizing and achieving bargaining Pullman Palace Car Company made luxury railroad cars. The people who lived in the town of Pullman payed rent by deductions from their wages.
Imagine working under poor conditions for over 40 hours a week to afford basic human necessities only to remain nothing more than a cog in a corporal machine seen unworthy of livable wages. While this may seem unrealistic, it proves as reality for many lower class Americans. Minimum wage has seen a drastic decline in relation to the inflation of living costs, an issue addressed in Lew Prince’s, “The American Dream Needs a Fair Minimum Wage”. In the article, Prince, a business owner, states, “... in 1979, the minimum wage was $2.90 -- that would be $9.50, adjusted for inflation in 2014 dollars”. Even with this information, many americans above the poverty level line argue against an increase in wages. Although opinions often
Many factories became short-handed and had to hire women to cover the jobs. The factories were very dangerous and unhealthy, and the women were only getting paid half the wages of men. The women were not unionized because the Labor Union said that they had to hire many women to replace one man and that the skilled tasks were broken in to several less skilled tasks. They had no protection, so their lungs and skin were exposed to dangerous chemicals. Many women worked in munitions factories, where they worked with sulphur.
A woman in the workplace was common but they did not receive the pay they deserved. Often, a woman’s job was the same as the previous male, but they did these jobs for 53% of the male’s pay. (Tolman) Eventually many woman and men went on strike demanding equal pay.
Many people against raising the minimum wage create arguments such as, “it will cause inflation”, or, “ it will result in job loss.” Not only are these arguments terribly untrue, they also cause a sense of panic towards the majority working-class. Since 1938, the federal minimum wage has been increased 22 times. For more than 75 years, real GDP per capita has consistently increased, even when the wage has been
Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour has been extensively debated over the last year or so. Minimum wage is the undermost wage allowed by law to be given to an employee for their services. Introduced in 1939, its purpose was to stabilize the economy, which was healing from the Great Depression. Most importantly, it was designed to protect the health and welling-being of employees. Currently, the Federal Government 's minimum is $7.25 per hour ($14,500 per year). The ones in favor of the increase are saying that it used to be a living wage; however, now it is not and it now needs to be line with changes to the cost of living. In addition, an increase in minimum wage can increase the productivity and decrease income inequality and poverty. On the other spectrum, the ones who are against the increase are saying that the increased labor cost will drive up unemployment, affect small businesses negatively, and cause other workers from different
they are not paid equally. Study shows that in 1900 one of the five people in the U.S. paid work
Fast-food workers have been protesting for a minimum wage of $15 dollars an hour and the freedom to unionize. The workers have organized numerous protests this year. During the protests they have walked out and chanted slogans regarding their pay. The main fast-food companies that are effected is McDonald's and Burger King. They both have stated that they will not press charges and indeed are allowing the workers to return. These workers that are participating in the strike doesn’t represent the majority of the fast-food employees. The people participating in the strike are not only youths but adults and elders as well. Due to the countries low employment rate many of these workers are supporting a family or other dependents. This is where most of the fast-food workers are getting their motivation to protest this industry. Unfortunately, many Americans are questioning the negative economic effects of their proposed wage and their lack of worthiness to receive that big of a pay raise. However, I believe that with some adjustment and research we can find a way to make everyone happy. My solution advises that we support Obama’s nine dollars an hour minimum wage proposal. It will give the fast-food workers financial support, release the burden of the taxpayer’s assistance, and keep inflation balanced.
At State University, the school has a set of certain hours that one is able to go to the cafeteria. However, those hours only comply with the workers and the students no matter what. To many of the students, and others as well, those hours are not compliable to their schedule. Students are left with hunger, having no choice than to be late to class to go buy a snack or go off campus to buy fast food, when not necessary. Not all the students have the same class schedule which should be able to allow different cafeteria hours to comply to everyone's needs, not only certain people.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, was created on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh in April 1960. SNCC was created after a group of black college students from North Carolina A&T University refused to leave a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina where they had been denied service. This sparked a wave of other sit-ins in college towns across the South. SNCC coordinated these sit-ins across the nation, supported their leaders, and publicized their activities. SNCC sought to affirm the philosophical or religious ideal of nonviolence as the foundation of their purpose. In the violently changing political climate of the 60’s, SNCC struggled to define its purpose as it fought white oppression. Out of SNCC came some of today's black leaders, such as former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry, Congressman John Lewis and NAACP chairman Julian Bond. Together with hundreds of other students, they left a lasting impact on American history.
The fast food industry has been expanding rapidly over the past years. It has become a part of our culture. In the book Labour Relations in the Global Fast-Food Industry, Robin Leidner quotes from Eric Schlosser who wrote the popular Fast Food Nation , “According to one estimate, there are approximately 2.5 million fast-food workers in the United States, making them the country’s largest group of low-paid workers (Leidner 11). Those 2.5 million fast-food workers are now working at Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, etc. The American fast food industry was built on the promise of low prices and fast services. Therefore, the corporations have to keep the labor and other operating costs down. Employees who work in fast food restaurants receive low wages and minimal benefits. In the past, many fast food workers tried to unionize themselves for guaranteed wages and benefits; yet, they have failed as many times as they have tried. I argue that fast food employees should get basic benefits such as health insurance, personal days and sick days, and perhaps a 401K plan because these hard workers are worth the benefits they should receive based on their commitments and contributions to the company. I feel it is unfair for them to receive low wages and no to minimum benefits while the company earns great profits.
Another problem women have in the workplace is getting promotions. Woman who have worked for their company for many years, receiving great reviews and employee-of-the-year awards are often filled by less qualified men (Armour, 2008). The next problem women face is unfair pay. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics found that women working 41 to 44 hours per week earn 84.6 percent of what men working similar hou...