HUMOUR:

MCDONALD'S MICROSCOPIC CUSTOMERS GIVE A THUMBS DOWN:

Yet another item from Stephanie Mcmillan.

HUMOUR:

THE WORLD CUP- THE AFTERMATH:

HUMOUR:

And now for all you horror film fans...a scene from:

DAWN OF THE RON:

CANADIAN LABOUR- BRITISH COLUMBIA:

AN OLYMPIC SWEATSHOP"

The following, from the British Columbia Federation of Labour, exposes a dark underside to the rah-rah of the Olympics commercials that are beamed across the world during the course of the Games. McDonald's is the "official restaurant" of the Olympic Games. One can only imagine an athlete trying to go through training on Ronny's food, but still the endorsements will undoubtedly pour in after the Games. Money trumps truth. What is amazing is that McDonald's is able to dodge the minimum wage laws in the Province of BC while still promoting its Simon pure brand across the airwaves. Here's the story from the BC Fed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Official Restaurant” of the Olympics pays lowest wages in the country:
B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair is calling on the "Official Restaurant" of the Olympics to stop paying new employees less than BC's minimum wage which is already the lowest in Canada.

"I talked to several McDonald's workers in the past few days who are making less than $7 an hour and they are not impressed with the company," Sinclair said. "These workers deserve a fair wage and respect. That's the real Olympic spirit."

British Columbia has the lowest minimum wage in Canada at $8 an hour. It has been frozen for eight years. However, McDonald's in the Lower Mainland use the so-called training wage to lower starting salaries to as little as $6.35 an hour. ( Love those loopholes- Molly )The Liberal government introduced the training wage by lowering the minimum wage by 25 percent for new workers and immigrants.

"For those watching the McDonald's commercials celebrating the spirit and values of the Olympics, it might come as a surprise that one of the largest global restaurant chains pays new employees the lowest wages in Canada," Sinclair said. "The company can't just pay lip service to the spirit of the Olympics."

"As part of our Olympic sponsorship we honour the hard work and exceptional performance of our restaurant crew...." said McDonald's Senior Vice-President of Global Marketing, Dean Barrett. Sinclair called on McDonald's to honour the hard work of all its employees by eliminating the low wages.

"This company can find hundreds of millions of dollars to sponsor and promote the Olympics but they pay less than the lowest minimum wage in Canada to new workers," Sinclair said.

Sinclair called on McDonald's to pay all starting employees a minimum of $10 an hour, the wage necessary for a single person working full-time to reach the poverty line.
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For more information: Evan Stewart, Director of Communications (604) 430-1421.

CONSUMERISM:

MCDONALD'S BACKS DOWN FROM ADVERTISING IN CHILDREN'S REPORT CARDS:

As reported some time ago here at Molly's Blog the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood initiated an international campaign against the "trial balloon" of McDonald's offering a free Happy Meal to children in Seminole County, Florida who got good grades on their report cards. The international fast food giant has been forced to back down, and this fact has been broadcast in international news media. The initial question may have seemed small. The first images that come to Molly's mind when hearing the phrase "Seminole County" are Pogo and L'il Abner. Yet this is the way that corporations such as McDonald's operate. Try a few test cases first. If they fly then suddenly continents are covered with the same thing. The fact that small local struggles such as these are important can be seen by the fact that their victory gets international coverage. One has to admit that many people, Molly amongst them, derive a certain amount of glee from seeing Ronnie get a boot in the butt. Keep on kicking. See the website highlighted above for more of the actions of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood.

CONSUMERISM:

MCDONALD'S IS TAKING IN-SCHOOL MARKETING TO A NEW LOW:

FROM THE CAMPAIGN FOR A COMMERCIAL-FREE CHILDHOOD:

Last week, students in Seminole County, Florida received their report cards in envelopes adorned with Ronald McDonald promising a free Happy meal to students in kindergarten through fifth grade with good grades, behavior or attendance. Targeting children directly with the message that doing well in school should be rewarded by a Happy meal undermines parents' efforts to encourage healthy eating. And if parents want to reward their kids' school performance, they are intelligent enough to determine what kind of reward, if any, is appropriate.

TELL McDONALDS' : STOP ADVERTISING ON REPORT CARDS:

The promotion highlights McDonald's duplicity when it comes to marketing to children. McDonald's has pledged to stop all advertising in elementary schools. When questioned about the report cards, a McDonald's spokesperson claimed the promotion isn't marketing. If that's what McDonald's believes, their pledge isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

McDonald's has also received kudos for its pledge to only advertise its healthier options to children under twelve. Yet the Happy meal promotion explicitly mentions cheeseburgers, French fries and soft drinks. Happy Meals featured on the report card can contain as many as 710 calories, 28 grams of fat or 35 grams of sugar.

On Wednesday, we were alerted to the promotion by an Orlando-area parent. Within 24 hours, our concerns about the report cards ignited a nation-wide controversy, including stories in the New York Times, the associated Press and a front page story in Orlando. Now we need your help to put an end to this outrageous advertising.

To join this campaign against McDonald's advertising to a captive audience of children see the website of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.