What do you tell a fast-food worker who can’t afford to feed her family on her full-time paycheck?
You can hear the McDonald’s help line’s suggestion in the video above: Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.
A new study finds that 52 percent of fast-food workers receive either SNAP, Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits for themselves or their families, at a cost of $7 billion to taxpayers. That’s more than double the rate of participation in public programs as compared to other industries.
The median wage for fast-food workers is $8.69 an hour. President Obama has proposed a raise in the minimum wage to $9.00 from the current $7.25. The Fight for 15 movement — which is being supported by the SEIU — is pushing for a living wage of $15 an hour for fast-food workers around the nation. Voters in the city of SeaTac, Washington will soon consider a measure to adopt the $15 rate.
