Fast Food Workers Research Articles

Evaluation of Heavy Metal and Specific Trace Elements Levels Among Fast-Food Workers and Their Susceptibility to Atherosclerosis.

Fast-food workers in Iraq face significant health risks due to exposure to heavy metals from fumes and dust during cooking activities. Heavy metals, such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni), are toxic to cells even at low concentrations and can cause health risks, including atherosclerosis, due to oxidative stress and reduced antioxidant activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study assess the levels of heavy metals in fast-food workers and investigate their potential link to atherosclerosis development by monitoring the levels of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe). A total of 120 male participants aged between 20 and 40 years were included in the study, with 40 fast-food workers, 40 patients with atherosclerosis, and 40 healthy individuals evaluated. The levels of Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mg, Mn, and Fe in all blood samples were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. Results showed that the fast-food worker group had significantly higher levels of Pb, Cd, Cu, and Fe compared to the healthy control group, with increases of 57%, 75%, 30%, and 55%, respectively. Conversely, their levels of Zn and Mg were significantly lower, decreasing by 15% and 16%, respectively. On the other hand, the atherosclerosis patients' group had significantly higher levels of Pb, Cd, Cu, and Fe, with increases of 47%, 74%, 34%, and 28%, respectively, as well as significantly lower levels of Zn and Mg, decreasing by 17% and 21%, respectively, compared to the control group. These findings suggest that fast-food workers are at risk of developing atherosclerosis due to exposure to high levels of heavy metals and imbalances in essential trace elements. The results showed a significant increase in the levels of Pb and Cd in the sera of these workers, which was expected because of the long duration and high intensity of exposure to toxic heavy metals. This is a serious indicator that must be considered, as it has been previously established that increased levels of Pb and Cd in the body are linked to the risk of atherosclerosis. Additionally, an association between Pb and Cd levels and an imbalance in trace element levels (Cu, Zn, Mg, and Fe) were observed. The Implementation of stricter regulations and guidelines for maintaining cleanliness and safety in fast-food restaurants may be crucial for protecting workers and preventing long-term health complications.

Evaluation of Lipid Profile and Oxidative Stress of Workers in Fast Food Restaurants and The Risk of Atherosclerosis

Cooking fumes and biomass smoke pose significant threats to air degradation and human health, especially to people who work in this field on a daily basis, due to the large amounts of hazardous pollutants released from grilling activities. Chronic exposure to these fumes is associated with a risk of inflammation and oxidative stress, which can increase the risk of atherosclerosis. In this study, the lipid profile Glutathion (GSH) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) of workers in fast food restaurants and patients with atherosclerosis were evaluated. The study included 40 Atherosclerosis patients, 40 fast food workers, and 40 healthy individuals as a control group, the ages ranges of (20-40) years. The obtained results indicated a significant increase in cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and VLDL and a decrease in HDL (p < 0.01) in patients and fast-food workers compared to control group. The results also indicated a significant increase in the level of MDA, and a significant decrease in the level of GSH for patients and fast-food workers compared to the control. In conclusion, it appears that fast food workers experience oxidative stress and disruption in lipid metabolism that may increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Therefore, safety and quality control measures must be strengthened to reduce the occupational risks of fast-food restaurant workers.

A Study of Self-Estrangement Among Fast-Food Workers

This study examines self-estrangement, a dimension of alienation, and its attributes among fast-food service workers, while considering participant sociodemographic characteristics. A self-administered online survey, using Amazon MTURK, deployed over two time periods (N=1,513), provides data regarding our novel 12-item self-estrangement scale by fast-food occupation type (cashier, server, cook, shift manager, and general manager) and sociodemographic covariates. Preliminary analysis shows that a salaried position and those with a postbaccalaureate education experience lower levels of self-estrangement than their colleagues. Cashiers and cooks experience higher levels of self-estrangement relative to those in other positions. This study offers unique contributions to the conceptualization and operationalization of a dimension of alienation specific to self-estrangement, facilitating greater understanding of the fast-food labor sector, its organization, and the state of its workers

COVID-19 Related Mental Health Effects in the Workplace: A Case of Fast-food Industry in Malaysia

