Recently, the Cleveland City Council in Cleveland, Ohio, announced a plan to introduce new legislation to raise the minimum wage in the city to $15 per hour. The current minimum wage is $8.10.
This is the product of the efforts of Raise Up Cleveland, a group in support of a minimum wage increase for all workers in the city. According to Cleveland.com, the group "collected more than five times the number of signatures needed to compel council to consider legislation setting the new minimum wage." In less than two weeks, 28,000 signatures were collected.
The controversy over a minimum wage increase has been ongoing all over the country for several months.
Many arguments against the increase include claims such as the following:
1. Minimum wage was not created with the intent to be a livable wage.
2. Minimum wage jobs do not require any skill.
Perhaps one of the main, most general arguments people have against a minimum wage increase is in regard to whether workers deserve it or not. Many argue that EMTs and paramedics who save lives make that much or even less, so fast food workers, specifically, should not be paid more because it is considered "unskilled" work.
Throughout this wage controversy, it seems that the amount of respect people are giving and receiving varies greatly based on opinions and fields of work.
When looking into this issue, despite whether you agree or disagree with a minimum wage of $15, it is important to remember how this affects all workers. Not all who make minimum wage are working in fast food, yet many of the arguments against the wage increase focus solely on fast food employees and contain terms such as "burger-flippers."
There are several other fields of work under the category of "minimum wage jobs" that are not fast food. Therefore, not every worker making minimum wage is simply "flipping burgers." Those who are in fast food, however, are not necessarily just "flipping burgers" either. All workers in any field are providing a service, whatever it may be and whatever skill it may take. There may be more to a job than what is seen from a consumer perspective.
It is also important to remember that minimum wage workers are simply human. They are working to make it by like everyone else, and they make mistakes, too. If someone makes a mistake when providing a service, it should be understood, regardless of how easy their job may look from the outside.
Also, those against the wage increase argue that if workers making minimum wage want to be paid more, they should not be "lazy," should get higher education and/or should find a "better" job. As a consumer, you probably do not know their story. They may not have had the opportunity or money to go to college or may be struggling, but are trying to find other work. Some may be currently receiving higher education, or have already done so but cannot find work. There are several scenarios; the important thing is that a person is working and doing their best to make ends meet. There are certainly workers who are not trying their hardest and may not care, but this is seen in any field of work. Additionally, without many of these workers, thousands of businesses would cease to exist. Employees in these fields are necessary for consumerism purposes, so not all of them can simply work somewhere else.
These points are not to say whether minimum wage workers deserve a wage increase or not. Whether you are for or against a $15 minimum wage, no one deserves criticism for working a minimum wage job. As a society, it is important to be respectful of all workers in all fields of work.
