Have you ever worked for MacDonalds?

[sweetheart]

According to statistics, MANY americans have worked there, and surely
here at DU, this holds true as well. So, did you? What wages were
you paid? Wee you treated fairly? Did you take advantage of the
free food for employees? Were you oppressed, or was it your first
job?

I worked there for 2 months in 1986 at a franchise in Westhaven, CT,
not far from the Yale Bowl. I worked cleanup shift, washing the grease
off the bottom of the french fry tray, and flipping burgers to the
sound of all those "beep beep beeps". They were a fair emloyer,
though it was a second job, and i was just trying to get some extra
bux. Had it been my only job, i would have become homeless. But most
persons who work there are teens, and it is a place where they learn
about employment. So was it bad for you?

[ET Awful]

1. I worked there for about 2 months and about the same time you did

except it was in Arizona. I got paid whatever minimum wage was at the time.

And no, food wasn't free, I had to pay for it (got like a 25% discount or something).

It was my first job, and I was a kid. I just decided not to show up one day and never went back.

[soleft]

2. I worked there for 3 hours and quit

They wanted me to stick my arms into a barrell of pickle juice to scrape remaining pickles from the bottom.

It's probably fabulous for your skin, but I refused.

I did go on to work in the kitchen of a camp for handicapped kids. Can't remember any food prep there that traumatized me like the pickle juice.

[AverageJoe]

3. I did!

I worked at McDonalds for a couple of months back around 1979 or so. It was an awful job, probably the worst work experience of my life. I worked the front lines and the drivethru and hated the pressure of crowds of hungry people. And we didn't get any free food. I don't remember even getting a discount. And when the place closed at night, they threw away everything that hadn't been sold. That was a lot of food that could have fed hungry people....

McDonalds sucks, big time.

[Burma Jones]

4. Yep, in the late 70's

I was a closer, so I got a premium hourly rate, I think about $5.00 an hour. I worked Sunday through Thursday, 5:00 until close. I was addicted to the Fillet-o-Fish sandwiches. I cleaned the bathrooms, worked the fryer, worked the grill, did a handful of breakfast shifts - I will still eat an Egg McMuffin - and in all had a good time.

It was my first job with taxes taken out, paychecks etc. I was 17 and starting at the local Community College.

One of the rituals we had after locking up was going out to the Shift Manager's van and getting stoned. We did this every night.

In all, a pretty positive experience, really.

[aden_nak]

5. 1 in 8 Americans have in SOME way.

Whether it was actually flipping burgers, driving shipments, building stores, or working in their corperate offices, 1 out of every 8 Americans have received some sort of employment via McDonalds. Now, that figure includes people who work there for one day or people who drive one truckload of burger wrappers to a distribution warehouse, but still, the figure is rather staggering.

[sweetheart]

15. That is a serious number

It makes me wonder, as much as macdonalds has become the whipping post
for the obese and poorly fed, it has put money in the pockets of 1 out
of 8!! It has provided jobs when it is arguable those jobs would not
have existed otherwise. Is macdonalds a friend or foe of democratic
and feminist interests?

[LibDemAlways]

6. My husband worked at a McDonalds

in Burbank, CA when he was a teenager. He cooked fries. The boss wanted to put him on the register, but he would have had to pass a lie detector test first, and thought that was bs, so he stuck with fries. He made minimum wage, and quit when he had enough money to buy the motorcycle he was saving for.

His most disgusting McDonald's experience: One summer night there was a gnat invasion in the place and gnats were getting into the food, specifically the fry cooker. He refused to serve fries with dead gnats on them, but the boss told him people would "think they are pepper" and to keep on cooking! He left shortly after.

[RobinA]

7. Yep

$2.35, minimum wage at the time. Yes I was treated fairly, no I was not oppressed. There was no free food for employees, we paid the going rate. It was my first job, and a VERY rude awakening about the behavior of a segment of the general public. I frankly had NO IDEA how rude some people were.

