General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Fast food jobs in Denmark pay living wage [View all]JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Many American economists and business groups say the comparison is deeply flawed because of fundamental differences between Denmark and the United States, including Denmarks high living costs and taxes, a generous social safety net that includes universal health care and a collective bargaining system in which employer associations and unions work together. The fast-food restaurants here are also less profitable than their American counterparts.
Trying to compare the business and labor practices in Denmark and the U.S. is like comparing apples to autos, said Steve Caldeira, president of the International Franchise Association, a group based in Washington that promotes franchising and has many fast-food companies as members.
Denmark is a small country with a far higher cost of living, Mr. Caldeira said. Unions dominate, and the employment system revolves around that fact.
But as Denmark illustrates, companies have managed to adapt in countries that demand a living wage, and economists like Mr. Schmitt see it as a possible model.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/business/international/living-wages-served-in-denmark-fast-food-restaurants.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
The reason why the pay isn't like that in the US because they can easily replace an employee -- (I actually know a Jack-the-Box employee who routinely doesn't show up was fired and rehired a few times -- she has been with them awhile and knows managers here or there but she justifies it by saying "they need me" if that was the case, I'd negotiate for higher wages (I don't know if she still works there but often times she isn't there when I visit her roommate) -- at that wage offer.
Certainly radically different factors come into play.