First, let's look at the stated goal of the protests--to get McDonald's to pay its workers $15.00 an hour. Presumably, other large employers will be targeted at some point, since it would be rather discriminatory to only fight for McDonalds' workers wouldn't it? The narrative goes like this, McDonald's earns lots and lots of money by using near-slave labor. And since McDonald's is such a large corporation, making so much money, the workers are entitled to nearly double the money they agreed to when they willingly accepted the job at McDonald's. Got it?
For its part, McDonald's says it will pay the demanded sum for employees at corporate-owned stores (almost sounds like a ransom) and enable those employees after a year of employment, to accrue up to five paid days-off. McDonald's will also subsidize some educational costs for all 750,000 U.S. workers, including those at franchises. The educational program will let employees get their high school diploma for free on line--the costs can range from $200-$1,500. The company will also provide $700 in tuition assistance for earning college credits in McDonalds' training program. This should be interesting. According to the Wall Street Journal, last year, McDonalds' net income fell 15% to $4.76 billion and revenue fell 2% to 27.4 billion dollars. Growing competition and increased customer dissatisfaction in food and service were cited as reasons for the declines. Not only that, the franchisees are not nearly as comfy as they once were, with increased demands from corporate, and of course the pressure to "supersize my check."
Now let's look at another aspect of this issue, the incredible lack of transparency. Far be it from the media to shed some light on the fact that the protests have been carefully orchestrated by SEIU and executed by those ACORN off-shoots, with the help of socialists groups. To the casual observer, the protests seem spontaneous, and the protesters on television, sympathetic. I think it would serve everyone better if it were widely known that SEIU is paying big money to the off-shoots around the country to fish for protesters, (they sometimes lie to get people to sign-up), they're also paying public relations companies millions of dollars to craft the narrative and place stories in the media. They're flying protesters from around the country to organize and disrupt when necessary. Oh no, this is no ragtag operation. This is big time labor union organizing. If you want to read more about the start of the effort to get higher wages for fast-food workers, then you should read "Fight For 15 Confidential." It's a piece in the left-leaning In These Times from 2013!
Here's the bottom line...this so-called fight for higher wages for the poor down-trodden McDonald's worker is not about helping poor, down-trodden workers. This is a power play. SEIU is making another attempt to grow it's ranks. They tried it with Walmart and failed. They have similar efforts underway including college and university adjunct professors, warehouse workers, home healthcare workers and the immigration issue. Big unions have deep pockets and they know how to use their money. It makes me wonder why Mayor Daley fought so hard to keep Walmart and other so-call big box stores out of the city, particularly on the south and west sides, when the residents of those areas were clamoring for jobs and places to shop. Remember, the retailers would not agree to unionize their workforce.
This is not said very often, but I'm going to say it, unions have lost their way, and to a large degree, their necessity. Today, they are about building and wielding power and influence. These are not the same unions of times past when there were no laws to protect workers--no 40 hour work week, no OSHA, no legal protections--the unions helped bring us to a place where workplaces throughout the country are better, and American workers are grateful. Thankfully, laws have been enacted to protect the American worker. But that doesn't stop big labor from aggressively trying to grow it's numbers. Of course in doing so, they get more union dues and have influence over larger numbers of people, which means greater influence in federal, state and local elections. Signing up more members (like the hundreds of thousands of McDonald's workers--should they unionize), means union leaders get sweet bonuses and their golden parachutes will glisten even more.
So please, don't get trapped in nostalgia. Today, the top 10 labor unions along, pump tens of millions of dollars into the coffers of the democratic party and hundreds of thousands into the coffers of the republicans. Officials in the unions earn the kind of salaries that put them on par with some corporate executives. Interestingly, the AFL-CIO released data to the media showing that corporate executives earn 331 times the average workers' salary. Perhaps they should have also released data to show how much more union leaders earn over their hard-working, dues-paying members. You can get a good idea of how much more by looking at this list.
I understand that people want to improve their standard of living, so do I. It's the kind of thing a free people can not only dream about, but work towards. So I don't have a problem with the idea, just the method. If big labor wants to increase its membership, they should go about that task with integrity. Since the top 10 unions have combined assets of over a billion dollars, why not launch a legitimate marketing campaign highlighting the benefits of membership in their organizations? Make the case for joining your union. How about working with other big labor unions like the National Education Association? Low-skilled, poorly educated workers can greatly benefit from improved reading scores and graduation rates. And finally, since SEIU PACS have donated well over $100 million dollars to democrats since 2008 (includes the past four election cycles), why not ask the president to focus on job creation instead of minimum wage hikes at fast food outlets?
For its part, McDonald's says it will pay the demanded sum for employees at corporate-owned stores (almost sounds like a ransom) and enable those employees after a year of employment, to accrue up to five paid days-off. McDonald's will also subsidize some educational costs for all 750,000 U.S. workers, including those at franchises. The educational program will let employees get their high school diploma for free on line--the costs can range from $200-$1,500. The company will also provide $700 in tuition assistance for earning college credits in McDonalds' training program. This should be interesting. According to the Wall Street Journal, last year, McDonalds' net income fell 15% to $4.76 billion and revenue fell 2% to 27.4 billion dollars. Growing competition and increased customer dissatisfaction in food and service were cited as reasons for the declines. Not only that, the franchisees are not nearly as comfy as they once were, with increased demands from corporate, and of course the pressure to "supersize my check."
