Fast-food workers plan acts of civil disobedience
By Candice Choi September 1 at 7:09 PM
NEW YORK — McDonald’s, Wendy’s and other fast-food restaurants are expected to be targeted with acts of civil disobedience that could lead to arrests Thursday as labor organizers escalate their campaign to unionize the industry’s workers.
Fells declined to say what exactly is in store for the protests in around 150 U.S. cities. But workers involved in the movement recently cited sit-ins as an example of strategies they could use to intensify their push for higher pay and unionization. Past protests have targeted a couple of restaurants in each city.
The “Fight for $15†campaign is being backed by the Service Employees International Union and has gained national attention at a time when growing income disparities have become a hot political issue.
You know what? I'm sick and tired of repeating the "don't do it, it won't work like you think it will" mantra when union vermin try and put more people out of work - I really am. Instead, I hope they do it. I hope they burn a few of these "restaurants" to the ground during their "civil disobedience", and I hope they price themselves out of business. The faster it falls, the better for all.
But...
In the interim, I want any and all who may wander across this thread to consider the following:
Burger Robot Poised to Disrupt Fast Food Industry
Written By: Jason Dorrier
Posted: 08/10/14 10:00 AM
I saw the future of work in a San Francisco garage two years ago. Or rather, I was in proximity to the future of work, but happened to be looking the other direction.
At the time, I was visiting a space startup building satellites behind a carport. But just behind them—a robot was cooking up burgers. The inventors of the burger device? Momentum Machines, and they’re serious about fast food productivity.
“Our device isn’t meant to make employees more efficient,†cofounder Alexandros Vardakostas has said. “It’s meant to completely obviate them.â€
The Momentum burger-bot isn’t remotely humanoid... It’s more of a burger assembly line. Ingredients are stored in automated containers along the line. Instead of pre-prepared veggies, cheese, and ground beef—the bot chars, slices, dices, and assembles it all fresh.
Burger robots may improve consistency and sanitation, and they can knock out a rush like nobody’s business. Momentum’s robot can make a burger in 10 seconds (360/hr). Fast yes, but also superior quality. Because the restaurant is free to spend its savings on better ingredients, it can make gourmet burgers at fast food prices.
Momentum Machines says your average fast food joint spends $135,000 a year on burger line cooks.
By replacing human cooks, the machine reduces liability, management duties, and, at just 24 square feet, the overall food preparation footprint. Resources once dedicated to preparation can instead fund better service.
The bot, and other robots like it, may soon replace low-skilled workers in droves.
Earlier this year, McDonalds employees protested outside the fast food chain’s corporate headquarters in Chicago, demanding higher wages. A robotic kitchen might bring improved pay for the front of the house, and a pay cut to zero for the back.
http://singularityhub.com/2014/08/10/burger-robot-poised-to-disrupt-fast-food-industry/
A brave new world where some gum-snapping airhead doesn't frig up my order? A day when I don't have to worry that some immature asshole doesn't spit on my food? Being able to pay a fast food price for fast food?
Bring it on!
What a glorious day it will be when the unions push themselves further into irrelevancy, and another bunch of weak-minded DUmbasses are punished for their short sighted greed.