On March 22, the McDonald’s on Sunset Road and Durango Drive unveiled the brand’s first self-service kiosks in Las Vegas. The next day, a Review-Journal editorial gloated, arguing that the machines were a result of “progressives clamoring for Nevada to outlaw more jobs by increasing the minimum wage to $15.” Never mind that the automated technology already exists in more than 2,600 McDonald’s around the world.
Whether or not higher pay kills jobs, if humans enter a wage competition with machines, the robots will win. So what happens between now and when computers bring forth a techno-utopia, eliminating all need for human labor? Well, two minimum wage bills are making their way through Nevada’s legislative session. And Fight for 15 Las Vegas is taking part in a “national day of action” on April 4 to promote workers’ rights and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ¡Viva los humanos!
