With all the talk going on these days about the minimum wage and wanting to bump it up to $10.10 an hour (I guess that was a good compromise between $9.09 and $11.11), I couldn't help but think back to how much I got paid on my first job back in 1969 (while in High School)...$1.65 (Full-Time).

http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/chart.htm

I think somewhere in the $9 range.

catch22...what year?

My first job was at a grocery store when i was 15 I think I made around $3.50 an hour that was 1989 , When I got married in 1993 I was making $4.75 and i still work at the same place. Bought my first new car, Bought our first house, and had our first child in 94.

I threw papers, sold doughnuts, neither of which was hourly, and then worked as a sack boy at the Reding Shopping Center Humpty Dumpty grocery store. That was my first hourly wage and it was 50 cents per hour. I got a 5 cent raise when I moved to the produce department. That was in 1957. When I was 16 (1959) I was making $1.25 at a Phillips 66 service station and then for the board of education, maintenance section as a summer hire. It went downhill from there, I joined the Navy for $78 per month. That averages 41.25 cents per hour.
C. T.

My first job doing maintenance at a hotel near I-40 & Meridian in 1976 was $2.25 an hour.

I still have a pay stub.

I think 2.35/HR at Han's BBQ in 1979.

catch22...what year?

Oops, sorry for some reason I thought the title said How much do you think it should be.

I think it was around $3.25/hour. This would be around '83/'84.

I threw papers, sold doughnuts, neither of which was hourly.

I delivered papers in the morning before school (6th grade)...1963-64, and I sold Greeting Cards door-to-door too. That was on top of all the chores I had to do that I got .50 (fifty cents) allowance for each week.

My first job was at a grocery store when i was 15 I think I made around $3.50 an hour that was 1989 , When I got married in 1993 I was making $4.75 and i still work at the same place. Bought my first new car, Bought our first house, and had our first child in 94.

Wow. You were able to buy a new car and a house and pay the hospital on less than $10,000.

I hope you're at least paying your fair share of taxes on the millions you've made since on your guidebook: "How to buy a house, a new car and have a baby on less than $40 a day."

:wink:

I was a carhop at sonic and made I wanna say next to nothing this was in the late 70s ,also had a job at a grocery store making around 3.15 I wanna say. Also worked as a "gopher" at a construction site {cowboys, cimmaron steak house} at about 16-17 which was 6 bucks an hour 40 hours a week and paid a check with no taxes taken out which was 240 a week. Entered the USMC at 17 and the base pay was im gonna say around 4-500 a month.

My job in college was at a nationwide printer. It was a union shop (International Typographical Union of America) and my starting wage was based on a negotiated contract between the ITU and the labor relations people at the main company headquarters.. It was $5.75 in 1979. But it was a good company and we had good union leadership. Today the ITU is a part of the CWA, and they are a shadow of their former self with so-called "Right-To-Work" laws and elimination of the law that forbade replacement workers (which, frankly, only left organized labor alive as a union in name only and no clout). Ironically, a few years after I left my job, Ronald Reagan was chastising Poland for a "lack of free trade unions" and claimed that was THE marker for a democracy. The company I worked for made a lot of money, but it was also a day when many employers understood the fairness of a balance between labor and capital. That's all gone now in just about every business that was once organized. Everyone is out for themselves in the marketplace and if you want a raise, you go - on your own with no clout- and try to negotiate one-on-one. Good luck with that! Capital runs everything. A year later I took a job for $2.79 an hour in another city, while finishing up my education.

zookeeper...what about the babysitting jobs? :-)

zookeeper...what about the babysitting jobs? :-)

Excuse me, Dennis, I don't understand your question as I've never babysat in my life. Are you maybe thinking of someone else?

I'm sorry...I thought ALL teenage girls babysat in high school (not meaning to sound "sexist"). In other words, I was trying to be a lil bit funny. My bad.

I guess my avatar made you think I was a woman. I am very much a man. To avoid confusion, I changed my avatar reflecting my post

I guess my avatar made you think I was a woman. I am very much a man. To avoid confusion, I changed my avatar reflecting my post

Oh Shi*! LOL!!!!! First time in my life I mistook a man for a woman! That will NEVER happen again!

Oh Shi*! LOL!!!!! First time in my life I mistook a man for a woman! That will NEVER happen again!

It's okay, the avatar would have thrown anyone. It never really hit me until your comment. It's okay, no offense taken.

You guys crack me up. Zookeeper, he paid you a compliment! :)

I was paid $1.25 an hour in 1973 as a cashier at Shepherd Twin Theater. Sold a lot of popcorn and watched a lot of movies for free. When they showed the Exorcist, they actually brought in a nurse to sit at a little table wearing a little white nurse's uniform. She dealt with people getting the vapors from the associated hysteria. When they bumped me up to $1.35 I was so proud.

