Minimum wage has been an issue in the western world for decades now, and as the years go by, not much have change. US federal min. wage is at 7.25$ since 2009 with a few states above 14$. In Canada, it’s in average around 12$, but they have a lot more benefits than US worker.
So to see how we can shook things up a bit, and see what the Rest of the World Workers Should Learn from Denmark Mcdonald’s Employees, today we will discuss the article of Matt Brunig:"McDonald's Workers in Denmark Won Good Pay and Benefits Through Striking".
So who's Matthew Brunig:
Matthew Brunig is an American lawyer, blogger, policy analyst. He founded the leftist think tank People's Policy Project. He has written extensively on social justice issues such as discrimination, wealth redistribution and democracy.
So you've probably seen it quickly on Slate, or Huffington post: McDonald's workers in Denmark earn $22 an hour, six weeks vacation and sick pay. All this is in addition to the general list of social benefits in Denmark, which includes, among others, child benefit, health care, childcare, paid holidays, retirement and university education.
The public discussions that these articles spark generally gloss over how it all happened. And as Bruenig puts it, It's a shame because it's a really interesting story and because this story helps to understand why the working conditions in the Nordic countries are what they are today.
McDonald's opened its first restaurant in Denmark in 1981...
sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/03/08/denmark-minimum-wage-mcdonalds-aoc/
https://jacobin.com/2021/09/denmark-mcdonalds-labor-unions-strikes-wages-benefits
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/opinion/sunday/us-denmark-economy.html