Members of Jobs with Justice lead workers and advocates as they protest in December for a minimum-wage increase at a McDonald&#8217;s in Denver.
Members of Jobs with Justice lead workers and advocates as they protest in December for a minimum-wage increase at a McDonald's in Denver. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

The temperature had dropped well below zero at 5:45 a.m. on Dec. 5. But that did not deter the group of 75 bundled-up fast-food workers and their supporters who demonstrated in front of the McDonald's on West Colfax Avenue in Denver for higher wages and the right to unionize.



The wage gap between top management and low-level employees in the fast-food industry is one of the most egregious in the nation. The National Employment Law Project found that in 2012, the CEO of McDonald's raked in about $13.8 million. That is an estimated 737 times the yearly income of his average worker.

Naturally, the National Restaurant Association, which represents the large chains like McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King, is fighting the wage increase. The association maintains that a livable wage would force their companies to raise prices, lose customers, fire employees and contribute to unemployment.


Many economists disagree. Arindrajit Dube, a University of Massachusetts professor who has researched minimum wage issues for more than two decades, wrote recently in The New York Times, "While higher minimum wages raise earnings of low-wage workers, they do not have a detectable impact on employment."

Ron Shaich, boss of Panera, a chain of 1,800 eateries, stands out as an exception to the industry's line. According to The Economist, Shaich "backs an increase in the minimum wage so long as it applies to everyone."



A constitutional amendment passed by Colorado voters in 2006 raised the state's minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.85 that year, and mandated that it be adjusted for inflation annually in the future. Therefore, on Jan. 1, our minimum wage went from $7.78 to $8 an hour.

Linda Meric, national executive director of 9to5, which helped spearhead the 2006 constitutional amendment, says that this small raise "puts a little more money in the pockets of Colorado's lowest-wage workers to spend on essentials that will help their families and our local economy. But it is still not enough."



I'd pay that, wouldn't you?