Sacked groceries at United Supermarket in Enid for $4.25 starting in 1993. They gave automatic 25 cent raises for every 1040 hours worked. I had two of those under my belt when minimum wage went to $4.75 on its way to $5.15. I was not given a raise to compensate for that, so when I left that job in the summer of 1998, I still made minimum wage ($5.15).

My first job was part-time retail sales at Oklahoma Photo Supply, 315 N. Broadway, and it paid me 50 cents an hour plus commission on certain items. That was enough to pay for my first professional camera, a 4x5 Speed Graphic -- bought from the same location (the job was arranged to let me work to pay for it). I was in high school at the time -- 1947.

I made $1.95 at Mickey D's in 1971, which, if I remember correctly, was 20 cents above the minimum of the moment.

In 1972 as an Army private, I made something like $288 a month.

I enlisted in the Air Force in January of 1973.

Historical Military Pay Rates | Military.com (http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/charts/historical-military-pay-rates.html)

You guys crack me up. Zookeeper, he paid you a compliment! :)

I was paid $1.25 an hour in 1973 as a cashier at Shepherd Twin Theater. Sold a lot of popcorn and watched a lot of movies for free. When they showed the Exorcist, they actually brought in a nurse to sit at a little table wearing a little white nurse's uniform. She dealt with people getting the vapors from the associated hysteria. When they bumped me up to $1.35 I was so proud.

I think I spent half my teenage years at the Shepherd Twin! Was George Gaughan the manager when you worked there? He actually owned the Continental in OKC, Denver and Tulsa. But for some reason, I also want to place him involved at Shepherd Twin during that time.

First job was at Sonic in 1962 making onion rings & fries. Paid 50 cents/hr. Worked at a grocery store in high school & made 1.10 hr. Went in the Navy in 1966 starting at $100/mo.

Wow. You were able to buy a new car and a house and pay the hospital on less than $10,000.

I hope you're at least paying your fair share of taxes on the millions you've made since on your guidebook: "How to buy a house, a new car and have a baby on less than $40 a day."

:wink:

Nobody said it was easy, my wife worked also... Our first house was 30k and my first truck was a dodge Dakota. I had saved up from the time I was 15 , things just always ended up working out for us. I was at times extremely hard but we survived and made our dreams reality. I wished more people had the gumption to go after it.... Because it can be done.

Nobody said it was easy, my wife worked also... Our first house was 30k and my first truck was a dodge Dakota. I had saved up from the time I was 15 , things just always ended up working out for us. I was at times extremely hard but we survived and made our dreams reality. I wished more people had the gumption to go after it.... Because it can be done.

Great it worked out for you, but others aren't so lucky and it has nothing to do with how hard you work. What would have happened if you, or your wife, would have had a serious illness at that time? Many people have the "gumption to go after it," but find themselves in circumstances not of their own making; or they worked and worked and worked and never saw anything close to a decent living while the ownership lived off their labor and saw them as expendable. It's not as black and white as you make things, Garin.

Absent an illness or something like that, it can be done but it isn't ever easy. It definitely WON'T be done if people are spending their money on gum and that's a fact. Let's face it, back in those days, the idea of paying for cable, cellphone, internet, etc. wasn't even on the radar and that's no chump change. We also didn't take nice vacations, eat out much and do a lot of things we do, these days. Simpler time.

Great it worked out for you, but others aren't so lucky and it has nothing to do with how hard you work. What would have happened if you, or your wife, would have had a serious illness at that time? Many people have the "gumption to go after it," but find themselves in circumstances not of their own making; or they worked and worked and worked and never saw anything close to a decent living while the ownership lived off their labor and saw them as expendable. It's not as black and white as you make things, Garin.

I liked it better when I thought you were a woman, you have so many excuses for people it's unreal. I don't think that an illness would affect me my whole life I have a drive to be successful and nothing keeps me down......

1969, Coits, 39th and Penn, Car Hop, .35/hr plus tips.
My first real full time job, 1976, Western Electric, 4.22/hr. Union job that included medical benefits and vacation time.

1969, Coits, 39th and Penn, Car Hop, .35/hr plus tips.
My first real full time job, 1976, Western Electric, 4.22/hr. Union job that included medical benefits and vacation time.

Did they have chicken fried steak biscuits back then?

Did they have chicken fried steak biscuits back then?

