Our fault?

Since the aim of this blog is to be a sort of underground resistance – hence the inside job – I think it’s useful just to detail a little incident that occured the other day, on the job.

Basically, the long and the short of it is that the restaurant had to close early for no fault of our own. I was meant to be working an 8 hour shift but was told that I would only be working about 4. There was no mention of being paid for the whole shift, and in fact the manager for the night (it was a night shift) had been ordered to make us all go home bang on the dot (at 4am), so as to pay us as little as possible. These sneaky capitalists and their lackeys! Fortunately, cleaning needed to be done after closing so a few of us got to stay longer, but some were sent home with a loss of 3 or 4 hours’ pay.

I am sure this happens constantly in McD’s worldwide, as well as in other workplaces with a clock in/out system.

I keep bringing up the example of New Zealand and the “Supersize my Pay!” campaign, which, after 50 strikes won some great benefits and concessions for McD’s workers; scaled-up basic pay rates, scrapping of the different rates of minimum wage according to age, shift security and a one-off payment. The workers involved campaigned long, hard and with militancy (such as marching on and demonstrating at a McD’s managers conference) to recieve even these most basic rights. So it is clear that the struggle will be long for McD’s workers in the UK and the rest of the world, but that if we unite and fight with persistance, without being put off by the bosses’ threats, we can win. It is also crucial to coordinate, through strike and workplace committees, with other restaurants, as well as other workplaces, regardless of sector. During an historic crisis of capitalism, as the one we are seeing today worldwide, there is no way anyone can live on such poor wages.

For many these are the only jobs we’ve got a cat in hell’s chance of getting, as the bosses are cutting hours and sacking people wholesale to save their profits, and working those that remain into the ground. McD’s is growing and recruiting the desperate – those angry, young and poor enough to work for a pittance. But why should we take it?!

Click here for videos and info on this campaign.

Article: Retail workers of the world unite!

MARCH FOR JOBS ON MAY 16 IN BIRMINGHAM! More info here.

– McProle

McDonald’s vs. The Dictionary

Just thought I would bring this up.

The term “McJob” was printed featured in the Oxford English Dictionary as far back as 1986, defined as: “An unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector.”

A few years ago (in 2003, to be precise) the publisher Merriam-Webster printed the term “McJob” in its Collegiate dictionary, with the definition “low-paying and dead-end work”. Well, sounds pretty damn precise to me. This term is also used widely today as slang for generally shit jobs in the service sector that aren’t necessarily with McD’s.

The funny thing is, McDonald’s and its bloated millionaire board of directors didn’t like the publicity (and its implications) this widely-disseminated word gave the corporation. First, they threatened to sue Merriam-Webster for infringement of trademark (as McD’s stamped the big ol’ TM on it in 1984), but in the end backed down. Instead, as we can still see on the Crew Room wall and on any literature advertising McD ‘careers’, they set out on a PR campaign to change its meaning to its complete opposite. So, a complete lie. If a ‘McJob’ was actually good it would have reliable shift patterns and decent pay for all (not less for the young), instead of a “culture of flexibility” (source: McD careers site) i.e. a culture of “the boss tells you when and how long your shifts are and that’s it, matey”. Yeah, so Ronald McDonald and his cronies’ (up in that ivory tower with the big ‘M’ on it) answer was to paint the “McJob”, so shamed in popular culture, as really quite lovely, flexible and fun.

McDonald’s even used this slogan in their advertising campaign in 2006: “McProspects – over half of our executive team started in our restaurants. Not bad for a McJob”. So they pretty shamelessly claim that £4.80 and hour (if you’re under 21) – with totally unreliable hours, managers breathing down your neck constantly and a complete contempt for trade unions and workers rights – is just dandy. Hmmm, I think that one’s worked a treat.

The reality is that the dictionary term is still accurate. If the bosses had changed it to ‘McExploitation’, they would’ve been onto a winner.

Ronnie raises the flag for McCapitalism!

– McProle