Federal Labor Board Delivers Pro-Union Ruling Against McDonald's

Could make it easier to unionize fast-food workers.

McDonald's Corp. could be treated as a joint employer with its franchisees in labor complaints, according to a National Labor Relations Board legal determination that could have far-reaching implications for how restaurant companies deal with their workers.

The decision by the NLRB's general counsel, announced on Tuesday, came in response to complaints alleging that McDonald's and its franchisees violated the rights of employees involved in protests against the company.

McDonald's vowed to fight the decision, which business and labor groups both said could set a precedent for restaurants and retailers that rely on franchising.

Comments

[John Galt]

Bye bye dollar menu.

[RealCrankyYankee]

Unfortunately the article link is for subscribers only so I wasn't able to read it. Forbes has a good explanation: http://www.forbes.com/sites/je.....hin-reach/

The last paragraph sums up the situation nicely: "Workers have the right to ask for higher wages and employers can agree to those requests or deny them based on the business' profitability and the quality of the workers. Unionizing workers will not change that fact. The NLRB, with its current proven bias in the favor of unions, is not interested in trying to help workers. Rather, it is trying to lower the transaction costs of the SEIU in conducting union organization drives in the fast food industry. While some workers might benefit from higher wages negotiated by a union, the big winner here will be the SEIU, not anybody cooking up burgers and fries."

[RealCrankyYankee]

Contrast the Forbes article to the NY Times bullshit. He says McDonald's is "hiding behind its franchisees" I guess he doesn't get the concept of franchising.

"McDonald's can try to hide behind its franchisees, but today's determination by the N.L.R.B. shows there's no two ways about it: The Golden Arches is an employer, plain and simple," said Micah Wissinger, a lawyer who filed complaints on behalf of several McDonald's employees in New York. "The reality is that McDonald's requires franchisees to adhere to such regimented rules and regulations that there's no doubt who's really in charge."