By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--May 12, 2016
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Skynet became self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th 1997. Unfortunately, the activists, protesters, and political interests that are leading the 'Fight for $15' movement did not. If they had, they might have realized the unstoppable march of the machines had begun, and that they'd ushered in their own obsolescence and unemployment.
First we heard about McDonald's investigating a plan to eliminate cashiers and order takers. Then it was Carl's Jr. Most recently, White Castle rattled the robotic saber. Now, Wendy's has created the ultimate burger-ordering machine and they're about to unleashed it upon a neighborhood near you.Wendy's said that self-service ordering kiosks will be made available across its 6,000-plus restaurants in the second half of the year as minimum wage hikes and a tight labor market push up wages. It will be up to franchisees whether to deploy the labor-saving technology, but Wendy’s President Todd Penegor did note that some franchise locations have been raising prices to offset wage hikes. McDonald’s (MCD) has been testing self-service kiosks. But Wendy’s, which has been vocal about embracing labor-saving technology, is launching the biggest potential expansion. It’s not surprising that some franchisees might face more of a labor-cost squeeze than company restaurants. All 258 Wendy’s restaurants in California, where the minimum wage rose to $10 an hour this year and will gradually rise to $15, are franchise-operated. Likewise, about 75% of 200-plus restaurants in New York are run by franchisees. New York’s fast-food industry wage rose to $10.50 in New York City and $9.75 in the rest of the state at the start of 2016, also on the way to $15.Congratulations, social justice warriors, you may be able to fight for $15, but you can't fight the future. If only you could send someone - or something - back in time. You could stop this movement before it ever began.
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