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McDonald’s

When McDonalds Came To Denmark

September 21, 2021 Matt Bruenig. , , ,
Every few months, a prominent person or publication points out that McDonalds workers in Denmark receive $22 per hour, 6 weeks of vacation, and sick pay. This compensation comes on top of the general slate of social benefits in Denmark, which includes child allowances, health care, child care, paid leave, retirement, and education through college, among other things. In these discussions, relatively little is said about how this all came to be. This is sad because it’s a good story and because the story provides a good window into why Nordic labor markets are the way they are. McDonalds opened its first store in Denmark in 1981. At that point, it was operating in over 20 countries and had successfully avoided unions in all but one, Sweden.

McDonald’s Employees Walk Out

September 7, 2021 Daniella Griesbaum, The Bradford Era. , , ,
Citing unresolved complaints, disparities in wages with other businesses, staffing shortages and issues with building maintenance, the entire staff of the McDonald’s in Bradford who worked the weekend morning shift walked out in protest Sunday morning. Due to the lack of staff, the franchise was forced to close for several hours until alternative staff from other McDonald’s franchises could arrive. According to a former employee who said he quit last week after working for the store for more than a decade, and who asked not to be named, “this is not the first incident of employees walking out of the Bradford store due to issues with executive management.” He said that last summer, during a night shift, the staff left due to an ongoing issue with the air conditioning units in the kitchen not functioning properly.

Animal Extinction Protesters Blockade McDonalds Factory

July 17, 2021 Charlene Rodrigues, The Independent. , , ,
Animal Rebellion protesters have barricaded a McDonald's factory in Scunthorpe in a move to get the burger chain to switch to an entirely "plant-based food menu by 2025." The ‘animal and climate justice’ movement said that around 100 protestors set up a blockade using trucks, tents, bamboo structures in the early hours of Thursday morning to stop the facility from distributing burgers. Trucks with the sign “McMurder” stood outside the factory while police vans encircled the area. The campaigners, urging others to join in, said they will stay as long as it takes until McDonald’s commits to changing towards a plant-based menu. Accusing the global fast-food chain of poor labour conditions and wreaking havoc on the environment, the activists said that they would end the blockade if McDonald’s makes the first step towards this goal by committing to becoming 20 per cent plant-based within one year.

United Kingdom: Animal Rights Group Blockades McDonalds

May 24, 2021 Colin Drury, Independent. , , ,
Environmental activits are blockading four McDonald's distribution centres in a bid to stop deliveries to the fast food giant’s restaurants across the country this weekend. Animal Rebellion say that some 50 demonstrators have used trucks and bamboo towers to stop lorries leaving depots in Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Coventry and Heywood in Greater Manchester. They have poured fake animal blood over signage with some protesters dressed as the chain’s mascot, Ronald McDonald. Demonstrators say they are targeting the chain because of its “role in the climate emergency" and are demanding McDonald’s – which has 1,300 restaurants across the UK – commits to being fully plant-based by 2025.

Nationwide McDonald’s Strike Rejects ‘PR Stunt’ Wage Hike Plan

May 21, 2021 People's Dispatch. , , ,
Thousands of workers of McDonald’s chain in 15 cities across the United States went on strike for wage hikes. On Wednesday, May 19, workers organized in the “Fight for 15” campaign participated in the one-day strike action across the country demanding that the minimum wages for workers at the McDonald’s chains be hiked to USD 15 per hour and the right to unionize.

90-Day Protest Begins At McDonald’s Headquarters

February 23, 2021 Manny Ramos, Chicago Sun Times. , ,
Chicago - Community organizers on Monday kicked off 90 days of picketing at McDonald’s world headquarters in the West Loop, hoping to call attention to what they say are discriminatory practices against Black-owned franchises. “We are coming after every McDonald’s that we shop in,” activist Mark Carter said Monday morning. “We send this message starting today that if you don’t want to see us outside of your headquarters, then it would be in your best interest to sit down with those who have traveled 700 miles from Memphis, Tennessee.” The protest was organized ahead of a meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Chicago between McDonald’s executives and two brothers from Memphis, James Byrd and Darrell Byrd, who own four locations between them.

McDonald’s Workers Across The US Strike To Protest Coronavirus Working Conditions

May 21, 2020 Staff, RT. , , ,
Hundreds of McDonald’s workers in the US are protesting unsatisfactory working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, with some quitting and others decrying the risk they say they’re being exposed to from Covid-19. Strikes took place in over 20 cities across the US, including Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose in California, as well as St. Louis, Missouri, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The protests were planned for Wednesday, ahead of the company’s annual shareholders meeting the following day.  Some vehicles also blocked drive-throughs and sported signs asking for an increase in their wages and better access to personal protective equipment. 

Workers File Sexual Harassment Class-Action Lawsuit Against McDonald’s

April 16, 2020 Kate Taylor, Business Insider. , , ,
On Monday, Florida McDonald's workers announced they had filed a $500 million class-action lawsuit against McDonald's, alleging the fast-food giant has a "systemic sexual harassment problem."  Jamelia Fairley and Ashley Reddick are the named plaintiffs in the suit, which was filed on behalf of the 5,000 women who worked at the 100 corporate-run McDonald's locations in Florida since 2016. Fairley and Reddick were coworkers at a McDonald's location in Florida, where they say that women faced physical assaults, groping, and sexually-charged comments on the job.  Reddick said she dealt with sexual comments from a male coworker, who said things such as "I didn't know you had boobs like that." The coworker allegedly would rub his groin against Reddick and showed her a picture of his private parts on his phone without her consent.

