Does McDonald's Care About Its Employees?

McDonald's employees have to live off of government programs in order to survive, or at least that's what the company tells them to do.

A YouTube Video shows parts of a recorded phone call between a McDonald's employeeand the McDonald's resource line. The employee, who has worked at McDonald's as a full time employee for ten years, earns $8.25 and has never been given a raise. She called because she was seeking "more information about some help she needed" and about doctors available to her.

Here's the hotline's response: "I can give you a number that will be helpful. You can ask about things like food pantries. Are you on SNAP? SNAP is supplemental assistance program – food stamps. It's a federal program. The federal money comes down to the states and the states administer it." As for the doctor, the resource line asked her if she tried "to get on Medicaid."

Wow, McDonald's. You are so helpful.

The video has a good point. It also makes an effort to write, "McDonald's doesn't want to pay its workers more. McDonald's wants YOU to pay its workers more." 

The video went continues to say  "52% of fast food families use public assistance benefits to survive. Like food stamps. Health care. Heat." Then at the very end, it said," Enough. Tell fast food to stop paying poverty wages," and gave the names and logos of other fast food places such as Wendy's, Subway, Taco Bell, Jack in the box, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr., and Burger King.

Let's just say McDonald's wasn't the least bit happy with this video. The McDonald's director of U.S media relations told Huffington Post that the "video is not an accurate portrayal of the resource line as this is very obviously edited video." She added that "the McResource line is intended to be a free, confidential service to help employees and their families get answers to a variety of questions or provide resources on a variety of topics including housing, child care, transportation, grief, elder care, education and more," McComb said.

Although the resource line may help give guidelines on how to achieve such things, from Nancy's conversation it seems as if they can still use a little help.