McDonalds' internal employee resource website McResource Line [6]has been no stranger to surreal, farcical scandals in the past several weeks. First, it was revealed that the site was offering MCD workers tips, telling employees to find second jobs, apply for food stamps and sell their things to weather a financial crisis. The site had also given advice on how to tip au pairs, doormen, personal trainers and pool boys. The irony meter went off the charts following a study released in October by UC Berkeley Labor Center and University of Illinois that said 52% of families of fast food workers receive assistance from a public program like Medicaid, food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Still, none of this even remotely compares to the latest debacle at the world's largest fast food maker, when on one of the resource website pages, McDonalds basically strongly urged its employees to eat... elsewhere.
The advice is given with graphics depicting the ‘unhealthy choice’ and the ‘healthier choice.’ McDonald’s own food is in the former column.
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From the Mail [8]:
The fast food giant has advised employees to avoid meals with burgers and fries and to eat healthier options like salad and sandwiches. The advice was dispensed on the now-infamous McResource Line, the employees-only website that has told workers to sell their things and get second jobs to make ends meet.
Despite featuring a vast array of deep fried delicacies, the Golden Arches reminds employees that ‘avoiding items that are deep fried are your best bet.’
The sensible advice also tells McWorkers to ‘limit the extras such as cheese, bacon and mayonnaise.’ Tasty add-ons that are staples of many menu items they serve on a daily basis.
A hamburger, fries and soda are warned against, because ‘eating a diet high in fat puts people at rick for becoming overweight.’ Many locations offer steep food discounts and short breaks to employees, virtually forcing them to eat the unhealthy food, often forcing the hand of workers without the time or means to eat elsewhere.
‘It is hard to eat a healthy diet when you eat at fast-food restaurants often,’ the advice continues. ‘Many foods are cooked with a lot of fat, even if they are not trans fats. Many fast-food restaurants do not offer any lower-fat foods.’
But where should workers eat, if not at McDonalds? "Eat at places that offer a variety of salads, soups, and vegetables." Of course if the food at those places costs a tad over $0.99, and happens to be unattainable to the average McDonalds workers, well then, tough.
Anyway, fast forward to today when in the aftermath of these humiliating revelations we find that the McResource site has been taken down and that MCD workers are no longer strongly advised to eat elsewhere.
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From CNN [9]:
Visitors to McResource Line on Wednesday were greeted with this statement: "We are temporarily performing some maintenance in order to provide you with the best experience possible. Please excuse us while these upgrades are being made."
McDonald's confirmed the site had been taken down in a statement posted on its website. "A combination of factors has led us to re-evaluate and we've directed the vendor to take down the website. Between links to irrelevant or outdated information, along with outside groups taking elements out of context, this created unwarranted scrutiny and inappropriate commentary. None of this helps our McDonald's team members."
Bottom line, dear McDonalds team members: you are once again allowed and even encouraged to wolf down on all the junk food you can afford (if at your place of work, so much the better). After all, obesity will take at least a few years to develop, and by then, courtesy of Obamacare, it will be some other poor taxpayer sap on the hook footing the bill for all those cardiac bypass surgeries...