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the fast-food industry adversely. Consequently, the employee's responsibility is expanding, they are stressed over their well-being also in light of the fact that they are in touch with individuals consistently. This might increase the stress and tension alongside contributing to mental health issues among the employees. However, little attention has been paid to this issue in Malaysia towards a deep understanding of the influential factors. Thus, the goal of this study is to identify the influential factors and the most consequential factor that cause mental health issues among fast food employees in the workplace during pandemics as well as to examine the relationship between the influence factors and fast-food employees' mental health. Quantitative research data has been gathered among 161 fast food workers in Malaysia to determine the workload, job satisfaction, work environment, and salary to deal with employees' mental health. The convenience sampling method was used to select fast food restaurants for the study. Besides, personal contact was used to approach the fast-food workers, who were then snowballed into participating. The data was collected by using a self-administered questionnaire through google form. Then, the data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Multiple regression was conducted to identify employees’ mental health using the aforementioned four variables, and the findings revealed that 52% of the variance in employees’ mental health was explained by workload, job satisfaction, work environment, and salary. In addition, the findings gathered from this study indicated a favorable correlation between employees' mental health and both workload and work environment. Meanwhile, researchers found that employees' mental health was weakly positively correlated with both their job satisfaction and their salary. This research attempts to encourage managers in focusing on these four criteria in order to improve employee well-being.

Wage Study for Alabama’s Section 5311 Drivers

Driving a transit bus for a Federal Transit Administration Section 5311 agency is a difficult job that requires training and commitment. As such, it is important to hire qualified and competent individuals into these positions. Within the hiring process, starting pay is a major factor in hiring both for drivers and the agency. This paper documents the results from a survey which collected wage data for transit bus drivers in Alabama. The results show that average starting full-time pay for transit bus drivers is lower than that of school bus drivers, other county employees and even fast food workers in the area where the transit service is provided. The paper concludes that starting pay for Alabama’s Section 5311 drivers is below the poverty level for a family of four and this low pay has the potential to make future hiring of qualified and competent bus drivers an issue in the future.

Risk Shifts in the Gig Economy: The Normative Case for an Insurance Scheme against the Effects of Precarious Work*

Risk Shifts in the Gig Economy: The Normative Case for an Insurance Scheme against the Effects of Precarious Work*

Internationalism Under Platform Capitalism: Brexit and the Organisation of UK Fast Food Workers

AbstractIn October 2018, a coalition of UK trade unions and civil society organisations called a strike across the UK’s fast food sector in support of a living wage, union recognition and the end to zero‐hour contracts in the sector. This paper takes the day of action—labelled the McStrike—as a starting point for an account of the place of the EU and Brexit in the campaign for fast food rights, as well as the contrasting political standpoints adopted by the different trade unions involved in the action. Brexit is used as a prism through which to analyse aspects of Britain’s contemporary food politics, especially those pertaining to freedom of movement, workplace organisation, and the role of EU legislation in protecting workers’ rights. In exploring the international dimensions of union organisation among the UK’s fast food workers, other, more conceptual considerations regarding the changing nature of public and private food consumption and the incorporation of food‐to‐go into the gig economy are also broached.

“We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now”: The Global Uprising against Poverty Wages by Annelise Orleck

“We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now”: The Global Uprising against Poverty Wages by Annelise Orleck

Introduction

Introduction

Poverty, Inequality, and Development in the Philippines: Official Statistics and Selected Life Stories

Mainstream academia’s and neoliberal economists’ failure to exhaustively explain the roots of the 2008 crisis and point a way towards how the world can fully recover from it, made radical theories of poverty and income inequality more popular and relevant as ever. Official World Bank statistics on poverty and their traditional measurements are put into question and even an IMF-funded study admits that instead of delivering growth, neoliberalism has not succeeded in bringing economic development to the broadest number of people, as massive poverty and income inequality abound in many countries, more especially in the developing world. Drawing from theories on surplus value, labor exploitation, and economic dependency, this paper will present an updated critique of the official poverty line in the Philippines and how official statistics mask the true extent of poverty in the country, thereby figuratively many faces of poverty hidden if not obliterated; analyze the link between poverty and income inequality within the country’s neocolonial set-up; and present summarized selected life stories of ambulant vendors, mall personnel, fast food workers, cleaners, security guards and other typical faces of poverty in the Philippines’ macro-economically rich capital region – Metro Manila – which serve as fitting counterpoints to the official narrative. Such discussion will be the paper’s springboard in presenting an alternative plan towards sustainable development of the Philippines. Keywords: poverty level, inequality, globalization,

