McDonald’s Advice To Workers Indicates A Company Ignorant Of Reality
McDonald's suggested workers could save by visiting thrift stores instead of the mall and using stale bread and bruised apples instead of throwing them out.
A McDonalds franchise location in this June 29, 2008 photo. (Photo/NNECAPA via Flickr)
Back in July, McDonald’s promulgated the argument that fast-food workers could survive on minimum wage through careful “budgeting.” This “budgeting” allotted $20 for health care and zero for gas, heat or food.
This “budget,” which was put forth via its Practical Money Skills Budget Journal and published on Visa’s McDonald’s mini-site, seemed to be egregiously out of touch.
“It doesn’t speak to the realities of low-wage workers in the food industry,” said Teo Reyes, the program director for Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. “I think it would be commendable if it was also part of a movement to increase wages. At this point is seems to be disingenuous and insulting.”
Now yet again, McDonald’s is being criticized for employee advice that it published last week. In an article on the McResource Line website, the Fortune 500 company suggested that employees could save money by visiting thrift stores instead of the mall and using stale bread and bruised apples instead of throwing them out.
The article has since been taken down, but according to a screen grab provided by the labor advocacy group Low Pay Is Not OK, McDonald’s suggested that “breaking food into pieces often results in eating less and still feeling full” and that “at least two vacations a year can cut heart attack risk by 50 percent.”
In a discussion about how to dig out from holiday debt, McDonald’s suggested: “You may also want to consider returning some of your unopened purchases that may not seem appealing as they did. Selling some of your unwanted possessions on eBay or Craigslist could bring in some quick cash.”
In a statement to CNBC, a McDonald’s spokeswoman said that Low Pay Is Not Okay has taken the advice out of context and called the campaign “an attempt by an outside organization to undermine a well-intended employee assistance resource website.”
“The vast majority of the resources and information on the site are based on credible outside experts and well-published advice,” she said.
In light of record stock trading and corporate profits, McDonald’s “advice” has been perceived as — while being well-intended — being callous and insensitive to the realities its low wages imposed on its workers. Along with the Cleveland Plain-Dealer article that showed a food donation bin in Wal-Mart where employees are encouraged to donate food to other employees, this reflects a growing situation in America in which employers of low-wage workers are failing to adequately provide for their workers.
“What we have here is one more situation where workers are fairly powerless,” said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. “It raises issues about living wage and minimum wage. It raises a fundamental question about upward mobility.”
In July for Forbes, Laura Shin profiled the existence of a McDonald’s employee living on minimum wage. Shin spoke to Carmen Iverson, 28, of Kansas City, MO, who has been working for McDonald’s for more than a year. She receives less than full-time hours, between 20 and 28 per week, and is paid the Missouri minimum wage while supporting four children alone. She also receives $543 a month from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (food stamps). Iverson’s plight is well-known to many low-wage workers — not having enough money to cover the bills, no savings, no health care coverage, and a general sense of despair.
“If they give us our raise that we’re supposed to get, then I’ll probably make enough money to feed my family, take care of my household, and I might have enough time to find an extra job,” Iverson told Shin. “But I work five days a week, and you can’t get a job on the weekends. I work Monday through Friday. Sometimes I work four days, and sometimes they take it down to three. Like next week, I might only have two days.”
Iverson said any extra money she could get would allow her kids to have new clothes and be able to pay for necessities while they’re in school. Her son is about to graduate from kindergarten, but she told Shin she doesn’t have enough money to get his cap and gown, even though it’s only $20. She also remains behind on her rent and my bills.
When asked about McDonald’s model budget, Iverson responded: “I saw part of it on TV. I saw the first line [income]. It was $1,000 — I don’t make $1,000 in a month.”
No comments:
Post a Comment