Herald Square

Herald Square marchers in NYC, October 24th, continue the push to raise the federal minimum wage to 15. dollars per hour.  The video below shows some highlights from the event.  Carlos Rodriguez, for example, tells the crowd that he works at Domino's Pizza more than 60 hours per week making only $4.40 per hour delivering its product.

 

While Mr. Rodriguez makes 4.40 per hour working for Domino's more than 60 hours per week - which is far below even the non-liveable NY minimum wage of 7.25 per hour (to be raised to another non-liveable minimum wage of 8.00 per hour in December), Salary.com reports that Domino's Pizza Inc. CEO J. Patrick Doyle made  "$9,160,034 in total compensation. Of this total $840,769 was received as a salary, $2,094,400 was received as a bonus, $1,491,662 was received in stock options, $1,686,172 was awarded as stock and $3,047,031 came from other types of compensation. This information is according to proxy statements filed for the 2012 fiscal year." 

For many Americans, Mr. Doyle is not the only CEO making inconceivably high amounts of money for just one individual - while his workers toil long hours on pittance.  In early October, in Chicago, ten year McDonald's worker Nancy Salgado confronted McDonalds President Jeff Stratton at the city's monthly Union League Club luncheon, and about being unable to afford a pair of shoes for her children on 8.25 per hour - and, while Mr. Stratton was slated to address the group on the subjects of "work and life, faith and gratitude."



Information about Mr. Stratton's salary is reportedly hard to come by, though his predecessor earned 2.15 million in 2011 with a base salary of 593,000 dollars.  So, we gather, it's safe to assume Mr. Stratton's financial status is similarly *through the roof* while his workers can't afford life's basic necessities, and the company does not demonstrate an interest, as shown at this event, in recognizing their grievances as legitimate.  Instead, Mr. Stratton only remarked how long he had worked at McDonald's, after which, Ms. Delgado was summarily threatened with arrest, ticketed, and removed, against her will, from the meeting.  Shortly following this event, she reported her hours cut, while anticipating the possibility of further retaliation for speaking out on behalf of a fair and liveable wage of 15. per hour.

More information at Fight For 15 movement to raise the federal minimum wage to a liveable wage of 15. dollars per hour.  Follow on twitter @fightfor15. 

As for McDonalds, following the Stratton-Delgado confrontation, the company implemented a surreal McResources Line whereupon they urge workers (instead) to seek federal assistance, including the Food Program, recently in the non-mainstream media spotlight with family-brutal Congressional cuts just gone into effect November 1st.  

How do we know about this McDonald's practice?  Well, Ms. Delgado tried to communicate with the company again by using their new service, and video has since circulated with her recorded phone conversation:




More, by the way, on food program cuts as these employers with unimaginably high incomes urge their workers to seek federal assistance, rather than wage increases from the people they work for -- and as Ship Congress, once more, turns its back on the American people -- the United States of America for that matter -- while decreasing, rather than increasing, the Food Program, and also failing to put through a sufficient and liveable increase to the federal minimum wage.  

 

This is also known as putting people in a double bind.  Or, as observed by a number of internet posters, what is reaching truly Charles Dickins-like proportions in the 21st century United States.  (As Christmas jingles 'round the bend.)