I'm pretty sure Coits in 1969 was just a burger and fries drive in. Their big thing was their root beer in frosted mugs. I was either 13 or 14 when I worked there, it may have been 1968. I do remember that if you came up short on what money you should have collected for the night they took it out of your paltry pay. That evil Don Coit getting fat off my labor.

I liked it better when I thought you were a woman, you have so many excuses for people it's unreal. I don't think that an illness would affect me my whole life I have a drive to be successful and nothing keeps me down......
Wait. What? I feel insulted!

Gjl,
They I have been eating their hot dogs since the late 40's when they were Weber's. I don't even remember their hamburgers, but I'm sure they had them. Their ham sandwich was my wife's favorite.
C. T.
I'm pretty sure Coits in 1969 was just a burger and fries drive in. Their big thing was their root beer in frosted mugs.

Wait. What? I feel insulted!

Lol

Gjl,
They I have been eating their hot dogs since the late 40's when they were Weber's. I don't even remember their hamburgers, but I'm sure they had them. Their ham sandwich was my wife's favorite.
C. T.
Their are webers in Tulsa are they connected to coits in some way?

Gjl,
They I have been eating their hot dogs since the late 40's when they were Weber's. I don't even remember their hamburgers, but I'm sure they had them. Their ham sandwich was my wife's favorite.
C. T.

Chili cheeseburgers were pretty good too, but 99% of the time, I went there for the chili dogs

Oh, and pertaining to the OP, Del Rancho at 59th & Agnew $1.25 an hour washing dishes around 1973 or so.

Gjl,
They I have been eating their hot dogs since the late 40's when they were Weber's...
C. T.
Coit's served some good hot dogs. Schwab's you know! The rest was in
the simplicity of the condiments.

My first job was $5 dollars a day. I then moved to, I believe this is correct,
to a minimum wage job that paid $1.15.

Oy! Sometimes a $1.15 sounds like good money, especially when I'm not
working! LOL!

... I do remember that if you came up short on what money you should have
collected for the night they took it out f your paltry pay. That evil Don
Coit getting fat off my labor.
That's why he gave you the use of a .357. It was to encourage proper
payment or you'd put an irreparable bullet in their radiator or give them
2 flats.

Garin,
Not connected with Coit's but they were part of the Weber's chain when Coit bought them. I have researched this in the past (for this board) and I believe Coit bought it in 1952 and changed the name to Coit's in 1959. Their root beer is (or was) exactly the same recipe.
C. T.
Their are webers in Tulsa are they connected to coits in some way?

No it was more if you made a mistake making change. And I thought saying it was a basic burger and fries joint would have included hot dogs without mentioning them but I guess not. I sure don't remember ham sandwiches at Coits but it was 45 years ago.

No it was more if you made a mistake making change...
The use of the .357 was also intended to encourage tipping beyond the usual
10 cents. A gun in the face was good for at least a quarter which was
sufficient to restore order to your math skills. You should have come out
ahead. Even south siders knew that, which is why there was an abundance
of flat tire repairs.

My first job was working on our family farm. Most of my pay was in the form of having a place to sleep and food to eat. LOL

I think, when hauling hay, I was maybe paid $.10 per bale. My first real job away from home paid $400.00 per month and I thought I was in heaven.

Gjl,
Sorry, I didn't read it that way, and you are right, most burger places sell hot dogs. But I meant it when I said I didn't even remember burgers, or for that matter the ham sandwich. I always remember that numbered list of dogs, mine was a number 7, chili and onions. They served the ham sandwiches from at least 1963, the first time my girlfriend (wife to be) ordered one) till they closed. Dianna was still under an anesthetic from a procedure when she told me to stop at Coit's and get a ham sandwich to take home. That was in the early 2000's.
C. T.
No it was more if you made a mistake making change. And I thought saying it was a basic burger and fries joint would have included hot dogs without mentioning them but I guess not. I sure don't remember ham sandwiches at Coits but it was 45 years ago.

Minimum wage should be high enough so that two people working a combine 48 hours per week and supporting 2 children should not qualify for any federal social benefits. We have to kill off the low-wage business model where employers are shifting an increasing amount of their employee compensation to the taxpayers.

Minimum wage should be high enough so that two people working a combine 48 hours per week and supporting 2 children should not qualify for any federal social benefits. We have to kill off the low-wage business model where employers are shifting an increasing amount of their employee compensation to the taxpayers.

This is why getting the minimum wage to something around $12 with a reasonable cost of health insurance is important. $12 an hour full time for two people is 50k per year, if they also do have health insurance so medical issues won't blow them up that should provide a decent working class secure lifestyle. This would mean the working poor would not have to be a drain on the taxpayers. Tell me again how paying people a decent wage for labor so they don't have to rely on welfare is not a conservative ideal?

