Tim Hortons Heirs Cut Paid Breaks and Benefits After Minimum Wage Hike

[Master Mind]

9 minutes ago, goalie13 said:

 and/or jack up the prices (if they haven't already).

They certainly have.

 

I'd have thought that we be more than enough to keep profits high. Now they make min wage workers earn less than they already were? Very distasteful, just like what their coffee's become.

[beni]

What's a paid break? 

 

Benefits are almost non-existent in trades

[AlwaysACanuckFan]

33 minutes ago, Toni Zamboni said:

macdonalds been kickin their butts.

cant believe people like the taste of tim's coffee.

Usually me after having Tim's coffee

[goalie13]

23 minutes ago, kingofsurrey said:

If people need to pay an extra 25 cents for their coffee so that the person working there gets a living wage then so be it.

 

Greed is really killing our country.   Take a look around town at all the people really hurting ....  If i have to pay a bit more for my coffee or burger....  no big deal.

Agreed (no pun intended).  But I think the increases will be higher than that.

 

I just think we're living in strange times where people line up at WalMart and Costco for the cheapest prices but will spend $6 on a coffee.  My combined TV/phone/internet/cell bill is nearly $250.  That used to be half a month's rent for me.  My folk's place cost $100K to build in '88.  My home's value went up almost $150K last year alone.  I couldn't afford to buy the house I am in if I was just getting into the market today.  Do you know anyone with an old tube TV?  It seems like everyone has been able to afford new flat screens, but still can't make ends meet. 

 

Is hiking up the minimum wage even going to have the impact they hope for?  Many of the basic things people buy tend to buy come from stores that pay minimum wage.  So if they have to increase the prices to deal with the minimum wage hike, then those same things become less affordable for those on minimum wage.  Catch 22.

 

I don't know what the solution is.  I just think things have gotten out of whack.

[SedinMadness]

we should not  have a money system anymore

 

[kingofsurrey]

19 minutes ago, goalie13 said:

Agreed (no pun intended).  But I think the increases will be higher than that.

 

I just think we're living in strange times where people line up at WalMart and Costco for the cheapest prices but will spend $6 on a coffee.  My combined TV/phone/internet/cell bill is nearly $250.  That used to be half a month's rent for me.  My folk's place cost $100K to build in '88.  My home's value went up almost $150K last year alone.  I couldn't afford to buy the house I am in if I was just getting into the market today.  Do you know anyone with an old tube TV?  It seems like everyone has been able to afford new flat screens, but still can't make ends meet. 

 

Is hiking up the minimum wage even going to have the impact they hope for?  Many of the basic things people buy tend to buy come from stores that pay minimum wage.  So if they have to increase the prices to deal with the minimum wage hike, then those same things become less affordable for those on minimum wage.  Catch 22.

 

I don't know what the solution is.  I just think things have gotten out of whack.

Is Worker A  needs  a  2 dollar an hour raise.  Worker A sells a coffee every  2 minutes.  

That is 30 cups of coffee an hour....     than would mean they would need to raise the price of coffee 7 cents.

Even less if the average person buys a healthy  tims muffin as well to go with the coffee...

 

 

Of course there are staff working in the kitchen etc....     but i don't see  it as insurmountable for a busy fast food  / retail operation. 

[Qwags]

As a Tim's employee, can confirm. Our coffee is garbage. The Starbucks down the street is running us out of town. Good riddance.

[goalie13]

3 minutes ago, kingofsurrey said:

Of course there are staff working in the kitchen etc....     but i don't see  it as insurmountable for a busy fast food  / retail operation. 

Keep in mind, it's not just the kitchen.  There's the delivery driver, the people that work for the suppliers, employees of the landlord, and on and on.  There are a lot of different, sometimes hidden, labour expenses that go into that cup of coffee.

[48MPHSlapShot]

And people say trickle down economics are a myth xD

[kingofsurrey]

5 minutes ago, Qwags said:

As a Tim's employee, can confirm. Our coffee is garbage. The Starbucks down the street is running us out of town. Good riddance.

I wonder why Tim's doesn't try to upgrade their coffee ?  Seems to be a no brainer to poach back the starbucks crowd....

 

[Qwags]

Just now, kingofsurrey said:

I wonder why Tim's doesn't try to upgrade their coffee ?  Seems to be a no brainer to poach back the starbucks crowd....

 

Money. Lost the bid for a new contract with what is now McD's coffee supplier.

[6string]

The NHLPA get paid breaks: between periods.

