Fast food workers make so little money that many of them depend on government assistance just to live. More than half, in fact, get help from Medicaid, food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
CNN reported,
The National Employment Law Project said that the 10 largest fast food companies in the U.S. were responsible for more than half the total cost to taxpayers -- about $3.8 billion a year alone. The report calls out McDonald's (MCD), Yum! Brands (YUM), Subway, Burger King (BKW), Wendy's (WEN), Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN), Dairy Queen, Little Caesar's, Sonic (SONC) and Domino's (DPZ).So here's a heartwarming video that's gone viral. It shows two guys who decided to take videos of themselves giving $100 tips to fast food workers. Their reactions tell you all you need to know about their wages.
McDonald's itself is responsible for $1.2 billion of that cost each year, NELP said.
One of the guys, Jesse Jhaj, told Business Insider he worked the graveyard shift for minimum wage at 7-11.
I've always wanted to highlight the working conditions — and personalities — of people working in similar jobs.The video was filmed in Los Angeles. The fast food workers initially refuse to accept the money. One starts crying, another asks for a hug and then turns around and gives some of the money to a homeless person.
Said Jhaj:
We handed out more than $1,000 total, and surprisingly, we actually got more tips refused than were accepted during all of our excursions. For many fast food chains, it's against policy to accept tips, and many of the workers were actually scared to take the money for fear of getting in trouble — misaligned incentives, if you ask me.