Dig by A. S. King

Reviewed by: Dig by A. S. King Deborah Stevenson, Editor King, A. S. Dig. Dutton, 2019 [416p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-101-99491-7 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-101-99492-4 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R* Gr. 9-12 There’s the Shoveler, so known because he carries a snow shovel around with him; the Freak, who flickers into different realities at will; Malcolm, who’s reluctantly staying with his dysfunctional, uptight grandparents as his single father’s health worsens; Loretta, who treats the world as a stage show and cultivates her flea circus; and CanIHelpYou?, who uses her fast-food work as a cover for lucrative drug-dealing that she hopes will finally allow her to leave home. These five teens don’t know that they’re all connected via a history that’s built on family double-dealing and a potato farm, that’s exacerbated by racism, guilt, and weakness, and that’s leading to tragedy. That history gets gradually unveiled as the teens encounter one another, sometimes speedily, sometimes slowly, as Malcolm’s grandfather contemplates his history and present, and as one other teen begins to break away from his savage older brother. The result makes for rapt reading, with fragments from different viewpoints compelling in their own right (the Shoveler makes and loses a friendship with an adult neighbor, CanIHelpYou? falls for her best friend, Loretta’s abusive father finally hurts her mother so badly that action is taken). Watching the puzzle pieces come together, however, is purely mesmerizing, and their assembly results in the most haunting exploration in youth literature to date of the advantage and poison that is white privilege, and the resentment of young people at the toxicity of what they inherit. King fans know to expect the unexpected, and they’ll be richly rewarded with this intricate, heartfelt, readable concoction. Copyright © 2019 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Mcdonald’s versus NLRB: The End of Franchising, or an Overdue Restoration of Countervailing Power?

AbstractFollowing a series of national protests in support of an increase in the federal minimum wage, many fast food workers faced retaliation by their employers when they returned to work; schedules were changed, wages and hours were reduced, and some employees were terminated. These retaliatory actions resulted in a number of complaints being filed with the National Labor Relations Board alleging violations of the National Labor Relations Act. Several of the complaints were found to have merit and, additionally, in several instances both the immediate employer, the franchisee, and the corporate organization of which it was a part, the franchisor, were named as co‐defendants. This ruling—that franchisors like McDonald’s USA—could be held jointly responsible for the labor violations of independent franchisees reversed a long‐standing precedent, whereby franchisees were regarded as independent contractors solely responsible for day‐to‐day labor practices, including compliance with federal and state labor statutes. Critics of the ruling argue that it will open the door to unionization and may well spell the end of the service‐sponsor franchising format. Supporters of the NLRB argue that the ruling is just and reflects new “industrial realities” in retail labor markets. Further, a case can be made that the NLRB’s position represents a step in the direction of the restoration of more equitable balance of power between labor and management.

Fair management styles help Pakistani fast-food workers to cope with verbal aggression

PurposeThis paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approachThis briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.FindingsThe study showed that in a positive environment, the workers felt more motivated and took pride in their work, which helped them to withstand the negative effects of the rude and aggressive verbal behavior.Practical implicationsThe paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.Originality/valueThe briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Rabble Rousing in a Red State: Lessons Learned From Organizing for Worker Rights in a Highly Conservative State

ABSTRACTThis article provides an analysis of a brief case study in community organizing undertaken by low-wage fast food workers and community allies over the issue of wage theft. The case analyzed in this article takes place in a highly conservative state in the South Central region of the United States. Through utilizing critical pedagogy, social action, action research, and praxis, workers were able to stop the wage theft. Despite the victory by workers, lessons learned from this experience point to a need for the development of more innovative strategies in labor organizing that emphasize community building and popular education to develop worker-led strategies and movements that work in the most conservative states and contexts in the United States.

“It was a Meaningless Job”: Exploring Youth Post-Secondary Students’ Employment in the Fast Food Industry

Fast food work is often described as low-skilled, alienating, standardized, and highly routinized. The fast food industry employs a disproportionately large number of youth post-secondary students who work on a temporary basis and do so part-time or during school breaks to earn money toward educational and living expenses. To date, little is known about post-secondary student fast food workers’ perceptions of their employment. Data from interviews with 32 post-secondary student fast food workers were analyzed. The student workers viewed their jobs as unimportant and low-skilled; however, as students, they were not seeking work that provided opportunities for creativity and meaning, rather, they emphasized the temporary nature of their work and described the inherent stigma and lack of prestige associated with long-term employment in the fast food industry. The students were critical of longer-term workers and animosity between student and non-student workers was expressed. These findings suggest that identity management theories, such as Ashforth and Kreiner’s dirty work, may be better suited to understanding students’ participation in fast food work than traditional Marxist frameworks.