[BlueStateGirl]

8. Yes. When I was a sophmore in High School. I made $4.25 an hour,

and was treated pretty well. It was my first job and I think I worked about 15 or 20 hours a week. They were pretty strict about following the labor laws. I was 15 so i was aloowed to work more hours and longer shifts. There were a few 14 year olds who worked and there and they were only allowed to work 3 hours a days. iT was staffed mostly by teenagers and senior citizens.

[BiggJawn]

9. Yes. "Class of 1975".

That was back in the day whe we cooked the burgers of REAL grills, not those modified bun-toasters they use now.

WE got free food. You worked 8 hours, you got a Big Mec and fries.
Customers SUCKED! Gawd, you haven't seen nasty until you've seen HUNGRY and nasty!

I'd hit people over the head and rob them for a living before I'd work FF today. People haven't gotten any nicer....

[lebkuchen]

28. I'll bet you were a great bunman

[BiggJawn]

31. Baby, I made 'em NICE and toasty.

But "Special Sauce" was where I really shined....

[KansDem]

33. 1975?

Wasn't that during the lime-green, double-knit stretch, pantsuit-type uniforms and those extremely uncomfortable plastic chairs that were attached to the tables and swung out for the customer to sit in?

I last ate at a McDonald's about that time...

[BiggJawn]

36. No, 2-tone blue tops...

That looked like somebody put a cycling jersey and a "Star Trek" tunic in a dark room and played some Barry White for them...Pants were Navy blue poly, I think...

They were that nasty-assed polyester double-knit shit, though...

[NoPasaran]

10. Indirectly

I once worked for a company that serviced the drive thru speaker systems. Only one thing ever went wrong with them---they operated off a box full of relays, the relay contacts would get coated with grease from the air in there, and the system would stop working until you replaced the grease-laden relays. Probably nowadays everything is solid-state and more reliable. I doubt the air is any better to breath though.

[bryant69]

11. Worked there for 3 and a half years

but quit due to scheduling conflicts. I had gone into the job with an understanding that I wouldn't work Sundays, and they didn't live up to that, so I eventually quite - plus it was interfering with my school life.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[sweetheart]

21. Did it form your ideas about wages and capitalism?

Do you think of macdonalds today as an exploiter of labour? Can you
fault them? Was that 3 years an economics education in a nutshell?

[amazona]

12. no I was hired but couldn't accept

I was offered another job the same day, so I took that one because it gave me a chance to earn tips which increased my hourly income.

[BooScout]

13. Yes, I worked there.....

In 1977-1978. I made minimum wage (whatever that was back then)and did get a raise while I was there. I got a free meal if I worked a full shift.

I was not oppressed. It was my 2nd job and I learned a valuable work ethic there........If you don't have anything to do....find something to do. Overall, I would say it was a positive work experience....of course most teens today wouldn't agree.......it's too much like "real work". :eyes:

[sweetheart]

17. real work indeed

I can't say it was the hardest job i've ever done (reserved for: denny's
waitperson), but it was the second hardest. The worst part was that
the other staff used to blast beasty boys at full volume on a stereo
after closing time, and i have a perpetual memory of burning my hands
with that hot spray hose and having my ears burned by crappy rap.

[RobinA]

18. God, I Hated That

"look busy" BS. I will never forget it.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

34. oh yeah teens don't do real work right?

i think if a teen told me mcdonald's was a shitty job i'd be inclined to believe him.

[masshole]

14. three years ago, after being out of work for a year

I took a job at McDonalds as a "Manager Trainee" (after being a Manager in the Healthcare and Transportation industry for over 13 years).
We desperately needed the extra money, all of about $265.00 a week after taxes.
I had a very difficult time adjusting. The teenagers who worked there were great - the other "adults" were the problem.

It literally made me crazy. I'd come home and not speak to my family, or I'd fly off the handle at the slightest thing.
My kids begged me to quit. "It's only money" they would say.
They were so right.

