NYS Fast Food Workers To See An Hourly Wage Increase July 1st

Can we somehow erase the past several months when the pandemic was messing with our lives including the virus itself? No, unfortunately is the answer.

So much has changed in the past 14 months or so. It was weird being one of only two people on the office floor of our radio stations for pretty much a full year. All our staff meeting were held via the internet, while the on-air staff continued to report to work in our studio s as usual.

Many people ended up working from home and many are still doing that, and happy about it. I've mentioned in the past how much my sister is loving working from home. Her hope is that she will never have to return to the office. Everything she does on a daily basis can be done in any location that has a good internet connection.

One aspect of the pandemic that we've recently seen, is that while there are many job openings lately, some businesses are having a hard time filling their open positions. It seems people on unemployment are getting paid more that they would if they took a job. Not sure how true that might be, but if it is, some businesses will have a serious staffing problem to deal with.

I've seen and talked with business owners who are reducing hours because they can't get workers. I went to a restaurant on Sunday only to find the parking lot empty and a padlock on the door stating they wouldn't be open until today (6/30.)

But according to the New York State Department of Labor, beginning July 1st, the minimum wage for fast food workers in New York State will increase to 15 dollars per hour. It's currently $14.50. Will it be enough to entice people to get back to work? I'm not sure. Will the new minimum wage be enough to support a family?

As the year progresses, it will be interesting to see how getting people back to work ends up. And that might not be a good thing.

via NYS Department of Labor