By Ryan Jones
Three years ago I was a full-time worker at Burger King and like many others, my experience was not good. I was working five days a week, making the federal minimum wage, which is 7.25 an hour. Working full-time i was making $700 a month, which is not a livable wage. Not only was I supporting myself, but also my family. I didn’t receive breaks, and was required to fill multiple positions in the workplace. Like many workplaces, Burger King kept minimum staff on, expecting workers to take on the workloads of multiple people, cutting back on costs at the expense of us workers. The managers would often be aggressive towards workers, yelling at us, snatching our phones away (taking our personal property). They would often yell at us about not “doing our jobs” while we were busting our asses!
They electronically deposited our checks, so we didn’t get our check stubs in person. You could access them online, but without smartphones or computers, it can be very difficult to check and make sure your pay & hours are done right. We in the industry know it’s very common for bosses to shave a couple hours off workers’ checks. They often do this in ways that aren’t noticeable, leaving many workers experiencing wage theft without even realizing it. This is why it’s very important that we have access to our pay stubs.
I feel we should get our pay stubs in person, so we can better hold our bosses accountable. I also feel like everybody should get paid breaks, and a free shift meal. All workers should get a living wage, which at the minimum should be $15 dollars an hour. We all should have a union, so we have the power to demand the dignity and respect we deserve in the workplace. We as workers must make our voices heard, and demand the bosses start listening to what we have to say. We need to get organized as working people. Our bosses aren’t going to give us our rights, we must demand them. We gotta shut shit down.