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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWendy's Increases Self-Service Kiosks Due To Minimum Wage
Investor's Business Daily is reporting that the Wendys restaurant chain is increasing its number of self-service ordering kiosks because of minimum wage hikes.
Wendys said that self-service ordering kiosks will be made available across its 6,000-plus restaurants in the second half of the year as minimum wage hikes and a tight labor market push up wages, the report says.
It will be up to the franchisees to decide whether or not to deploy the technology.
Wendys President Todd Penegor said company-operated stores, only about 10% of the total, are seeing wage inflation of 5% to 6%, driven both by the minimum wage and some by the need to offer a competitive wage to access good labor.
. http://www.cnsnews.com/blog/eric-scheiner/wendys-increases-self-service-kiosks-due-minimum-wage
David__77
(23,217 posts)Higher wages can drive investment in capital to increase labor efficiency.
1939
(1,683 posts)but "labor efficiency" means being able to do more with less.
When I began driving (1955) and you went into a service station, there was an owner, a mechanic or two, and a couple of pump jockeys/grease monkeys on the staff. Today, i go into a gas station and there is a self-serve pump that reads my credit card and in case of a problem or if i want a candy bar, there is a clerk behind bullet proof glass that will handle a receipt printing problem, sell me a raffle ticket, or the candy bar. If I am really lucky, the clerk speaks English.
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)Loudestlib
(980 posts)silvershadow
(10,336 posts)1939
(1,683 posts)There is a trade off on that. If the labor is cheap enough , it can beat out automation.
Case in point. When my father was promoted from tool maker to manager of a branch shop, there were often cases where a worker or workers would inadvertently mix product (in this case automotive bolts). Now the choice was, do you throw away mixed, and unsaleable product, or do you hire someone to hand sort the product. In this case, it was cheaper, at UAW wage rates, to hire two people to sort the product into saleable lots. If the value of the product had been less, it would have been cheaper to discard the unsaleable lots.
allan01
(1,950 posts)scscholar
(2,902 posts)By hate.
appalachiablue
(41,052 posts)PEOPLE GET READY! THE FIGHT AGAINST A JOBLESS ECONOMY & A CITIZENLESS DEMOCRACY, By McChesney & Nichols
Co-Authors Robert McChesney and John Nichols presentation talk on their significant new book, "PEOPLE GET READY: The Fight Against A Jobless Economy and A Citizenless Democracy" at the Town Hall Seattle, Washington on March 9, 2016.
The talk is 2-Part with McChesney speaking first and then John Nichols. (VIDEO, 1 hr. 25 mins.).
Make a NOTE to view this compelling discussion of the situation we now face based on the authors extensive two-year research on recent ongoing automation and technological advances in AI/Artificial Intelligence, robotics, 3-D Printing and driverless vehicles which will create 50 percent unemployment in the US in the next ten to thirty years and serious political and social challenges.
Reviews, more, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016152630
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CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)I sincerely hope that Americans are given a choice between Fascism and Democracy this fall.
I understand that they may once again have that choice taken away.
But don't listen to me. I'm 0-2 in my votes for democracy this year.
.
Brickbat
(19,339 posts)The franchisor in our area paid his staff full wages while they were off for months after a fire burned the restaurant down.
madville
(7,397 posts)Is fascinating. Ideally citizens will get a standard minimum income paid for by taxes on corporations and businesses. I would guess that in 50-100 years almost all human physical and intellectual labor will have been replaced by automation and Artificial Intelligence.
ladyVet
(1,587 posts)When my mother and I are out and about, we often stop at one of the local restaurants for a small lunch. We adore the usual person taking orders, who is so friendly and helpful. She knows her regular customers and is always asking them about themselves, or their families.
A machine can't do that. The prices won't go down, the food won't be any better, and likely the wait won't be any shorter. I see no benefit except to the owner's bottom line (and the parent corporation).
I refuse to use automatic checkout lines in grocery stores or places like Lowe's. I tell the managers I prefer to talk with people, rather than struggle to get the crappy machines to work -- which requires an overworked human to come and fix, by the way. Most auto checkouts are empty, while lines grow where there are people running the register.
Perhaps if society moves towards a guaranteed income without requiring working at shitty jobs, it might be different. But for the present time, I'm not for automated services like this.