Tell me again how paying people a decent wage for labor so they don't have to rely on welfare is not a conservative ideal?

I wish I had an answer for you on this one because this make total sense to me. If McWalmart needs fries fried or boxes unboxed they should pay the full cost of getting that work done and not use the welfare/social system to make up the wage deficiency.

So should that be the minimum wage for the 17 year old high school kid still living with mom and dad?

So should that be the minimum wage for the 17 year old high school kid still living with mom and dad?

When I was 17 I had my own apartment - so the answer is Yes. Besides, what does living with mom and dad have to do with anything as there are plenty of 29 year olds living at home these days. A company has a job they need done so why shouldn't they pay what it cost to perform that job?

When I was 17 I had my own apartment - so the answer is Yes. Besides, what does living with mom and dad have to do with anything as there are plenty of 29 year olds living at home these days. A company has a job they need done so why shouldn't they pay what it cost to perform that job?

They are right now. If there were no applicants to perform that job at the wage they are offering then they would have to raise the wage for that job until they got someone to accept it. If that were not the case then wouldn't everyone be working for the current minimum wage?.

When you go to McWalmart part of the new hire sales pitch is the government benefits you qualify for. All the employee cares about is total compensation (wage + social benefits) just like all workers at every level care about (wage, fringe benefits, healthcare, 401K etc...). McWalmart pay $9/hr plus you get $200 per month in food stamps, ACA healthcare subsidy of $300 per month, etc... All the employee cares about is the bottom line and all employer cares about is there share of it, and finding ways to reduce that share. As taxpayers, we have a 3rd party financial interest in this arrangement. We aren't getting any of the direct benefits and are getting stuck with an increasingly large bill.

Companies need to pay their workers enough to keep them off the public dole. If they won't do it themselves we need to make them do it.

Seems this topic always goes back to McDonalds and Walmart. Have you applied for a job at Walmart? Or is what you are saying they do just what you have heard? Why is the problem what the employers pay and not the generous Government benefits? And this will be my last reply as this is getting off what the thread was intended for.

Perhaps the problem is that we have, over the years, raised the "poverty line" used to qualify for all those benefits too far above the income level provided by the minimum-wage law. If we simply made the benefits available ONLY to those making less than minimum wage, then it would be up to employers to pay enough to get the jobs done.

Of course, some smart MBAs would hire twice as many workers and put each on 20-hour weeks, so that everyone qualified for the benefits. No foolproof plan can survive the evolution of smarter fools. To some degree this is already happening, but for different reasons.

Seems this topic always goes back to McDonalds and Walmart. Have you applied for a job at Walmart? Or is what you are saying they do just what you have heard? Why is the problem what the employers pay and not the generous Government benefits? And this will be my last reply as this is getting off what the thread was intended for.

I use McWalmart as a euphemism for the low wage model regardless of which company uses it - be it Marriott, Carnival Cruise Lines, or the local call center.

On your second point - we did get way off the beaten path didn't we. My first W-2 job paid me $3.35 per hour. That was in 1985.

How much should an RN make if a guy flipping burgers is 12 bucks

Gjl,
I found an article about Weber's and when Coit purchased them, they didn't sell hamburgers (or ham sandwiches), just hot dogs, root beer, orange, and grape drinks. The article is in the Daily Oklahoman that was published November 1, 1981. That's why I said what I said earlier, but with my senile brain, I assumed they probably made hamburgers. There's an old rule, never change your first answer. I realize this is off topic, sorry. If you would like to see the article, pm me and I will send it.
C. T.
No it was more if you made a mistake making change. And I thought saying it was a basic burger and fries joint would have included hot dogs without mentioning them but I guess not. I sure don't remember ham sandwiches at Coits but it was 45 years ago.

Perhaps the problem is that we have, over the years, raised the "poverty line" used to qualify for all those benefits too far above the income level provided by the minimum-wage law. If we simply made the benefits available ONLY to those making less than minimum wage, then it would be up to employers to pay enough to get the jobs done.

Of course, some smart MBAs would hire twice as many workers and put each on 20-hour weeks, so that everyone qualified for the benefits. No foolproof plan can survive the evolution of smarter fools. To some degree this is already happening, but for different reasons.
IMO, poverty line and minimum wage not adjusted to region is wacky.

Gjl,
I couldn't figure out how to attach this to a pm, so hopefully you can read the article on this post. Here goes nothing.
C. T.
6637
No it was more if you made a mistake making change. And I thought saying it was a basic burger and fries joint would have included hot dogs without mentioning them but I guess not. I sure don't remember ham sandwiches at Coits but it was 45 years ago.