[VanGnome]

Fortunately, I have not had to work a minimum wage job, however I can empathize with those who do out of necessity. What they are doing is increasing the amount of time an employee needs to be on site for, in order to still have to give breaks (this time just unpaid) as regulated by the Government.

Before wage hike: 8 hours/day @ 11.60 = 96.20/day
After wage hike: 8.3 hours/day @ 14.00 = 116.20/day
 

0.1/hr = 6 minutes. So employees are still making 20/day more than they used to and still get their breaks (1 30 minute lunch and 1 10 minute break)

To me what I have issue with is that people who generally have to work minimum wage jobs need to work 2 or sometimes 3 such jobs in order to provide a living for their families. The extra 30 minutes per day can some times be time killers if people need to rely on public transit and/or contend with commuter traffic.

Wage hikes are nice and all, but its just putting all the burden on business owners who still at the end of the day need to turn a profit otherwise they can't afford to employ ANYONE.

Governments need to wrap their heads around the need for a universal basic income, it's literally necessary now in order to balance peoples lives to allow them more time with their families instead of subjecting people to lives of indentured servitude (relatively speaking); I realize it's a choice that people have to make for themselves, and sometimes people need to take the initiative to better their situation, but for a lot of people it's either work 2-3 jobs to avoid poverty and put food on the table or be in poverty and MAYBE gain skills through school.

I think Governments need to work with businesses, provide tax cuts to businesses and mandate that those savings go into reinvesting in their employees (better benefits, more overtime etc), instead of lining their pockets, provide paid time off for career advancement classes for business management, etc. When more people prosper, we all prosper since there are more people contributing to the consumer aspect of our economy, purchase homes, pay taxes etc.

The single biggest thing I take issue with here is the cutting of benefits. Benefits are absolutely essential, especially for those who have no choice other than to work these levels of jobs.

[Rounoush]

Whoa whoa whoa. People can get paid for lunch breaks? I sure as hell don't.

[Dral]

2 hours ago, kingofsurrey said:

If people need to pay an extra 25 cents for their coffee so that the person working there gets a living wage then so be it.

 

Greed is really killing our country.   Take a look around town at all the people really hurting ....  If i have to pay a bit more for my coffee or burger....  no big deal.

Except it's not just rich people who are going to pay extra for their coffee, it's Tim's employees who are also going to be paying extra for their goods and services so now that raise doesn't mean anything...

 

 

I also don't really understand this hype about "living wage"... flipping burgers and pouring coffee are not jobs that should be paying a wage where someone can afford to make mortgage payments, car payments and raise kids on... it's a job that young people living at home should have while getting an education (either through work or school) in order to turn themselves into productive, valuable members of society who are worth being paid $20, $30 or more an hour in other jobs...

 

a "living wage" isn't a basic human right... there's no slip of paper you are handed when you are born that says you deserve and are owed by society to work any job you want, however hard at it you want, and still be able to afford a house...

[Jester13]

15 minutes ago, Dral said:

Except it's not just rich people who are going to pay extra for their coffee, it's Tim's employees who are also going to be paying extra for their goods and services so now that raise doesn't mean anything...

 

 

I also don't really understand this hype about "living wage"... flipping burgers and pouring coffee are not jobs that should be paying a wage where someone can afford to make mortgage payments, car payments and raise kids on... it's a job that young people living at home should have while getting an education (either through work or school) in order to turn themselves into productive, valuable members of society who are worth being paid $20, $30 or more an hour in other jobs...

 

a "living wage" isn't a basic human right... there's no slip of paper you are handed when you are born that says you deserve and are owed by society to work any job you want, however hard at it you want, and still be able to afford a house...

Living wage doesn't mean buying a house, car, etc. It means having enough money to live a basic life, like paying rent, buying groceries, etc.

 

Inflation rises each year, yet wages do not, so every year wages don't increase to match inflation, employees make less money, which makes it even harder to live. We need wages to increase at all levels to at least match inflation every year. 

 

And I know this may be difficult for some people to understand, but not everyone has the privilege of living at home while they get an education. For some people, a minimum wage job is all they have, and all they will ever have. 

[Dral]

4 minutes ago, Jester13 said:

Living wage doesn't mean buying a house, car, etc. It means having enough money to live a basic life, like paying rent, buying groceries, etc.

 

Inflation rises each year, yet wages do not, so every year wages don't increase to match inflation, employees make less money, which makes it even harder to live. We need wages to increase at all levels to at least match inflation every year. 

