Behind the Counter

Around the world, restaurant industry has been growing much faster than the population. Fast-food restaurants, which the easiest way to overcome long-term and presto working hours with short-term lunctimes, lead. However, in addition to opportunity of “easy-eating” for workers, we have to think of these restaurants’ own workers. About two-thirds of the fast food workers are under the age of twenty. It’s an informed choice because teenagers accept to work longer with low wages and, because of their inexperience, it’s easier to control them.

Also, the labor practice of fast food industry which is called “throughput” means to work faster and much more. For this, this industry has a transformation by saving these labor practices: The commercial kitchens become small factories and familiar foods become commodities. Shapes of foods and even the features of their papers are stable. Even as the foods are “producted” by not people but machines in factories, it’s not surprising to be converted to robots by the industry. According to employers, there is not wrong to create low-paying, low-skilled and short-term jobs for the poor. Moreoever, their measure is ready for people who think of the presence of any mistake: Motivation. They lie their way out of workers: “If you were not, we would not be.” Actually, it is totally true! Yet, this, with obvious examples of mobbing, blocks to organize. For instance, non of the workers at McDonald’s is represented by an union, because even one worker does not think of their rights and if s/he was fired from job, s/he has to look for another one.

By the way, it was interesting that unlike clothing or sporting goods stores, working at fast food restaurants shows a low social status. Another problem about social status is that previously while only father was working and mother was rising children, all persons of a family has to work now. It’s a striking example to be poorer and forced to work more and more as long as working for low