Teenagers are the main target who Fast food restaurants go after to make them become a staff member. As we all might know, the fast food industry pays their employees minimum wage. The reason why teenagers are mostly hired to work for these restaurants is because although they barely have any working experience, they are the only ones who would accept such a low salary. The problem is not only that teenagers are exploited at work and still receive a very low amount of money but are also hired without any type of training. This is a major problem because employers don't seem to acknowledge that these teenagers are running a very high risk of being injured if they do not follow any type of training program.
Eric Schlosser mentions on his book Fast Food Nation in the chapter "Behind The Counter" (pg.83) that "the injury of teenagers workers in the United States is about twice as that of adult workers. Teenagers are far more likely to be untrained, and every year, about 200,000 are injured on the job". The employers should offer teenagers a training program in which prepares them to familiarize themselves with their environment as well as the machines they'll be using. Eric Schlosser also says that "the most common work place injuries at a fast food restaurant are slips, falls, strains, and burns". A training program would certainly help avoid many of these accidents. They should recognize that putting new employees in the kitchen at a fast food restaurant without training can be very dangerous and the consequences can be severe.
Besides having a training program, teens working for fast food restaurants should also be taught safety. Fast food restaurants have become the main attraction to armed robbers so teenagers should be prepared for any type of emergency. "Roughly four or five fast food workers are now murdered on the job every month, usually during the course of robbery" says Eric Schlosser. According to Sanford Nowlin, not a lot is being done to protect teen employees. In his article he mentions that there are two main problems, "One is the kid going into the workplace not knowing enough about the importance of workplace safety. The second is the employer isn't recognizing that and making sure that kid gets enough training. This stuff just isn't taught anywhere in our educational system". If the employers refuse to train teens, they should at least make sure teens don't go near any machinery and their primary function should only be to stay in front of the store and deal costumers. Also, since robberies mostly happen when only a few staff members are present, fast food restaurants should always make sure to have more people working at all times specially near closing time or over night. It is important that employers become aware of what an unsafe step they take every time they hire an untrained teenager. Most importantly, teens should know what their rights are and fight for them.
Nowlin, Sanford. "Safety Advocates Say Not Enough Is Being Done To Protect Teen Employees" San Antonio Express-News. August 27, 2005.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Fast Food, a Low Pay Industry
Fast food industries such as McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. are known to hire inexperience workers and pay minimum wage. This is because most of the employees working for these restaurants are either immigrants or teenagers. Although adults are hired as well, these industries believe that teenagers qualify for the job not only because they are willing to earn a lowest wage but also because they are easier to manage. Most of these workers do not receive no type of benefits and are often scheduled to work 40-to 60 hours a week. In many cases, these employees have to perform the duties of the manager, yet still receive the same salary.
In the book Fast Food Nation written by Eric Schlosser, he mentions in the chapter "Behind the Counter" in page 68 that "Instead of relying upon a small, stable, well-paid, and well trained workforce, the fast food industry seeks out part-time, unskilled workers who are willing to accept low pay. Teenagers have been the perfect candidates for these jobs, not only because they are less expensive to hire than adults, but also because their youthful inexperience makes them easier to control". He makes it very clear for the reader to understand that fast food restaurants are willing to hire people with no experience as long as they save their money by paying the workers minimum wage. For teenagers who don't have any responsibilities and have no experience in any type of job, getting paid minimum wage shouldn't be a problem. This in fact is a way to help young people who never worked before gain some knowledge of what a job consists of and realize they can do much better than stay behind a counter selling hamburgers all day long. The problem is when the managers exploit their employees expecting them to do more work than they are suppose to although they are being paid an insignificant amount of money. There are also adults being hired, most of them are immigrants who left their country to find better opportunities. They feel forced to take any job that comes along since they are illegal and think its impossible to get a well-paying job. Fast food restaurants hire immigrants and teenagers hoping to waste less money and receive more in return.
When I was 16 years old, I decided to start looking for a part-time job so I can work after school. I filled out a few applications and received a call from a clothing store telling me to go for an interview. As soon as i got there, the manager told me I got the job and that I'll be getting paid minimum wage which was $7.25 per hour. That same day two other girls around my age were hired as well. When they asked if we had any type of experience of working in a clothing store, it seemed not to bother them that we didn't because for the three of us that was going to be our first job. They told us our job consisted of providing good costumer service, putting clothes from the fitting room back to where they belong, keeping the store clean, vacuuming the store at the end of the day and sometimes be in charge of the register. As time went by, the managers would make us do much more than what we were hired for and still received the same amount of money. There were times when they would make me do stuff the managers themselves were suppose to do such as count the money and do paper work at the end of the day and I was forced to stay extra time until I finished. Although the place where I worked isn't a fast food restaurant, their hiring techniques pretty much work the same way. I worked there for two years and noticed the managers would only give out applications to young girls after there was some lady in her mid-thirty's working there and asked the managers to raise her salary. She was working full-time and still being paid minimum wage. They knew that if they hired older people, they wouldn't be able to make them do as much work as a young girl would do for only $7.25 an hour.