 

And I know this may be difficult for some people to understand, but not everyone has the privilege of living at home while they get an education. For some people, a minimum wage job is all they have, and all they will ever have. 

Wow, you must be really smart to understand not everyone can live at home while going to school... I wonder if you understand that not everyone actually deserves to be paid $15/hr...  that if a person can only work good enough to be worth $10/hr, no one is going to hire him for $15/hr and now he doesn't get a job at all because if a company decides to hire him and others like him, they will go out of business

 

If that's all living wage means, just the basic necessities, well you can do that on $10/hr... it's not comfortable, but you can... and I know you can because I've done it... and when I wasn't satisfied with making just $10/hr, I did something about it and got myself into a position where I was making $20/hr...

 

 

 

[Jester13]

16 minutes ago, Dral said:

Wow, you must be really smart to understand not everyone can live at home while going to school... I wonder if you understand that not everyone actually deserves to be paid $15/hr...  that if a person can only work good enough to be worth $10/hr, no one is going to hire him for $15/hr and now he doesn't get a job at all because if a company decides to hire him and others like him, they will go out of business

 

If that's all living wage means, just the basic necessities, well you can do that on $10/hr... it's not comfortable, but you can... and I know you can because I've done it... and when I wasn't satisfied with making just $10/hr, I did something about it and got myself into a position where I was making $20/hr...

 

 

 

 I'm smart enough to know what a living wage is and basic economics. 

 

I, too, "pulled myself up by my bootstraps" and am now making more than double what I was before I paid my own way through school. The difference is that I don't think that just because I did means that everyone can. 

[Dral]

17 minutes ago, Jester13 said:

 I'm smart enough to know what a living wage is and basic economics. 

 

I, too, "pulled myself up by my bootstraps" and am now making more than double what I was before I paid my own way through school. The difference is that I don't think that just because I did means that everyone can. 

 

And I don't think that just because I did it means that everyone else should do it as well

 

 

So if you actually understand basic economics, why do you think flipping burgers and pouring coffee is worth $15/hr ? Because there's not really sound economics arguments to justify it... there are some really good emotional and ethical arguments, but they tend to break down in the real world outside of philosophy class...

 

[Ray_Cathode]

6 hours ago, kingofsurrey said:

Yes, i am not sure with so many job openings ( min wages jobs  )  right now how  Tims can be reducing workers  wages / breaks  / benefits .

 

Pretty sure they will lose most of their decent workers to their competitors...  Seems like bad business stategy to me.

 

Tims coffee is worse than the 20 dollar coffee machine  / and  dollar store ground  coffee       our office makes for us at work ....

Tim’s will do what competitors, such as McDonalds are doing - automating.  The people who will be effected are precisely those that the government is pretending to help.  Mostly, it will affect young people in their first job, trying to get a toehold into being employable, and it will affect minorities, older people who never acquired skills, or those whose skills are no longer relevant.  It will affect those trying to eke out a living.  It will also affect those who want an inexpensive meal, and it will affect those who invested in such businesses, and whoever leant them the money to get started.

 

 In order to survive in such businesses, the people running those businesses are completely constrained by economic necessity, not many people going to McDonalds want a fifteen dollar Big Mac meal I bought in Washington State.  The minimum wage law in Washington State caused a massive increase in the unemployment and underemployment of exactly those that politicians and political organizers were pretending to aid.  The goverment solution was to repudiate the report that they themselves had commissioned, and arranged to have a report written that would contain its own, unique ‘facts’, and more ‘friendly’ conclusions. Yep, when reality bites you, it’s always better to make up a more satisfactory story.

 

In addition to this, there is Trudeau’s new tax law affecting small business, that most people won’t be feeling the pain of until tax time. Expect a significant reduction in jobs whose businesses have so called ‘passive income’ or ‘personal services’ income.  Expect to see a large change in the number of rental properties available as people divest due to the enormously increased tax rate, and the inability to pass on huge property tax increases expected to be announced shortly.  When your kids return home to your basement, you might want to reconsider who to blame.

 

In addition, McDonald’s % of profit is about 6% of sales.  To surrender all of the profit in a $10 meal would yield about 60 cents, but if they give up that 60 cents, no bank nor investor would support them, and your union pension plan or your RSP would have one less place to park your pension money, or your CPP - if that is what your future holds.  There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch - TANSTAFL - is an acronym to come to memory - particularly at a restaurant.