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http://news.investors.com/business/...rkers-may-face-job-cuts.htm?ven=yahoocp,yahoo
Fast-food workers staging a nationwide walkout Thursday in what's expected to be the biggest-ever strike hope to get an hourly wage boost — but may face cuts instead.
Labor Department data released Thursday don't bode well for the strikers. Labor productivity dipped 0.1% in the food services and drinking places segment in 2012, as output rose 4.6% and hours 4.7%.
That means hours worked grew faster than per-hour output, suggesting the fast-food industry may have to cut back hours — or even workers.
AP View Enlarged Image
Fast-food chains could use more automation, include self-ordering kiosks, to reduce the need for labor. A spike in wages would only accelerate the trend.
Thursday's strike affects more than 50 cities across the U.S. including Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York, as workers lobby to earn $15 an hour and the right to form a union "without retaliation or unfair labor practices," according to an SEIU press release.
The median wage in Los Angeles, for instance, is $9 per hour and $11,232 annually, it said.
Earlier this summer, fast-food workers in seven cities staged walkouts.
"Our country's fastest growing jobs are also the lowest paid, slowing the recovery and hurting our local economy," the SEIU said. "While the fast food industry is making record profits, its workers are forced to rely on public assistance just to afford the basics."
Workers taking part in Thursday's strike include those from McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell and Wendy's.
Fast-food workers staging a nationwide walkout Thursday in what's expected to be the biggest-ever strike hope to get an hourly wage boost — but may face cuts instead.
Labor Department data released Thursday don't bode well for the strikers. Labor productivity dipped 0.1% in the food services and drinking places segment in 2012, as output rose 4.6% and hours 4.7%.
That means hours worked grew faster than per-hour output, suggesting the fast-food industry may have to cut back hours — or even workers.
AP View Enlarged Image
Fast-food chains could use more automation, include self-ordering kiosks, to reduce the need for labor. A spike in wages would only accelerate the trend.
Thursday's strike affects more than 50 cities across the U.S. including Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York, as workers lobby to earn $15 an hour and the right to form a union "without retaliation or unfair labor practices," according to an SEIU press release.
The median wage in Los Angeles, for instance, is $9 per hour and $11,232 annually, it said.
Earlier this summer, fast-food workers in seven cities staged walkouts.
"Our country's fastest growing jobs are also the lowest paid, slowing the recovery and hurting our local economy," the SEIU said. "While the fast food industry is making record profits, its workers are forced to rely on public assistance just to afford the basics."
Workers taking part in Thursday's strike include those from McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell and Wendy's.
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