Worker Safety Issue from Fast Food Nation Essays

Worker Safety Issue from Fast Food Nation Essays Worker Safety Issue from Fast Food Nation Essay Worker Safety Issue from Fast Food Nation Essay The purpose of writing this essay is to highlight the worker safety issues from Fast Food Nation. The problem basically is worker safety that is put to stake because of the dangers the workers have to face while they are made to do the work. This is the basic problem that has been identified that the workers have to face and certain remedies to these problem are also suggested in the later paragraphs. The worker safety issues are alarming and it is necessary that the employers must take steps to take care of such issues. The fast food industry has activated homogenization of our society and has also hastened the scenario by further creating a gap between the rich and the poor people and fast food have now become very popular for the American people. However, there are some unrecognized truths that have to be taken into consideration. The fast food nation has basically changed the culture of America and the way the people eat.[1] The socioeconomic effects  of the  fast food industry are diverse and the industry is dependent on the federal money i.e. it takes SBA loans in order to run the franchises and to run the fast food business. The assembly line  methods of  fast food production  actually worked their way into  large-scale agribusiness. The beef factories are irregular in size and it is hard to automate the cattle just in the way the poultry and other things required in the fast food business are being manufactured. The places where this takes place are horrible and businessmen mostly employee illiterate workers who are made to work for long hours and get a very low pay.[2] Moreover, the conditions in which they are made to work are pathetic and unhygienic that can be a very big threat to the human life. In order to prevent this, it is essential that the businessmen must take steps and for this just an incremental cost is required. Following these lines, now however the American slaughterhouse has improved a lot more than before as the standards have been improved and the workers are safer than before. Furthermore, I would also like to add that the real cost of the fast food is not actually measured in terms of purchase but the cost of the workers is also included. The reason for writing this paper is not that I am anti-fast food but it is to highlight that fact that though some of the fast food giants produce high-quality food at comparable prices to the other  chains, they must also put value in their  workers   as well as the food supply instead of trying to grab even the last bit of profits. â€Å"Fast food is served everywhere. Be it restaurants, trains, airplanes or cruise ships. It has been reported that the Americans spent around $6 billion in 1970 on fast food and the amount further increased to $110 billion in 2001. It has also been reported that the Americans spent more money on fast food than on the other expenses such as higher education or other luxuries. They spend more on fast food than on movies, magazines, newspapers,  videos, and  recorded music   combined.[3]Therefore, the nation’s most prized tradition is the fast food. As the fast food industry has progressed from a stand owned stall to giant corporations, the demand for the workers has also increased. In the following paragraphs I have referred to some of the articles and have given some of the examples of worker safety issues prevailing in the fast food market. The first is about the robberies. This article talks about the pizza delivery boys in Bethlehem who had to encounter robberies. The article tells that the pizza boys were robbed during the hours of work and were also punched down and thrown on the ground, the suspects however fought among themselves for both cash and pizza. Both the robberies took place with two different pizza boys working for two different pizza eateries. The first victim worked for Domino’s Pizza and was robbed by three men who took pizzas and a heated delivery box and this robbery took place before 6:00pm and took place on Morton Street. However, the other robbery took place at around 8:30pm and at Hilton Street. The other pizza boy who was robbed was working for Papa Johns in a way that he was called to the home to deliver two pizzas from.[4] According to another article, the wage rates of McDonalds are inappropriate and they have been criticized in this. This criticism was done by the members of the Service Employees International Union in the New Orleans and their basic theme was to criticize the low wages. This was called to be a nationwide campaign in which the members were to talk to the workers as well as the consumers about McDonalds wages. Furthermore, the article also reveals that McDonalds is against the Employee Free Choice Act. This Act is basically a legislation that gives American workers the opportunity to have better pay, benefits and working conditions. Moreover, the president of SEIU also said that the American workers dont have the buying power. Therefore, there is a need to drive the economy in part because companies like McDonalds are giving CEOs windfalls while workers struggle to afford items on the Dollar Menu.’ America’s workers struggle to pay even their bills, however the CEO’s get huge bonuses yearly. The article also said that a national campaign would be run in which they would distribute leaflets at McDonalds location nationwide that were more than around one hundred outlets. The third article is about the workers who have opened franchises with buyouts. Mark Bergman, who used to work for Ford Motor Co.s sales and marketing department, actually dreamt of pizza and accepted a buyout offer from Ford in 2007 in order to fulfill his dream. He actually wanted to open a franchise of Little Caesars and so he opened a store in Atlanta and although there has been a recent turmoil, he did not worry about that and opened a third pizza outlet and just like Bergman many people invest their money in buying franchises.[5] It is believed that franchising is a way to invest in something that can be controlled and the more you invest the more you get but the credit squeeze makes things tougher and as reported by Domino’s Pizza chairman and CEO David Brandon, the global credit crunch is forcing some Dominos Pizza franchise owners out of business mainly because the banks are cutting off loans. Moreover, the costs of franchising are high and the franchise owners have to face a lot of challenges. The work is not done once the franchise is set up. However, there are long hours of work involved in this business. In 2003- 2007 around 75000 jobs have been cut. Although lots of people inquire Dominos Pizza about the Big Three, however less than 20 percent actually show genuine interest in it as this is not an easy business. Constructing an outlet requires at least 14 months and the net worth required to be proved is $250,000 and $75,000 in liquid capital. Other than this, there is actually no guarantee of success and so caution is necessary. It is not always necessary that of the parent company is doing well, so would the franchise.[6] Another article talks about exploitation of workers done by some of the some  fast-food  chains. A US Senate hearing that took place in April in Florida focused the working conditions of the farm workers and some of the very famous fast food brands such as McDonalds and Yum Brands, which includes Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, AW and Long John Silvers, agreed to pay the 1-cent increase. Other than this, there was Burger King and Subway also agreed to the proposal but at 1.5 cents per pound and they guaranteed to keep some for their workers. The treatment being given to the farm workers is very bad especially tee tomato pickers who have been earning the same amount for picking up a bucket of tomatoes i.e. 45 cents and this amount has not been modified since 1978 even though the worth of the tomato crop in Florida is worth $619-million annually. Moreover, they workers work seven days a week and work for 10- 12 hours with no overtime pay and no benefits such as sick leave or job security at all. Moreover, they have to face violence and live in pathetic living conditions.[7] Majority of the workers earn less than $10,000 a year and pay relief is one of the most important factor that can make things better for the tomato pickers. For this, the CIW has persuaded the fast food industry to pay one more cent per pound to help the workers and this effort has been successful as they have even used the strategy of applying a fine to those who do not pay this extra amount. CIW also hopes that the new president, Barack Obama will also support this cause that was basically to take care of the human rights of the workers working for the fast food industry and to avoid exploitation.[8] People who eat fast food must be aware of the fact related to the fast food industry and should then take their own decisions whether they must support the industry or not taking care of the status of the industry in the current scenario.