CAFCA committee member Lynda Boyd, of Christchurch, spent several months in Auckland, in the second half of 2006, organising the workers of McDonalds and other fast food chains for the Unite Union. Ed.

The three main foci of the SuperSizeMyPay.com campaign continue to be a $12 minimum wage, the abolition of youth rates and more secure hours. The wages paid to young people by these transnational corporations need to be increased. Workers who are under the age of 16 can be paid at any rate their employer chooses. There are examples of people on as little as $6.25 per hour. Workers on youth rates receive the minimum wage of $8.40 and those over 18 receive $10.25. These wages are an injustice and as a community we must not allow them to continue. The Government has agreed that $12 is a reasonable minimum wage and is moving towards implementing this in 2008. 2008 however is too little too late. People are suffering on starvation wages in the present. Promises of increases that are years into the future do not put food on people’s tables, or shoes on people’s feet. Inflation increases dwarf the wages of these low paid workers whose wages have moved only with legislative changes to the minimum wage. As inflation continues to rise at a rate far higher then their wage increases, workers are effectively receiving significant annual pay cuts.

The abolition of youth rates is again an increasingly important community issue. We send a wrong message to people under the age of 18 when we accept that they are not paid the same as their older co-workers. There is legislative protection against discrimination on the grounds of race, sexuality and gender. Why therefore do we tolerate this treatment of young people? Youth rates are a form of slavery and if we want young people to believe they are valued, we need to support an end to youth rates.

Secure hours is another important issue. Often fast food workers are not aware from week to week how many hours they will be working. Rosters can change dramatically with workers receiving half the amount of hours they did the preceding week for no apparent reason. This puts the boss in a very powerful position as they can control the lives of their workers. It breeds a culture of keeping your boss onside to ensure you continue to receive shifts. The overall goal of the campaign has been to establish a union in the fast food industry. This has been achieved through the hard work of union organisers and delegates. In September 2006 a large number of fast food delegates met for a day of union training. It was a productive day and an opportunity for workers from many fast food stores around Auckland to get together and discuss their working conditions, pay and the importance of being in a union.

The Challenges Of Building A Union In The Junk Food Industry

Recruitment is a constant pressure due to the extremely high rate of staff turnover. There is also a lack of union awareness amongst potential recruits. It is a sad reality that most young New Zealanders do not have a union consciousness. They have grown up in a time when unions have struggled to find their feet after the crippling effects of Rogernomics in the 1980s, which saw the near destruction of the union movement, and paved the way for National’s Employment Contracts Act in the 1990’s. However, 2006 has shown that unionism is on the rise. One need only look at the outpouring of public generosity during the Progressive Enterprises lockout (see Joe Hendren’s comprehensive article elsewhere in this issue. Ed.), or the ongoing successes of the SuperSizeMyPay.com.campaign.

Another challenge in this industry that I particularly noticed, having previously worked for a public sector union, was the discretionary nature of people’s pay and conditions. With no substantive pay scales, bosses can get away with paying a myriad of different pay rates to workers. This allows a culture to develop where a worker feels they can’t disagree with their boss, or stand up for their rights, in fear of this affecting their pay rate.

One of the biggest challenges in this campaign is the fact these companies are large transnationals. We are fighting at the coal face of capitalism. As touched on above McDonalds is currently in the throes of a large public relations campaign. It is showing the world how healthy its food is and what a great place McDonalds is to work. What McDonalds is not telling the world is it is paying our children, nieces and nephews as little as $8.40 an hour. We all know it can afford to pay more. Up until now it hasn’t had to consider wage increases in its budgets, as it has enjoyed the benefits of an unorganised work force.That is now a changing culture. Unite has set a precedent with the Restaurant Brands collective agreement.

To labour a cliché, bosses may have the money muscle but when workers unite, we have the power. That power is made stronger with community support. This is a community issue and needs to remain a community focus. In December 2006 Unite Union signed off a collective agreement with McDonalds. As well as initial pay rises, included in the agreement is a commitment from McDonalds to review wages again in March 2007. There are also union provisions that will see new employees receive information from the union and union notice boards will also be established in each work site. Following this achievement with McDonalds it looks likely that an agreement with Burger King will be imminent, as well as Wendy’s. Unite’s SuperSizeMyPay.com campaign achievements should not be under estimated. The campaign was a massive undertaking for the union and one that it can proudly say has been achieved.