Fast Food Workers Unite!

Why are there fast-food workers? Back in the American Graffiti - Fast Times  at Ridgemont High era, fast-food work  provided a kind of rite of passage for teens into college/adulthood. But now, we are told, people are supposed to be making a living off this work. And isn't it interesting how the typical news report on this topic never mentions immigration?

But is there any function in the fast-food work stream that a machine couldn't do better? Perhaps you might want an assistant manager there to monitor things and deal with non-technical customers. But overall the industry just seems ripe for an automation revolution, particularly in the wake of this strike.