[Marxism] China Union Expands at McDonald's

["Walter Lippmann" <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

(Gee, I never heard of a union at McDonalds in the U.S. 
Does McDonald's have unions in Russia, or other countries? 
Anyone out there know? Readers in Russia? Canada? France?)
=================================================================

China Union Expands at McDonald's
By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH
April 7, 2007; Page A3

SHANGHAI -- McDonald's Corp. said it will cooperate with China's
government-affiliated trade union to set up branches at its
restaurants in the southern city of Guangzhou by the end of July, as
labor leaders seek to boost their influence at foreign companies.

McDonald's outlets in many Chinese cities are already unionized. 
The number of workers represented by the All-China Federation of Trade
Unions, the country's only legal union umbrella group, is expected to
rise through the rest of the year, the company said.

Last year, U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. bowed to pressure to
let the ACFTU organize workers at its more than 60 stores across
China. Nestlé SA and British do-it-yourself chain B&Q PLC have also
been unionized, said union officials, who are aiming to organize
workers at other multinationals.

"Foreign companies always resist, like Wal-Mart did before last year,
so they become our key targets to overcome," said Li Jianming, the
union's director of international affairs. "Chinese companies usually
have a better understanding and cooperate on the issue of unions."

Mr. Li said that the union hadn't been facing resistance at
McDonald's, which has 797 restaurants in China.

Union officials in Guangzhou boasted of their gains at McDonald's and
asserted that they were also making progress with Yum Brands Inc.,
which operates KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants. Their announcement
followed a decision by authorities in Guangzhou to investigate pay
practices at McDonald's and Yum after a newspaper report alleged
part-time student workers were underpaid.

Both companies have denied violating any laws and say they are
talking to city officials about a new regulation, which took effect
last Sunday, after the newspaper story was published, that set a
minimum wage for student workers of 7.5 yuan, or about 97 cents, an
hour. Under China's national labor law, students are exempt from
minimum-wage regulations.

McDonald's says that its agreement with the ACFTU to set up unions in
its Guangzhou stores predates the government investigation. "We've
had a plan in place since November," said Gary Rosen, McDonald's
chief marketing and corporate-affairs officer for China. "We have
been abiding by all the wage laws." An official at Yum, meanwhile,
disputed a union official's statement that the company had given it a
"promising response," saying that Yum had made no such comment.

The ACFTU's stronghold is in China's mammoth state-controlled
enterprises, a holdover from the decades when China had a centrally
planned communist economy. As the country has moved increasingly
toward free enterprise, the union has sought to also organize workers
at private companies. Large local companies that have been unionized
include Chinese electronics maker TCL Corp., the union said.


________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism