While at the [Wage Board Hearing], I was greatly moved by the testimony of fast food workers trying to survive on the minimum wage of $8.75/hour. One worker broke out into tears while saying that because of extreme financial restraints she has never been able to give her 5-year-old child a birthday party.
The majority of those at the hearing were in support of raising the wage to $15/hour, but there were a few who stood out in opposition. Thomas Spero, an owner of four Wendy’s restaurants, was among them.
Spero started his testimony by sharing his own story of starting out as a minimum wage fast food worker decades ago, earning $6/hour, to becoming a successful owner of four Wendy’s restaurants. While his story seemed to exemplify the typical American dream of working hard and moving up, he failed to recognize that his earnings of $6/hour had much higher purchasing power than the $8.75 minimum wage of 2015. When adjusted for inflation, fast food workers in 2015 are making less now than decades ago when Spero was a food worker. Fast food workers are not asking for anything special, they are simply asking for the fair wage that they deserve.
I hope the Wage Board takes into account the opinion of the vast majority of the 400 people in attendance and increases the minimum wage for fast food workers to $15/hour.
—Andrew Simon
