Analysts are calling for McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) to bring in revenues of just over $28 billion this year. From there the company will see enormous profits as it does each year. For those that don’t eat fast food, it’s easy to proclaim that these profits are only realized on the fattening of American and the world and on the backs of underpaid workers. While there is certainly some truth to this, it’s not as though they are working in a coal mine and nobody is forcing anyone to walk or drive into a McDonald’s near them. And with the exception of the bulk of Africa and parts of Asia, there is a McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) near you. Hell, they have one in the Louvre.
Unlike in Australia, where workers at McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) can start with an hourly wage of nearly $15, American hourly workers’ wages are almost tied to the minimum wage and rarely hover much above that rate. The solution is simple: raise the hourly wage of workers and hand that down to the customer. While that will certainly anger some, most studies show that it won’t lead to a mass exodus of customers.
McDonald’s has set up a McResource hotline
But that’s too easy and certainly to risky for the Golden Arches, when they have workers who qualify for food stamps. Hence, McDonald’s has set up a McResource hotline that allows its customers to ask questions of their employer. In a video that has gone viral, a 10-year employee of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) calls the line for help and the operator suggests to her that she go on food stamps. Why should McDonald’s pay when the U.S. government will?
“You can ask about things like food pantries. Are you on SNAP? SNAP is a supplemental nutritional assistance program — food stamps. Do you have kids?” asks the operator in the recorded call.
The push for fairer wages, and the recording of Salgado’s call stems from a report last week which found that more than half of fast food workers have to go on public assistance programs because of their poor wages, CNN reported. “The report estimated that this public aid carries a $7 billion price tag for taxpayers each year,” they explain.
What’s even more interesting/awful is the fact that franchise owners have to pay to allow its employees to use the McResources help line. Essentially, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) also makes money off its employees having problems and calling the help line. There is something inherently genius in that, if not wholly despicable.
Forced to spin the near-impossible, a spokeswoman for McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) provided a statement, defending its McResource line and job opportunities:
McResource Line is intended to be a free
“This video is not an accurate portrayal of the resource line as this is very obviously an edited video,” according to the statement from McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) USA. “The fact is that the McResource Line is intended to be a free, confidential service to help employees and their families get answers to a variety of questions or provide resources on a variety of topics including housing, child care, transportation, grief, elder care, education and more.”
Do we get fries with that double sh#t sandwich with cheese?
