Fast Food Workers

Fast food workers are at the heart of America's economic basis for low income jobs. Paper Masters custom writes research papers on the how fast food workers have an important role in filling jobs for the restaurant industry.

Fast food restaurants are widely recognized in our society as bastions of unskilled or otherwise marginalized labor. It has become a cultural touchstone to joke about the fact that the downsized, the underemployed, and younger workers are often relegated to positions in fast food restaurants. In these humorous contexts, the exploitative nature of fast food employment is brushed over. However, what is not often mentioned is that the fast food sector also employs a considerable number of socioeconomically disadvantaged adults. From this perspective, the low wages, long hours, and lack of benefits typically associated with these jobs are far less amusing.

Fast Food Workers Treatment

Although it has long been recognized that fast food workers are not treated optimally by their employers, the argument has often been made that this type of unskilled labor does not merit high salaries and commodious working environments. For most of the 50+-year history of the American fast food industry, unionization has not been widespread. This discussion will consider both sides in the debate over whether fast food workers should be unionized.

Unions and Fast Food Workers

The most convincing argument that fast food workers should unionize is simply a survey of the following prevalent factors:

• Wages
• Benefits
• Working conditions within the industry

On all three of these points, the record of the fast food sector is abysmally poor. Compensation rarely rises above the legal minimum wage, which may be fine for teenagers seeking to earn extra pocket money, but it falls far below a living wage for adult breadwinners supporting a family. Benefits such as health insurance are rare except among full-time and/or managerial staff, and even when provided, they often offer inadequate coverage. Working conditions entail repetitive tasks, handling potentially dangerous equipment with little or no training, and long, irregular shifts.