Categories
Antiwork

Today I was thinking about my experience working at McDonalds and how unethical it was.

When I was 15, I got a job working at McDonalds. They scheduled me 40 hours a week, and scheduled me on days that I requested off (since I couldn't drive I wasn't able to make all days). Already, it was clear that they didn't value me or my time. As many of you probably know already, McDonalds pays a different wage depending on how old you are. They paid me $9.30 an hour (minimum wage) at my age. 16 year olds were paid $11.25. The excuse for this was that 15 year olds weren't able to do as many things as 16 year olds, namely working the grill, using the fryer, going into the refrigerator and freezer, etc. However… they still had me do all those things. I didn't think anything of it at the time but reflecting on it now, it all makes sense, and makes me feel…


When I was 15, I got a job working at McDonalds. They scheduled me 40 hours a week, and scheduled me on days that I requested off (since I couldn't drive I wasn't able to make all days). Already, it was clear that they didn't value me or my time.

As many of you probably know already, McDonalds pays a different wage depending on how old you are. They paid me $9.30 an hour (minimum wage) at my age. 16 year olds were paid $11.25. The excuse for this was that 15 year olds weren't able to do as many things as 16 year olds, namely working the grill, using the fryer, going into the refrigerator and freezer, etc.

However… they still had me do all those things. I didn't think anything of it at the time but reflecting on it now, it all makes sense, and makes me feel taken advantage of in a way. They could easily make me do labor that would cost them almost $2 more and hour and could make me work as much time as I legally was allowed to. This is highly unethical and I'm sure it borders on illegal. The truth is, McDonalds doesn't pay less because you do less, they pay less because they know they can get away with it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.