McDonald’s Workers Go On Strike Over Unsafe Conditions, Lost Hours, Pay Cuts

April 2, 2020 BizJournals.com. , , , ,
St. Louis, MO - Some McDonald's workers in St. Louis, Tampa and Memphis have gone on strike to protest unsafe working conditions, pay cuts and lost hours. More than 100 workers across the three cities have walked off the job or waged stay-at-home strikes, according to a news release. While McDonald's U.S. locations have closed their dining areas, the stores are still serving customers via drive-thru, take-out and the company's McDelivery service. Some McDonald's workers in Tampa kicked off the strike on Tuesday, alleging the company would not allow them to wear face masks. The walkout was reported on Twitter by Fight for $15, a global movement that advocates for workers' rights and a $15 minimum wage. The group has created a petition demanding that McDonald's provide paid sick leave for all workers, among other COVID-19 related demands.

McDonalds’ Workers Strike Is About Workplace Democracy

November 19, 2019 Eli Day, Inthesetimes.com , , ,
On Tuesday, over 1,000 people gathered for a strike action at a McDonald's location on Detroit’s East Side. The workers, who were fighting for basic workplace dignity, a fair wage and a union, showed that they’re ready to raise hell in the face of injustice by standing together. That’s how Patricia Moseley, who has worked for McDonald’s for 34 years, describes her experience of solidarity during the strike. “We always get each other’s backs,” Moseley says. “When I see people out here, doing the same thing I'm doing, it makes me feel like ‘Hey, everybody can do this.’ Come and join us. You ain't gotta be scared.”

McDonald’s, UberEats And Wetherspoon Workers Strike Over Pay

October 5, 2018 Staff, Bbc.com ,
UberEats riders and a small number of workers from JD Wetherspoon, McDonald's and TGI Fridays have been staging walkouts in a pay dispute. Protests were being held in several UK cities, along with a rally in London. The industrial action was organised in tandem with strikes by fast-food workers on four continents. UberEats, JD Wetherspoon, TGI Friday's and McDonald's have all defended their record on pay. The rally in London's Leicester Square was addressed by TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady and shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Mr McDonnell said: "Our message to exploitative employers is that we are coming for you."

McDonald’s Workers Strike Over Widespread Sexual Harassment

September 20, 2018 Naomi LaChance, Truthdig.com , , , ,
McDonald’s workers in 10 U.S. cities plan to strike Tuesday at lunchtime over sexual harassment and subsequent retaliation at the fast-food company. “Whatever [anti-harassment] policy they have is not effective,” Mary Joyce Carlson, an attorney with Fight for $15, a fair pay organization, told The Associated Press. Carlson has been working with 10 McDonald’s workers who filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about predatory workplace behavior including groping and propositions for sex. “I couldn’t deal with it physically, just going into the workplace,” Tanya Harrel said. Harrel, who claims to have experienced sexual harassment twice from two different coworkers over the course of a month at a New Orleans McDonald’s, filed a complaint with the EEOC backed by the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.

Labor Groups Drop #OurWalmart. Who Will Fund Their Fight?

June 3, 2016 Dave Jamieson, www.huffingtonpost.com , ,
By Dave Jamieson for The Huffington Post - In 2013, Janet Sparks and five co-workers went on strike at a Walmart store in Baker, Louisiana. The group rode in a caravan to Bentonville, Arkansas, taking their grievances to the company’s shareholder meeting. The experience of walking off the job in protest was exhilarating, but also unnerving. “It’s always a scary thing for a worker to go up against the largest employer in the U.S.,” Sparks, 55, said. “There are co-workers around you who are afraid. But we believed in what we were doing.”

Brazil Opens Federal Investigation Of McDonalds

March 4, 2016 Giovanna Frank-Vitale, www.popularresistance.org , , ,
By Giovanna Frank-Vitale. March 3, 2016 - Today a federal prosecutor in Brazil opened a criminal investigation (attached) into alleged “fiscal and economic crimes” by McDonald’s. The prosecutor’s office said it will look into suspected tax evasion and violations of Brazil’s franchise and competition laws. He issued an indictment against McDonald’s, which will require the company to appear before the federal prosecutor for a deposition and to turn over all documents related to the case. This just broke in Brazil. It’s a criminal investigation into how McDonald’s does business and it could have major implications for how the company conducts its operations around the globe and could prompt similar investigations worldwide. It’s a huge development—the equivalent here in the States would be the Justice Department opening an investigation.

McDonald’s Franchise Owners: Fast Food Giant “Facing Its Final Days”

October 19, 2015 Nick Bernabe, www.theantimedia.org ,
By Nick Bernabe for Antimedia - San Diego, CA — Embattled fast food giant McDonald’s is making headlines yet again. The company has just launched its much advertised all-day breakfast program, but as that campaign rolls out, franchise owners are voicing their concerns over what may be the company’s dying days. As we covered at Anti-Media in June, the McDonald’s franchise has been shrinking for the first time in the company’s over 40 year history: “McDonald’s announced in April that it would be closing 700 ‘underperforming’ locations, but because of the company’s sheer size — it has 14,300 locations in the United States alone — this was not necessarily a reduction in the size of the company, especially because it continues to open locations around the world. It still has more than double the locations of Burger King, its closest competitor.”
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