The 7 Worst Things About McDonald's

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/7-worst-things-about-mcdonalds



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1. It wants employees to work Thanksgiving and Christmas without overtime pay.

McDonald’s has a long history of terrible labor practices, but this is especially Scroogey: this holiday season the company urged franchisees to stay open on Thanksgiving and Christmas (McDonald’s restaurants are usually closed on those holidays). Worse, employees who work those days don’t get paid overtime. According to a company spokesperson, “When our company-owned restaurants are open on the holidays, the staff voluntarily sign up to work. There is no regular overtime pay.”

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2. Workers don’t get fair pay in general.

Not getting overtime pay on major holidays is bad, but unfair wages is a widespread problem for McDonald’s workers year-round. As Sarah Jaffe wrote at the Atlantic recently, “he term ‘McJob’ has come to epitomize all that's wrong with the low-wage service industry jobs that are a growing part of the U.S economy” because “no matter what your job might be, it's assumed to be better than working in a fast-food restaurant.” And of course, McDonald’s is the biggest fast-food restaurant chain there is.

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3. Its marketing for kids is “creepy and predatory.”

Two years ago the watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest threatened to sue McDonald’s over its “creepy and predatory” marketing practices aimed at children. In its letter of intent to the company, CSPI likened McDonald’s to “the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children” and said the company uses “unfair and deceptive marketing” to “lure small children into McDonald’s.”

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4. It has a salad with a higher calorie count than a burger and fries, and about the unhealthiest oatmeal on the planet.

McDonald’s once introduced a Caesar salad that was more fattening than a hamburger -- with fries. The Daily Mail reported that “with dressing and croutons contains 425 calories and 21.4g of fat, compared with the 253 calories and 7.7g of fat in the standard burger.” What’s more, “Adding a portion of fries to your burger brings the calorie count to 459 -- still less fatty than the salad at 16.7g.” That is downright impressive.