McDonald's Employee Detained for Confronting Company President

[Hum]

A single mother who has been working at McDonald's for 10 years was detained by police last week after she interrupted the company president's speech in Chicago to confront him about low worker pay.

Crain's Chicago Business reports that 26-year-old Nancy Salgado was part of a group protesting the event, asking company officials to raise worker wages to $15 an hour and allow employees to form a union without fear of retaliation.

Protestors were detained for an hour, threatened with arrest, and ticketed, according to Chicagoist.

Here's what Salgado said to McDonald's USA President Jeff Stratton: "I'm a single mother of two. It's really hard for me to feed my two kids and struggle day to day. Do you think this is fair that I have to be making $8.25 when I've been working at McDonald's for 10 years?"

Stratton's response: "I've been there [at McDonald's] 40 years."

Salgado told The Real News that she still works at McDonald's (although they cut her hours back) and she loves her job, but she wanted to speak out because she thought her voice needed to be heard.

"It gets harder and harder," she said. "Sometimes I can't provide a gallon of milk in the refrigerator."

 

source & video

[Bryan R.]

Hah. Some jobs are meant to have a high turn around for employees. If you're stuck in one of these jobs for 10 years, then it sucks to be you. They've clearly shown they don't value loyalty and that's their prerogative.

 

Also, maybe being a single mother of two kids isn't a "fault" of hers but she surely didn't happen by them on accident.

[rr_dRock]

SO GET A BETTER JOB! Minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage, and these people are just entitled ###### bags who think everything should be handed to them, instead of them having to work to accomplish something.

 

Go get an education, do something that actually makes a difference to the world, instead of flipping burgers.
 

Everyone else knows that if they don't like what they're getting paid, they need to seek other employment or get more skills. Why is that these burger flipping ###### think they deserve as much as a skilled tradesperson?

 

 

There is a reason she never made it to manager (which has an income of significantly more money), and the reason is pretty obvious, even without knowing her. 

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

i dont think its the company presidents sole problem that you are not paid more, in certain areas mcdonalds pays more than others. as a rule they do in fact pay low but if you dont like it, get a different job.

[Skwerl]

  Wow, $15 an hour to work as a fast food jockey?  I would have loved that when I worked for Dairy Queen...when I was f---ing 16 years old!  If you're older than 22 and working in fast food as a clerk, it's time to grow the f up and move on.

[theyarecomingforyou]

In capitalist America, corporations arrest you! 

[techbeck]

Not this again....

 

Personally, if I had 2 kids and was getting payed crap wages, I would either look for a different job that pays more, or look for a 2nd job.  I wouldn't rely on or wait for others to bail me out.  I mean, if you are suffering so much wouldn't you, as a parent, do whatever you can to make sure things are available for your kids?  Also, if I was working for a place for 10 years and got barely above minimum wage, You would be damn sure I wouldn't be working there any longer especially when hours are cut.  Why wait and hope for something better for that long and when you have kids to support.

[Astra.Xtreme]

Not everybody can get everything they desire.  Just because she made bad choices or was unlucky, doesn't mean she is entitled to anything.  If she gets her high salary, then everybody else gets screwed over because prices will have to be raised to compensate for it.  I'm sorry, but sometimes some people get shafted for the betterment of the masses.

[game_over]

It's mainly teenagers working at McDonalds.

 

If it wasn't for the hot presenter i wouldn't have watched it all.

[Bryan R.]

In capitalist America, corporations arrest you!

Well, not arrested but detained for an hour. It is uncomfortable to know that a private organization has that kind of influence with the police force. Maybe they were paying the police to be there and that had to do with it.

[techbeck]

A lot of energy and knowledge to work at McDonalds?  Really?  I go home and I may my own burgers on the grill, I fry my own fries and pour my own soda.  I make my own deserts and and even clean up after myself.  It is not rocket science.

 

Seriously lady, try getting out there and working the jobs that do pay 15 or more an hour and then compare it to the knowledge you need to do your job.  And your job is not the only full time job out there either that people have to go to every day.  So your reasoning for $15 an hour is just plain silly.

[Bryan R.]

The video shows that she is uneducated and can barely hold a cohesive conversation without looking up into her head for thoughts.

[Mr. Gibs]

Aren't McDonald restaurants a franchise? So isn't it upto the various franchise owners what to pay their workers / charge for food?

Not to mention fast food isn't supposed to be a lifetime job...You have to have made some bad decisions to be working at McDonalds in the same position for 10 years. This gets brought up every single time, there are plenty of people who are working in skilled labor jobs that don't make $15 an hour. Why should people working in unskilled labor get paid that much?

Sure you can say that raising minimum wage for everyone would be the right thing to do, but that won't really work. All that would happen is the cost of everything would rise to match the minimum wage and so individual purchasing power won't really change.

[ATLien_0]

I was thinking about this issue the other day. I was at Chick Fil A for lunch and the difference is night and day as far as the customer service compared to McDonalds/Wendys/Burger King. The restaurants are just plain cleaner and friendlier. I'm not 100% on this, but I think Chick Fil A also pays employees more. The point though is that until McDonalds changes their image and focus, I don't see any reason these employees should be paid more. Will a higher wage mean higher quality service is the real question.  

[FriendlyBully]

I don't agree with the arrest. Seriously though, who expects a career for a high school kid job? Why not try to get into management? I guess people don't have the desire to make a better life for themselves. 

[Bryan R.]

I was thinking about this issue the other day. I was at Chick Fil A for lunch and the difference is night and day as far as the customer service compared to McDonalds/Wendys/Burger King. The restaurants are just plain cleaner and friendlier. I'm not 100% on this, but I think Chick Fil A also pays employees more. The point though is that until McDonalds changes their image and focus, I don't see any reason these employees should be paid more. Will a higher wage mean higher quality service is the real question.