Municipal Law Promotes Dues Collections From Fast Food Workers

New York City has a new municipal law that requires fast food industry employers to give their employees the option of automatically deducting contributions from their paychecks to go to a qualified nonprofit that offers services to and advocates on behalf of its members.

Focus: Why McDonald's Tax Practices Matter to the Global Labour Movement

8 | International Union Rights | 25/1 FOCUS | TAX AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS Why McDonald’s Tax Practices Matter to the Global Labour Movement In 2009, McDonald’s Corporation – the largest fast food company in the world and the planet’s secondlargest private-sector employer – decided to set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg to handle ‘Intellectual Property’ for all of its European operations. Every McDonald’s store in Europe paid 5 percent of its revenue in exchange for the right to sell Big Macs and every other ‘McProduct’ – which presumably cost a great deal of money to intellectually develop – and these royalties were funnelled to this corporate entity in Luxembourg. So this company in Luxemburg had an annual revenue of roughly $800 million starting in 2009 and about $1 billion each subsequent year until they closed it in 2016. What did they do there with all this money? Develop new products? Perhaps special sauces to help McDonald’s sell more burgers? Apparently not, as the company in Luxemburg was housed in a small, anonymous office complex, and it had a mere thirteen employees spread between its head office in Luxembourg and branches in Switzerland, the UK and in the USA. Seven billion dollars over seven years: not bad revenue for a company of thirteen people! Of course, locating subsidiaries in tax jurisdictions within the EU that have accommodating tax agreements that allow companies to pay essentially no taxes is nothing new. It is a familiar strategy that many multinationals have been using in Europe. The effective rate of taxation in Luxemburg for this McDonald’s subsidiary was 1.7 percent between 2009 and 2015. What is particularly galling about the McDonald’s case is that it is a brick-and-mortar company, not a digital entity that makes money in series of ones and zeroes. It is highly visible to consumers, who understand that the money they are paying for a very tangible product is effectively being funnelled out of the country in which they are eating their burger to executives’ pockets in Illinois, where McDonald’s is headquartered. Unlike consumers’ paycheques, which are carefully and methodically taxed, corporate receipts apparently are subject to a different, more malleable set of rules. Thus one of the major economic actors in Europe is not paying its share for the overstretched nurses, the exhausted fire-fighters, and the labouring sanitation workers who are meant to pick up the many McDonald’s wrappers that litter the high streets of Europe. All this in a period of cutbacks and austerity that are stretching public budgets across Europe and leading to real cuts that affect people in real ways. Why McDonald’s Matters McDonald’s practices in Europe are no exception to its conduct in the rest of the world. On the contrary, virtually everywhere McDonald’s operates it uses its power and influence to avoid its legal obligations. In recent years, McDonald’s has been accused of violating labour and tax laws in Brazil, committing antitrust violations in Asia, and illegally harassing and firing workers in the United States. This pattern of behaviour around the world matters because the company exerts a super-sized impact on the global economy. In addition to being the second-largest private employer, McDonald’s is the world’s largest ‘employer of employers’ – small businesses – with 34,000 franchised stores in more than 120 countries. McDonald’s is the world’s biggest buyer of beef, chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes. And it is the world’s largest food supplier, feeding 69 million people a day. McDonald’s influence is huge, but instead of using its global scale to support good jobs and lift standards in the service sector, it uses its enormous footprint for just the opposite. In recent decades, companies like McDonald’s have faced limited resistance to this way of doing business as corporate power has grown across the globe. But starting in 2012 – a few years after McDonald’s in Europe set up its scheme in Luxembourg – fast-food workers in the US started a revolt that would grow into a global movement to hold the burger giant accountable. The ‘Fight for $15’ On Nov. 29, 2012, some 200...

