@missadriennek/TikTok
November 3, 2021, 5:18 am
A fast-food restaurant in Washington is angering conservatives who don’t believe in a living wage after it a TikTok video claiming that they pay their employees $20 an hour went viral.
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@missadriennek shared a video of her recent visit to Dick’s Drive-In in Kent, Washington, where she says the restaurant was fully staffed with “15 workers on duty @ $20.00 an hour.
She ordered “2 cheeseburgers, 1 Deluxe cheeseburger, 2 fries, 1 shake 1 float.” The total cost? Twenty dollars, according to the TikToker.
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The viral video drew tons of attention online, as people pointed to it as proof that places alleging a labor shortage in the United States simply aren’t paying enough money to attract or retain workers.
Dick’s Drive-In, which has locations throughout Washington, has been in business since 1954, and has long been known for paying fair wages. But this year, they upped their minimum starting wage to $19 an hour, with trained employees generally making at least $20 — not to mention the additional benefits offered by the company.
And they’ve done all this without sending prices skyrocketing. The most expensive item on their menu tops out at $4.50 for a deluxe burger.
But the idea of paying a wage people can actually survive on has become something deeply upsetting to some conservatives, many of whom say even $15 an hour is too much for someone working at a fast-food restaurant, and can often be found on social media arguing that minimum wage shouldn’t exist at all.
“You shouldn’t make 20 an hour at a job that is intended to be a 16 year old first job,” wrote @michaelrobertson861. “It’s a learning experience not a career.”
Anyone who actually pays attention to the world around them knows full well that fast food restaurants are not staffed exclusively by teenagers, especially not in larger cities. The idea that these people don’t deserve to be fairly compensated for dealing with customers and doing manual labor is a joke. And the fact that places like Dick’s are proving fair compensation and good working conditions are possible is only causing the people making these arguments to look like clowns.
“Can someone please explain to me why tRumplicans are so against people making a fair wage?” asked @cpl8258.
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“Only in America will people complain about other people making a decent wage, or call it untenable,” added @queef_mcgee. “Really sad.”
Rather than continuing to fight over scraps and push people down to make us feel better about being undervalued at our own jobs, one viewer suggested that “if everyone would realize we should all be paid more instead of demeaning people for their jobs, the world would be a better place.”
*First Published: November 3, 2021, 5:18 am
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