In the book Fast Food Nation written by Eric Schlosser, he mentions in the chapter "Behind the Counter" in page 68 that "Instead of relying upon a small, stable, well-paid, and well trained workforce, the fast food industry seeks out part-time, unskilled workers who are willing to accept low pay. Teenagers have been the perfect candidates for these jobs, not only because they are less expensive to hire than adults, but also because their youthful inexperience makes them easier to control". He makes it very clear for the reader to understand that fast food restaurants are willing to hire people with no experience as long as they save their money by paying the workers minimum wage. For teenagers who don't have any responsibilities and have no experience in any type of job, getting paid minimum wage shouldn't be a problem. This in fact is a way to help young people who never worked before gain some knowledge of what a job consists of and realize they can do much better than stay behind a counter selling hamburgers all day long. The problem is when the managers exploit their employees expecting them to do more work than they are suppose to although they are being paid an insignificant amount of money. There are also adults being hired, most of them are immigrants who left their country to find better opportunities. They feel forced to take any job that comes along since they are illegal and think its impossible to get a well-paying job. Fast food restaurants hire immigrants and teenagers hoping to waste less money and receive more in return.
When I was 16 years old, I decided to start looking for a part-time job so I can work after school. I filled out a few applications and received a call from a clothing store telling me to go for an interview. As soon as i got there, the manager told me I got the job and that I'll be getting paid minimum wage which was $7.25 per hour. That same day two other girls around my age were hired as well. When they asked if we had any type of experience of working in a clothing store, it seemed not to bother them that we didn't because for the three of us that was going to be our first job. They told us our job consisted of providing good costumer service, putting clothes from the fitting room back to where they belong, keeping the store clean, vacuuming the store at the end of the day and sometimes be in charge of the register. As time went by, the managers would make us do much more than what we were hired for and still received the same amount of money. There were times when they would make me do stuff the managers themselves were suppose to do such as count the money and do paper work at the end of the day and I was forced to stay extra time until I finished. Although the place where I worked isn't a fast food restaurant, their hiring techniques pretty much work the same way. I worked there for two years and noticed the managers would only give out applications to young girls after there was some lady in her mid-thirty's working there and asked the managers to raise her salary. She was working full-time and still being paid minimum wage. They knew that if they hired older people, they wouldn't be able to make them do as much work as a young girl would do for only $7.25 an hour.
Monday, March 15, 2010
McDonald's Ads Targeting Kids
Without a doubt, McDonald's is recognized all around the world as one of life's small pleasures that people of all ages enjoy everyday. It has great food and it's located in more than 119 countries. It has a very casual environment- almost as if you were home, and there's always something new on the menu. In other words, McDonald's is the place where you want to eat. In chapter 2 "Your trusted friends" from his book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser makes the readers become aware of how McDonald's obtained such fame. Besides being a fast food restaurant, it has also become a well known brand for its world-wide advertisement.
Eric Schlosser talks about marketers using children as their main target for advertisement. Sociologist Vance Packard once described kids as "surrogate salesmen" because they can convince their parents to buy what they want by nagging. Years ago Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's corporation saw things weren't going well for his business and decided to give it a small twist. He was not only aiming at a family crowd but he now changed his marketing strategy and focused on kids. Ever since then, Kroc invented happy meals, built playgrouds, and made McDonald's look like a fantasy world where every kid would love to be in.
Today McDonald's still runs under the same strategy of making kid costumers their priority. Although McDonald's environment is for people of all ages, their way of attracting costumers is mostly through children. The bright colors, cartoon life sized stickers, and many other child-like decorations fascinates the kids and makes them want to keep going. A toy always comes along with the famous happy meal. As soon as you walk in, you will see a big poster announcing that kids are also able to celebrate their birthday at McDonald's. Along with that, they recieve goodie bags, a cake, and the room is decorated with balloons. Besides all the activities provided for children, the reason why kids are also able to distinguish McDonald's is through their logo. For example, Eric Schlosser states that "market research has found that children recognize a brand logo before they can recognize their own name". This is why there is always an over-sized McDonald's logo in the main entrance. This helps children who do not have the knowledge to read or write understand that once they see the logo they are entering McDonald's.
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