Letters: Wage gap isn’t just in fast food
Re “Stepping up from flipping burgers,” Editorial, Sept. 2
I thank fast-food workers for raising an important issue. Wages have been stagnant for too long.
But there are many other jobs that require more training and responsibility that are underpaid. Here are some examples I found in L.A. County alone: An entry-level cardiac electrodiagnostic technician earns about $13.70 an hour, and an entry-level mental health advocate makes about $12 an hour.
Granted, these people get benefits, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into good take-home pay that covers the rent or buys food.
Raise the minimum wage for everyone to $15 an hour. Maybe then more people would be able to rely less on government assistance. Prices will go up regardless of the minimum wage, but wages need to go up occasionally too.
Mary Edwards
Los Angeles
To borrow a phrase from your editorial, “it is worth noting” that if corporations would quit shipping American jobs overseas, there might not even be an unemployment problem. How long has it been since you called a customer service center and spoke to someone in the United States?
Corporations are making massive profits with cheap foreign labor while U.S. citizens stand in the unemployment line.
Barbara Schiffler
Encinitas
ALSO:
A cure for the common opinion
Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
