6 ms·

Unions, unions, unions.

by jdkee 7y ago

threatofrain 7y ago
The most powerful tool in any union is a strike, but McDonalds is okay with that now, and won't be bringing in any scabs to replace those who are gone. They will be replaced by machines and the consumers are going to see a value-add.
- ogre_magi 7y ago
  I get McDonald's for breakfast occasionally and I really, really like the kiosks. A much better and more reliable ordering experience.
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    Does the USA not have mobile ordering for McD’s? Or is that just a Canada trial thing?
    - bluedino 7y ago
      We have them.
- CharlesColeman 7y ago
  > They will be replaced by machines and the consumers are going to see a value-add. This is tech fantasy, like Musk promising that Teslas will be fully self-driving any minute now.
  - threatofrain 7y ago
    By tech fantasy are we talking about the kiosks which are already providing a value-add to customers? Similarly, sometimes when I see a restaurant use Yelp for check-in, reservations, and queue management, I imagine that's a sizable fraction of a job.
    - CharlesColeman 7y ago
      > By tech fantasy are we talking about the kiosks which are already providing a value-add to customers? No, we're talking about the making and packaging diverse types of food to order. That's why people go to McDonalds, and it's something that's surprisingly difficult to automate. McDonalds workers will be able to strike effectively as long as that's true. Also, I don't consider ordering kiosks a value add for a customer. I've used them, they've been little to no benefit over ordering in person. It's just futzing around with yet another flaky touch screen, and who knows if the last person who used it had a cold or something. Their handling of process exceptions is like Google's customer support: non-existant. They're just a cost saving measure for business owners. It's not about "providing a value-add to customers" at all. Remote ordering is a small value add, since it does permit some level of customer multi-tasking.
      - hateful 7y ago
        I tried that kiosk once (I don't often go to McDonald's) and was surprised to find that you could not order by number/meal. It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to order what we wanted and then at the end there were no "buzzers" in the bin and I had to re-order at the counter!
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
larrywright 7y ago
There’s a compelling argument that unions, combined with the fight for $15 minimum wage, will do nothing but make the situation worse. Nobody is going to pay $20 for a burger and fries. McDonald’s would either have to go almost entirely automated or cease to exist as a company.
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  McDonalds workers are unionized in Australia (https://www.sda.org.au/media-release-new-mcdonalds-agreement-approved-by-workers/ https://www.sda.org.au/media-release-new-mcdonalds-agreement...). The Australian minimum wage is AU$19.49. A burger and fries doesn't cost you $20.
  - larrywright 7y ago
    No, it’s closer to $15 (depending on what you get), which is still too high to be tenable here. https://www.aussieprices.com.au/mcdonalds-prices/ https://www.aussieprices.com.au/mcdonalds-prices/
    - ceejayoz 7y ago
      That page indicates a Big Mac meal (which includes a drink, too) starts at $9.80, which is US$6.70. The cost for this meal appears to be US$5.99 in the US - quite similar. That's not close to $15 (or $20) by any stretch of the imagination.
      - larrywright 7y ago
        I was basing it on the other meals, which were on the order of $11-13. A Big Mac meal isn’t $5.99 where I live so the gap feels larger to me. Either way, I think that the assertion of “this thing worked over there so it will work the same way here” is overly optimistic. But ultimately I don’t much care - I rarely eat there, so if McDonald’s got very expensive or went out of business, it wouldn’t have much impact on my life. If they want to unionize, more power to them. I’m not a fan of unions overall. I recognize that they’ve done some good things, but the people I’ve known who were in unions or worked in union shops don’t describe places that I’d want to work in.

Unions, unions, unions.

by jdkee 7y ago

Unions, unions, unions.

The most powerful tool in any union is a strike, but McDonalds is okay with that now, and won't be bringing in any scabs to replace those who are gone. They will be replaced by machines and the consumers are going to see a value-add.

ogre_magi 7y ago
I get McDonald's for breakfast occasionally and I really, really like the kiosks. A much better and more reliable ordering experience.
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  Does the USA not have mobile ordering for McD’s? Or is that just a Canada trial thing?
  - bluedino 7y ago
    We have them.
CharlesColeman 7y ago
> They will be replaced by machines and the consumers are going to see a value-add. This is tech fantasy, like Musk promising that Teslas will be fully self-driving any minute now.
- threatofrain 7y ago
  By tech fantasy are we talking about the kiosks which are already providing a value-add to customers? Similarly, sometimes when I see a restaurant use Yelp for check-in, reservations, and queue management, I imagine that's a sizable fraction of a job.
  - CharlesColeman 7y ago
    > By tech fantasy are we talking about the kiosks which are already providing a value-add to customers? No, we're talking about the making and packaging diverse types of food to order. That's why people go to McDonalds, and it's something that's surprisingly difficult to automate. McDonalds workers will be able to strike effectively as long as that's true. Also, I don't consider ordering kiosks a value add for a customer. I've used them, they've been little to no benefit over ordering in person. It's just futzing around with yet another flaky touch screen, and who knows if the last person who used it had a cold or something. Their handling of process exceptions is like Google's customer support: non-existant. They're just a cost saving measure for business owners. It's not about "providing a value-add to customers" at all. Remote ordering is a small value add, since it does permit some level of customer multi-tasking.
    - hateful 7y ago
      I tried that kiosk once (I don't often go to McDonald's) and was surprised to find that you could not order by number/meal. It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to order what we wanted and then at the end there were no "buzzers" in the bin and I had to re-order at the counter!
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]

larrywright 7y ago

There’s a compelling argument that unions, combined with the fight for $15 minimum wage, will do nothing but make the situation worse. Nobody is going to pay $20 for a burger and fries. McDonald’s would either have to go almost entirely automated or cease to exist as a company.

ceejayoz 7y ago
McDonalds workers are unionized in Australia (https://www.sda.org.au/media-release-new-mcdonalds-agreement-approved-by-workers/ https://www.sda.org.au/media-release-new-mcdonalds-agreement...). The Australian minimum wage is AU$19.49. A burger and fries doesn't cost you $20.
- larrywright 7y ago
  No, it’s closer to $15 (depending on what you get), which is still too high to be tenable here. https://www.aussieprices.com.au/mcdonalds-prices/ https://www.aussieprices.com.au/mcdonalds-prices/
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    That page indicates a Big Mac meal (which includes a drink, too) starts at $9.80, which is US$6.70. The cost for this meal appears to be US$5.99 in the US - quite similar. That's not close to $15 (or $20) by any stretch of the imagination.
    - larrywright 7y ago
      I was basing it on the other meals, which were on the order of $11-13. A Big Mac meal isn’t $5.99 where I live so the gap feels larger to me. Either way, I think that the assertion of “this thing worked over there so it will work the same way here” is overly optimistic. But ultimately I don’t much care - I rarely eat there, so if McDonald’s got very expensive or went out of business, it wouldn’t have much impact on my life. If they want to unionize, more power to them. I’m not a fan of unions overall. I recognize that they’ve done some good things, but the people I’ve known who were in unions or worked in union shops don’t describe places that I’d want to work in.