[Theres-a]

16. As a teenager,for 6 months

[alarimer]

19. Yes- it sucked

Probably not the worst job in the world. What I hated most was the attempted brain-washing. All those stupid training videos about how wonderful it is to work at McDonald's- how far you can go- gag!
I am only grudgingly a "team player" at the best of times so this sort of thing only makes me want to do the opposite! I am perverse that way.

[sweetheart]

20. They could change the name to: "School for socialism and fair wages"

Really, macdonalds teaches a tremendous amount about the bottom of
capitalism, and corporatist cultism. Where else could you get such
a comprehensive education. ;-)

[alarimer]

24. it does

I was a good worker, if not terribly enthusiastic. I was on time, did my job, never was in any trouble. But I never got a raise there because I am not a realy people person. They (the bosses) would tell me to smile more. But that is really sort of against my nature. But I did learn some things- responsibility for one. So it wasn't all bad. But it is a pretty thankless job, primarily because it dealt with customers.

[snooper2]

22. Worked there during my Junior and Half my Senior years

in High School...

Was fun for me. Made around $160 or so after taxes, part time closing shift after school. We ate a lot of free food. Also made our own combinations of burgers and what not.

Left McDonalds to work at White Castle. Made $3 more an hour at White Castle and worked bunches of overtime. Was able to survive and put myself through 2 years community college as well with White Castle. (Of course I smelled like onions for two years :) )

This timeframe was in Missouri starting around 92-94

[MountainLaurel]

23. For one evil summer

After my freshman year of college. It was the last time I stayed with my parents for more than three days at a time.

[ThomWV]

25. There Were None Then

Actually I guess there were some McDonalds around but I did not see one until a couple of years after I entered the workforce. One of the advantages of being old is that you may not have to put up with some shit all of your life. A simple accident of fate and timeing to be sure, but something to be thankful for.

[semillama]

26. twice

once as a summer job in high school, and again for a couple months in college when I was desperate for work. Minimum wage both times. got free food. pretty much sucked, but what the hell.

got sucked into what I call the "fast food trap" - where you can't get hired at any place apart from a fast food joint because all your experience is at fast food joints. Finally broke that vicious circle by using my management experiences at Pizza Hut and Little Caesar's to get a job at a GNC prior to going back to school.

of all my Mc Jobs, the GNC one was the best, even though it was the only job I've ever had where I was required to wear a tie.

[scarlet_owl]

27. I worked there for two years, my mother worked there for

nine. I count it as one of the best jobs I ever had. The wages were good for a teenager, (not so good for someone supporting a family, except management wages), and I made a lot of friends. The best thing about working there was I got to work with my mom. We've worked together at several jobs since then, and we always made a great team. Now that I'm older, I probably wouldn't want to work there.

[Ksec]

29. no , but I worked at Pizza Hut

It wasnt too bad . I worked there for about a year when I was a senior in high school. The pay sucked but to a young kid it was a-ight

[Bleacher Creature]

30. Isn't that the name of the place in "Coming to America??? n/t

[rainbow4321]

32. In the early 80's..$3.35/hr

while I was in high school---$3.35/hour. Everyone on the crew was from my school/class.

[misanthrope]

35. Nope, Burger King...

...back in the early '80s. Worked as the night porter, meaning I came in at 11pm and worked all night cleaning the entire place until the breakfast crew got there. I got paid for six hours work regardless of how long it took to get the job done. After a while, you learn how to hustle up and get everything done in about four hours so it wasn't too bad. No managers there, no customers, no uniform, just a hell of a lot of grease. You get sick of the food after a while.

In the morning, I would go to class and then go home to sleep afterward.

[BigBearJohn]

37. I stopped working and eating there after a co-worker spit on the grill.

then proceeded to fry up a batch of burgers on top of it
as he smiles and said "it cleans the grill".