美國小時工資戰升溫

????“勞動力的效率越來越高，”歐文斯說。“然而，企業一方面在享受由此帶來的經濟利益，一方面卻沒有把收益分配給從事這些工作的人們。”

????研究經濟問題的經濟政策研究所（Economic Policy Institute）表示，招聘兼職員工的公司增多了，他們付給兼職員工的時薪比全職員工要少好幾美元。這個機構近日發布的調查結果顯示，2006年到2012年，低薪員工收入的下降幅度高達5%。

????計劃在本周發起罷工抗議的打工族要求把時薪提高到15美元。之所以提出這樣的訴求，是因為雇主縮減工時，不斷改變工作時間，同時還不提供醫保、帶薪病假、節假日等福利，這一切都使他們不可能過上體面的生活。此外，他們還在與一種理念做斗爭，即：這種低端的工作是留給青少年和受教育程度較低的人做的。根據聯邦勞工部的統計數據，工薪族的平均年齡是29歲，而且25%的工薪族接受過部分大學課程。

????提薪的斗爭始于去年11月。當時，沃爾瑪要求一部分員工感恩節期間搞大促銷，引發了員工零星的抗議活動。不久之后，紐約市大約30家快餐店的200名員工在工會、民間團體、神職人員的支持下也開展了罷工。

????與此同時，零售商和連鎖飯店在工資問題上不肯松口。麥當勞日前為員工推出了一個個人預算網站。科爾伯特批評該網站只計算了每個月20美元的醫保費，而且最初默認供暖費用為零。（后來麥當勞將供暖費用的預算設定成了每個月50美元。）

????麥當勞的CEO唐?湯普森一再公開鼓吹他的自我奮斗理論。他在上周接受彭博電視記者采訪時表示，麥當勞給員工“提供了一個機會，好讓他們在這個體制中謀求高升，贏得越來越多的財富”。

????這一點可能只適用于餐飲業的高管。根據經濟政策研究所的統計數據，餐飲業高管平均年薪高達1,190萬美元，是普通工薪族的778倍。

????全國就業法律工程的一項研究表明，快餐業只有2%的職位是高管職位，剩下的絕大多數工作機會——即89%的崗位都是底層、非管理層的崗位。此外，只有極少數員工能提升地位，最終擁有一家特許經營餐廳。要做到這一點，凈資產起碼要達到100萬美元。

????好市多（Costco）CEO克雷格?耶利內克是少數幾個在薪水問題上與工薪族站在一邊的高管。耶利內克支持《2013年最低工資法案》（Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013）。這項法案一旦通過，聯邦最低工資標準將提升至每小時10.10美元。“在我們企業，不管是哪個州的分公司，起薪都是每小時11.50美元。在這樣的情況下，我們的間接成本還是能保持在很低的水平。”耶利內克在一份聲明中表示。他認為，好的薪資待遇能最大程度地降低員工流動率，提高員工的效率、干勁和忠誠度。

????耶利內克得到了來自全國各地100多名經濟學者的支持。這個月，他們發起了一項名為“經濟學者支持美國實行10.50美元最低工資”的請愿活動。他們在結論中寫道：“麥當勞只要把巨無霸的價格提高0.05美分，就能抵消提薪3.25美元帶來的半數成本。”

????麻省理工學院（MIT）的保羅?奧斯特曼也在請愿書上簽了字。他表示，美國“相比于其他四、五個發達國家而言，是一個低薪國家。我們要提升最低工資標準，要有更強勢的工會，要讓企業更注重長遠利益、而不是短期需求。”

????美國勞工統計局表示，隨著中層工作機會越來越少，美國未來十年增長最快的十大工種當中，有七個會是店員、家庭護理員這類低薪工種。

????More companies are hiring part-time workers at wages that average several dollars less than their full-time counterparts, according to the Economic Policy Institute, an economic research group. Its recent report found that low-wage worker income fell as much as 5% between 2006 and last year.

????Protesting workers this week will demand $15 an hour on grounds that cutbacks in hours, constantly changing schedules, and lack of benefits like health care, paid sick leave, and vacation make it impossible to have a decent standard of living. They are also battling the perception that such entry-level jobs are the preserve of teenagers and the poorly educated. Workers' average age, according to federal labor figures, is 29, and 25% of this group has completed some college courses.

????The drive to raise wages began last November with a scattered protest by Wal-Mart employeeswho were required to work during Thanksgiving Day blockbuster sales. Soon after that, 200 workers at some 30 New York fast-food outlets staged a walkout, supported by unions, civic groups, and clergy.

????Meanwhile, retailers and restaurant chains are standing firm on wages. McDonald's set up a personal budget website for employees. Colbert skewered the site for listing only $20 a month for health insurance and, initially, no amount for heating costs. (It has since budgeted $50 a month for heat.)

????McDonald's CEO Don Thompson publicly reiterated the bootstrap argument, noting in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week that the company provides "opportunities so that a person can rise through the system and gain greater and greater wealth."

????That may be the case for restaurant industry executives, who earn an average of $11.9 million yearly, 788 times the average worker, according to figures from the Economic Policy Institute.

????But only 2% of fast-food jobs are executive positions, a NELP study found. Instead, the vast majority, or 89%, are the lowest-level, non-managerial jobs, according to the study. The study also found that only a tiny number of workers move on to own a franchise, which typically requires at least $1 million in owner net worth.

????Costco's (COST) chief executive Craig Jelinek is one of the few executives who have sided with workers on this issue. Jelinek has endorsed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which, if passed, would raise the federal wage floor to $10.10 an hour. "We pay a starting hourly wage of $11.50 in all states where we do business, and we are still able to keep our overhead costs low," Jelinek said in a statement. He noted that good pay minimizes employee turnover and shores up productivity, commitment, and loyalty.

????Jelinek is backed by a group of some 100 economists from across the country that issued a petition this month called "Economists in Support of a $10.50 U.S. Minimum Wage." McDonald's, the economists concluded, could offset half the cost of a $3.25 hourly wage hike by raising the price of each Big Mac by .05 cents.

????Paul Osterman of MIT, who signed the petition, notes that the U.S. is a "low wage country compared to four or five other developed economies. We need to increase the minimum wage, have stronger unions, and have the business community think more about its long-term than just its short-term needs."

????As middle-level jobs dwindle, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that seven of the 10 fastest growing positions in the coming decade will be low-wage jobs such as store clerks and home health aides.