The management ideology of both chains are different and have different values. Obviously Chick-fil-A management care about their image and so they have clean stores and superbly courteous employees (at least at the ones around here) where as McDonald's does not. I would venture to guess that Chick-fil-A does pay more and also asks for more in return where McDonald's just doesn't care; cheap food, cheap service, low expectations from customers.

[Xerino]

Fast food has never been regarded as a.career, and if her income is as meager as she says, it's time for her to go visit the local welfare office and apply for a food stamp program, this gal seems a little to proud for that though lol

[ATLien_0]

The management ideology of both chains are different and have different values. Obviously Chick-fil-A management care about their image and so they have clean stores and superbly courteous employees (at least at the ones around here) where as McDonald's does not. I would venture to guess that Chick-fil-A does pay more and also asks for more in return where McDonald's just doesn't care; cheap food, cheap service, low expectations from customers.

Exactly, and this is why I don't expect McDonalds to change their wages. If you want to work fast food and want high wages, work for a company that has better values and a better image. Its like comparing Walmart to Publix as far as groceries 

[SierraSonic]

Everyone calling these jobs high school jobs fail to realize that these are the jobs that are growing, every other type of job market is shrinking, or not growing fast enough to meet up with demand. You get the job where you are hired, I know I worked fast food while I was looking for another job... for 2 and a half years!

 

These jobs aren't as easy as you remember, especially as more and more work is being given to less and less staff to make up profits. Menus are getting complicated, stores are merging so menus double or triple in size, etc.

 

I know of plenty of low wage workers who have to do some of managerial tasks without extra pay. For example at some of the stores I worked, the morning shift would have 7 or 8 staff with managers present and bring in only 1.5x-2x the revenue of the night shifts which only have 1 or 2 staff and no managers. The night shift aren't paid any more for the morning shift, even though they do twice the amount of work per person. The other shifts get to leave for as soon as it's time to clock out while the ending shift has to stay to make sure the store is ready for the next day, but gets yelled at for staying later than scheduled or for not having the store in tiptop shape the next day, even if workload was left from previous shifts.

 

These jobs used to be, order taker, order filler, cashier, cook, etc. Now you are an all in one employee doing everything to save some employee costs.

 

Anyone who isn't complaining doesn't realize that these jobs are harder than they used to be and that some people are forced to work at these places until another job comes along, which can be 2+ years!

[SupportGeek]

I don't understand why people like this think they should be able to raise a family on McDonalds pay.

Fast-Food business model has always been to hire and train the highschool age or retirement age worker who either need a first part time job, or are just working for a little extra cash on the side.

Want more money? Get a better paying job, make better decisions, dont have 2 kids while being employed as a McDonalds drone. Thats a lot of balls to ask for 2x the pay increase, for doing the same unskilled job, its not McDonalds responsibility to make sure she has enough money to put milk in her fridge or raise her 2 kids, its hers and hers alone.

[Dotdot]

I suspect a few folk in this thread of double standards, and talking with no experience of actually being out working or having gone through further education, and then being tossed into a very very saturated jobs market.

And just because she`s ill-witted or slow, does not equate to her having to live below "living wage", purely as it`s "the way things are", or "to fit the system".

She has the same right`s as anyone else in this world and im rather shocked at the lack of support for someone who`s been a loyal employee and is just trying to get by.

Actually amazed at some peoples stereotypical few of a low-pay employee. Just wait to you`ve sat your degree, then end up stuck in a low pay job for 2-5yrs, either because you have to freelance or your area of expertise is no longer in demand and your re-training, etc, etc.

[adrynalyne]

I don't understand why people like this think they should be able to raise a family on McDonalds pay.

Fast-Food business model has always been to hire and train the highschool age or retirement age worker who either need a first part time job, or are just working for a little extra cash on the side.

Want more money? Get a better paying job, make better decisions, dont have 2 kids while being employed as a McDonalds drone. Thats a lot of balls to ask for 2x the pay increase, for doing the same unskilled job, its not McDonalds responsibility to make sure she has enough money to put milk in her fridge or raise her 2 kids, its hers and hers alone.

Deadbeat fathers more often than not lead to this problem.

[Davo]

these people are just entitled **** bags who think everything should be handed to them, instead of them having to work to accomplish something.

The problem with this fallacious argument is that she is working. She just isn't making any headway which can be frustrating but truthfully it's no one's responsibility but hers.

[Bryan R.]

I suspect a few folk in this thread of double standards, and talking with no experience of actually being out working or having gone through further education, and then being tossed into a very very saturated jobs market.

And just because she`s ill-witted or slow, does not equate to her having to live below "living wage", purely as it`s "the way things are", or "to fit the system".

She has the same right`s as anyone else in this world and im rather shocked at the lack of support for someone who`s been a loyal employee and is just trying to get by.

Actually amazed at some peoples stereotypical few of a low-pay employee. Just wait to you`ve sat your degree, then end up stuck in a low pay job for 2-5yrs, either because you have to freelance or your area of expertise is no longer in demand and your re-training, etc, etc.

Is it the low-pay I'm judging her by or the ignorant way she speaks? She has the same rights indeed: the right to pursue happiness. How she goes about that is completely up to her, but frankly, she's failing at it.

[SierraSonic]

Is it the low-pay I'm judging her by or the ignorant way she speaks? She has the same rights indeed: the right to pursue happiness. How she goes about that is completely up to her, but frankly, she's failing at it.

Not everyone has the luck to find a better job instantly, I was forced to work fast food twice each with 2+ years of it.

 

I would be the first to speak lowly of you if you insulted any employee in my restaurants, at least if they were a hard worker. There are the stereotypical young ones that do nothing to contribute to the workload and make the job seem easier than it is (they don't last long).