"In a paper released last week, the progressive National Employment Law Project disputed such mobility claims. Based on a review of census data, NELP wrote, “Opportunities for advancement in the fast food industry are significantly limited compared to other industries: only 2.2 percent of jobs in the fast food industry are managerial, professional, or technical occupations, compared with 31 percent of jobs in the overall U.S. economy…” NELP noted that front-line fast food jobs pay an average of $8.94 an hour." “As a consciousness-raising strategy for the United States, it’s really great,” said City University of New York labor expert Ruth Milkman. “This campaign by itself can’t change the enormous obstacles to winning union recognition today in any private sector union workplace…” Milkman told Salon yesterday. “I don’t see any path forward on that front.” But given the high profile of the fast food industry and increasing consumer focus on food, Milkman argued the effort – if it grew big enough – could shame the industry into raising its standards in order to protect its brand. “If it were ever successful,” she said, “it would affect so many more people than any living wage law we’ve got.”
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 19:30:23 +0000
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