Focus: Why McDonald's Tax Practices Matter to the Global Labour Movement

8 | International Union Rights | 25/1 FOCUS | TAX AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS Why McDonald’s Tax Practices Matter to the Global Labour Movement In 2009, McDonald’s Corporation – the largest fast food company in the world and the planet’s secondlargest private-sector employer – decided to set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg to handle ‘Intellectual Property’ for all of its European operations. Every McDonald’s store in Europe paid 5 percent of its revenue in exchange for the right to sell Big Macs and every other ‘McProduct’ – which presumably cost a great deal of money to intellectually develop – and these royalties were funnelled to this corporate entity in Luxembourg. So this company in Luxemburg had an annual revenue of roughly $800 million starting in 2009 and about $1 billion each subsequent year until they closed it in 2016. What did they do there with all this money? Develop new products? Perhaps special sauces to help McDonald’s sell more burgers? Apparently not, as the company in Luxemburg was housed in a small, anonymous office complex, and it had a mere thirteen employees spread between its head office in Luxembourg and branches in Switzerland, the UK and in the USA. Seven billion dollars over seven years: not bad revenue for a company of thirteen people! Of course, locating subsidiaries in tax jurisdictions within the EU that have accommodating tax agreements that allow companies to pay essentially no taxes is nothing new. It is a familiar strategy that many multinationals have been using in Europe. The effective rate of taxation in Luxemburg for this McDonald’s subsidiary was 1.7 percent between 2009 and 2015. What is particularly galling about the McDonald’s case is that it is a brick-and-mortar company, not a digital entity that makes money in series of ones and zeroes. It is highly visible to consumers, who understand that the money they are paying for a very tangible product is effectively being funnelled out of the country in which they are eating their burger to executives’ pockets in Illinois, where McDonald’s is headquartered. Unlike consumers’ paycheques, which are carefully and methodically taxed, corporate receipts apparently are subject to a different, more malleable set of rules. Thus one of the major economic actors in Europe is not paying its share for the overstretched nurses, the exhausted fire-fighters, and the labouring sanitation workers who are meant to pick up the many McDonald’s wrappers that litter the high streets of Europe. All this in a period of cutbacks and austerity that are stretching public budgets across Europe and leading to real cuts that affect people in real ways. Why McDonald’s Matters McDonald’s practices in Europe are no exception to its conduct in the rest of the world. On the contrary, virtually everywhere McDonald’s operates it uses its power and influence to avoid its legal obligations. In recent years, McDonald’s has been accused of violating labour and tax laws in Brazil, committing antitrust violations in Asia, and illegally harassing and firing workers in the United States. This pattern of behaviour around the world matters because the company exerts a super-sized impact on the global economy. In addition to being the second-largest private employer, McDonald’s is the world’s largest ‘employer of employers’ – small businesses – with 34,000 franchised stores in more than 120 countries. McDonald’s is the world’s biggest buyer of beef, chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes. And it is the world’s largest food supplier, feeding 69 million people a day. McDonald’s influence is huge, but instead of using its global scale to support good jobs and lift standards in the service sector, it uses its enormous footprint for just the opposite. In recent decades, companies like McDonald’s have faced limited resistance to this way of doing business as corporate power has grown across the globe. But starting in 2012 – a few years after McDonald’s in Europe set up its scheme in Luxembourg – fast-food workers in the US started a revolt that would grow into a global movement to hold the burger giant accountable. The ‘Fight for $15’ On Nov. 29, 2012, some 200...

We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now": The Global Uprising against Poverty Wages by Annelise Orleck

We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now": The Global Uprising against Poverty Wages by Annelise Orleck

Organizing the Precariat: The Fight to Build and Sustain Fast Food Worker Power

The structure of work is undergoing a fundamental transformation in the United States as employers have pushed for more flexible forms of employment including subcontracting, independent contracting, and franchising. These employment structures shift responsibility for working conditions from lead employers onto subsidiary firms or independently contracted workers leading to a fissuring of employment relations. These changes make state regulation of work more difficult, while simultaneously creating new barriers to worker organizing. The goal of this article is to understand how workplace fissuring shapes the strategic repertories available to worker justice organizations (e.g. unions and worker centers) in their efforts to improve conditions for workers. To do this, I develop an in-depth case study of fast food worker organizing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I use case evidence to demonstrate the challenges worker justice organizations encounter deploying workplace-centered organizing strategies aimed at unionizing fast food workers. Then I explain how worker justice organizers in Minneapolis have instead utilized a community-centered strategy to legislate pay and benefit improvements for fast food workers. Finally, I use case evidence to explore the prospects of sustaining fast food worker organizing in Minneapolis and across the country.