Seriously? This kind of thing is nightmarish for low-wage workers. - Dan
From: "Taren S-K, SumOfUs.org" <us@sumofus.org>
Date: Jun 30, 2013 9:12 AM
Subject: McDonald's
To: "Daniel A. Stafford" <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Cc:
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Daniel,
When single mother Natalie Gunshannon went to get her first paycheck from her new job at McDonald's, she was in for a shock -- McDonald's gave Natalie her salary on a debit card that came with ridiculous hidden charges, like forcing her to pay $5 every time she withdraws her money at her bank.
What's more, when Natalie asked for a check, McDonald's refused, saying she had to take the card -- and the charges -- or not take any money at all. This scheme allows her local franchise operator to save a few dollars from the cost of cutting checks by making deals with big banks that force employees to use fee-ridden cards. In many cases, the high costs push workers below minimum wage.
Tell McDonald's to ban the practice of forcing employees into fee-laden debit cards.
The practice of replacing checks with expensive cards is gaining ground with employers around the country -- and in some cases has even been used for food stamps. This practice saves businesses money and allows banks to charge ridiculous sums -- Natalie was forced to pay $15 to replace her card if she ever lost it -- because employers know that they won't have to pay the high fees, their employees will be the ones charged.
This is abuse of employer privileges, pure and simple, telling workers that they have no choice but to accept unfair charges or go hungry. Employers are forcing this upon their workers because in a bad economy, they don't think workers have a choice to speak up -- even though the practice is illegal.
Sadly this story is far from unique. Not only do workers in the service sector face poverty wages, they're frequently exploited in other, often illegal ways. A report last month found that nearly 90 percent of fast food workers in New York City had had their wages stolen by their bosses. Meanwhile business has been booming for fast food restaurants, retail chains, and other low-wage employers -- profits and executive pay have never been higher.
But now workers are banding together to fix our broken economy and make sure that all workers are getting a fair deal. This year, thousands of retail and fast food workers have gone on strike demanding a living wage and fair treatment at work.
If we band together to call out businesses that engage in this horrendous practice, we can send a powerful message to anyone who tries to push outlandish charges onto their employees that this will not be tolerated. Together, we can stop this before it becomes widespread. Please join today to stand together with workers, before the effects of high unemployment and employee abuse trickle up to hurt us all.
Sign our petitions to McDonald's: get rid of these exploitative debit cards.
Thank you.
Taren, Claiborne, and the SumOfUs team
**********
More information:
ABC News: McDonald's Worker Says She Was Forced To Receive Pay on Fee-Laden Debit Card, 17 June, 2013
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