fast-food
workers
rallied
around
the
country
thursday
,
calling
for
a
minimum
wage
of
$15
an
hour.
but
in
suburban
detroit
,
a
small
but
growing
fast-casual
burger
and
chicken
chain
has
figured
out
how
to
pay
higher
wages
and
still
be
profitable.
when
moo
cluck
moo
opened
its
first
location
almost
two
years
,
the
starting
pay
for
all
workers
was
$12.00
an
hour.
the
idea
,
according
to
co-founder
brian
parker
,
was
to
train
everyone
to
multitask.
no
one
is
just
flipping
burgers.
all
of
the
workers
are
expected
to
be
jacks-of-all-trades
:
they
bake
buns
from
scratch
daily
,
they
house-make
aioli
and
prepare
made-to-order
grass-fed
burgers
and
free-range
chicken
sandwiches.
and
,
now
,
says
parker
,
the
investment
is
paying
off.
revenue
is
up
at
the
chain
's
two
locations.
and
workers
are
sticking
around.
and
their
pay
now
?
it
's
up
to
$15
an
hour.
by
comparison
,
a
typical
fast-food
worker
in
the
u.s.
makes
about
$8
or
$9
an
hour.
"
because
of
our
low
turnover
,
and
the
fact
that
people
are
really
into
their
jobs
,
$15
an
hour
wasn
't
a
big
stretch
,
"
parker
says.
parker
says
there
's
savings
in
not
having
to
constantly
train
new
hires
,
and
his
workers
are
empowered
because
they
're
given
so
much
responsibility.
protesters
demonstrate
outside
a
mcdonald
's
in
chicago.
hundreds
of
workers
from
mcdonald
's
,
taco
bell
,
wendy
's
and
other
fast-food
chains
were
expected
to
walk
off
their
jobs
thursday
to
push
the
companies
to
pay
their
employees
at
least
$15
an
hour
,
according
to
labor
organizers.
the
salt
across
the
country
,
fast-food
workers
rally
for
$15-an-hour
pay
when
we
stopped
in
for
a
visit
this
week
,
manager
dan
chavez
was
standing
at
the
grill
preparing
a
made-to-order
moo
burger.
he
's
been
cooking
in
restaurants
for
##number##
years
,
so
he
knows
how
to
move
quickly
from
the
grill
to
the
fryer.
he
also
overseas
baking
and
talks
to
customers.
"
it
's
more
fun
than
i
've
had
at
other
jobs
,
because
we
get
to
do
everything
ourselves
,
"
he
says.
and
chavez
says
the
higher-than-average
wages
are
a
big
part
of
his
job
satisfaction.
"
it
feels
good
just
to
be
able
to
pay
my
bills
and
enjoy
a
little
of
life
,
"
chavez
says.
in
the
beginning
,
parker
wasn
't
sure
the
higher
wages
would
be
sustainable.
but
now
the
restaurants
are
thriving.
"
we
're
...
going
to
show
a
profit
in
the
last
quarter
,
"
parker
says.
and
he
and
his
partner
are
planning
to
add
new
locations.
now
in
order
to
make
this
model
work
,
customers
have
to
pay
a
little
more.
grass-fed
moo
burgers
on
a
homeade
buns
start
at
about
$6.
this
compares
to
a
big
mac
,
which
retails
in
the
u.s.
for
about
$4.80.
that
's
a
price
differential
of
just
over
a
dollar.
in
starting
the
company
,
the
founders
says
they
were
motivated
by
the
lack
of
options.
"
we
couldn
't
fine
an
affordable
place
to
take
our
kids
and
grandkids
that
didn
't
have
hormones
,
preservatives
,
"
they
write
on
the
company
's
website.
they
now
vet
their
suppliers
to
make
sure
all
the
food
they
buy
meets
their
specifications
,
and
they
source
their
beef
from
joseph
decuis
wagyu
farm
in
indiana.
"
we
're
building
a
brand
,
"
parker
says.
and
part
of
getting
moo
cluck
moo
out
there
is
telling
people
about
its
sourcing
of
beef
and
chicken
,
and
talking
about
its
commitment
to
paying
people
a
living
wage.
"
i
'm
not
driving
around
in
a
six-figure
sports
car
,
"
parker
says.
but
he
does
have
his
eye
on
the
future.
so
are
small
burger
chains
like
moo
cluck
moo
—
which
are
willing
to
pay
workers
more
and
serve
more
upscale
menus
—
going
to
put
pressure
on
the
giants
such
as
mcdonald
's
and
burger
king
to
raise
wages
?
"
no
,
i
don
't
think
so
,
"
says
michael
strain
,
an
economist
at
the
conservative-leaning
american
enterprise
institute.
strain
says
there
are
two
different
models
here
,
and
two
different
kinds
of
customers.
these
new
chains
appeal
to
people
who
are
willing
to
pay
more
for
food
prepared
from
scratch.
but
,
he
says
,
traditional
fast-food
chains
are
not
going
to
go
away.
"
mcdonald
's
appeals
to
people
who
like
the
dollar
menu
,
and
to
people
for
whom
that
price
point
is
appealing
,
"
he
says.
and
mcdonald
's
will
likely
continue
to
offer
its
dollar
menu
,
and
other
value
pricing
,
as
long
as
it
can
find
people
who
are
willing
to
work
for
the
kind
of
wages
it
currently
offers.
but
if
workers
become
too
expensive
,
strain
argues
we
'll
start
to
see
more
automation
—
and
fewer
fast-food
jobs.
"
imagine
if
some
machine
gets
invented
that
can
operate
the
french
fry
machine
at
mcdonald
's
,
"
strain
says.
that
's
one
less
worker
needed
at
the
fryer.
this
automation
has
been
happening
for
a
while.
strain
says.
when
he
was
a
kid
,
it
was
a
person
—
not
a
soda
machine
—
that
filled
your
cup.