Now let's look at another aspect of this issue, the incredible lack of transparency. Far be it from the media to shed some light on the fact that the protests have been carefully orchestrated by SEIU and executed by those ACORN off-shoots, with the help of socialists groups. To the casual observer, the protests seem spontaneous, and the protesters on television, sympathetic. I think it would serve everyone better if it were widely known that SEIU is paying big money to the off-shoots around the country to fish for protesters, (they sometimes lie to get people to sign-up), they're also paying public relations companies millions of dollars to craft the narrative and place stories in the media. They're flying protesters from around the country to organize and disrupt when necessary. Oh no, this is no ragtag operation. This is big time labor union organizing. If you want to read more about the start of the effort to get higher wages for fast-food workers, then you should read "Fight For 15 Confidential." It's a piece in the left-leaning In These Times from 2013!
Here's the bottom line...this so-called fight for higher wages for the poor down-trodden McDonald's worker is not about helping poor, down-trodden workers. This is a power play. SEIU is making another attempt to grow it's ranks. They tried it with Walmart and failed. They have similar efforts underway including college and university adjunct professors, warehouse workers, home healthcare workers and the immigration issue. Big unions have deep pockets and they know how to use their money. It makes me wonder why Mayor Daley fought so hard to keep Walmart and other so-call big box stores out of the city, particularly on the south and west sides, when the residents of those areas were clamoring for jobs and places to shop. Remember, the retailers would not agree to unionize their workforce.
This is not said very often, but I'm going to say it, unions have lost their way, and to a large degree, their necessity. Today, they are about building and wielding power and influence. These are not the same unions of times past when there were no laws to protect workers--no 40 hour work week, no OSHA, no legal protections--the unions helped bring us to a place where workplaces throughout the country are better, and American workers are grateful. Thankfully, laws have been enacted to protect the American worker. But that doesn't stop big labor from aggressively trying to grow it's numbers. Of course in doing so, they get more union dues and have influence over larger numbers of people, which means greater influence in federal, state and local elections. Signing up more members (like the hundreds of thousands of McDonald's workers--should they unionize), means union leaders get sweet bonuses and their golden parachutes will glisten even more.
So please, don't get trapped in nostalgia. Today, the top 10 labor unions along, pump tens of millions of dollars into the coffers of the democratic party and hundreds of thousands into the coffers of the republicans. Officials in the unions earn the kind of salaries that put them on par with some corporate executives. Interestingly, the AFL-CIO released data to the media showing that corporate executives earn 331 times the average workers' salary. Perhaps they should have also released data to show how much more union leaders earn over their hard-working, dues-paying members. You can get a good idea of how much more by looking at this list.
I understand that people want to improve their standard of living, so do I. It's the kind of thing a free people can not only dream about, but work towards. So I don't have a problem with the idea, just the method. If big labor wants to increase its membership, they should go about that task with integrity. Since the top 10 unions have combined assets of over a billion dollars, why not launch a legitimate marketing campaign highlighting the benefits of membership in their organizations? Make the case for joining your union. How about working with other big labor unions like the National Education Association? Low-skilled, poorly educated workers can greatly benefit from improved reading scores and graduation rates. And finally, since SEIU PACS have donated well over $100 million dollars to democrats since 2008 (includes the past four election cycles), why not ask the president to focus on job creation instead of minimum wage hikes at fast food outlets?
Another good one Deborah. An article kept popping up on my Facebook newsfeed about McDonald's supposedly instituting a new policy that customers were no longer allowed to purchase food for the homeless. People who commented were quite upset, with almost all saying they would not give McDonald's any more of their business. After a little checking, just as I suspected, it was a rumor started by an activist organization trying to make McDonald's look bad. When I posted a link to show it was false, I got crickets of course. The funny thing is though, so few people understand the idea that people are paid exactly what they're worth. If they could make more for the skills or experience they have, they would undoubtedly go where they could get it. But everyone thinks with their heart instead of their brain. They talk about what "should be" and "what's fair," instead of what is doable and practical, and will keep the most people employed. They'll enjoy that $15 an hour, at least until their job is automated.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/05/21/408234543/will-your-job-be-done-by-a-machine?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150526
Great comment. I do wonder where is McDonald's public relations effort. They should be busy mounting an aggressive counter to the smear campaign.
ReplyDeleteInteresting follow up to this story. Some unions now want companies that allow unions to be exempt from the $15 minimum. How hypocritical can they be?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/05/27/hypocrisy-they-name-is-union-unions-demand-exemption-from-las-15-minimum-wage/
I heard about that, and had the same reaction as you. When oh when will the media let the American public know the full story?
ReplyDelete