April 27,2011
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Applaud McDonalds for Doing its Part
Addition o f50,000
hires means a
stronger economy
M arc H. M orial
In March, the American
economy added 216,000
jobs and the unemployment
rate fell to 8.8 percent, the
lowest in two years. That
is the good news.
The bad news is that the nation has a
mighty long way to go to recoup the 13
million jobs lost during the great reces­
sion. The real bad news is that with an
unemployment rate of 15.5 percent for
African Americans and 11.3 percent for
Hispanics, communities of color seem to
be fighting a losing battle to keep from
being overwhelmed by the jobs crisis.
For more than two years, the National
by
Urban League has led the call for a
national response to extremely high un­
employment throughout urban America.
Our Jobs Rebuild America 12-point
plan offers a blueprint for change. It
calls for the restoration o f the Summer
Youth Jobs Program to provide summer
jobs for millions of teens. We also
propose greater public/ private invest­
ments in job training for those most at-
risk for joblessness and least equipped to
navigate their way back to gainful em ­
ployment. And while Washington thus
far does not appear to be listening, we
have sought and found allies elsewhere,
including some in corporate America.
For example, we are pleased that last
w eek, M c D o n a ld ’s C o rp o ra tio n ,
launched an unprecedented hiring cam­
paign aimed at adding 50,000 new crew
and management employees to its pay­
rolls. The company plans to add 3-4 new
workers to each of its 14,000 U.S. res­
taurants.
In addition to providing a pathway
back to the dignity of work, many of
these new “Mcjobs” come with training,
flexible work schedules, competitive
benefits, scholarship opportunities and
growth potential. The company points
out that more than 75 percent of its
restaurant managers and many of its
corporate staff and executive leader­
ship, including current company presi­
dent, Jan Fields, started behind the
counter.
M cDonald’s projects that the addition
of 50,000 new employees will boost the
economies of states and local econo­
mies, which can likely expect an addi­
tional $430 million spent on housing, al­
most $186 million in taxes, and $180.5
million in grocery purchases.
African American teens, 38.5 percent
of whom are currently unemployed, may
especially benefit from this hiring blitz.
The unemployment rate for black teens
consistently hovers near 40 percent, the
highest rate of any group in the country.
In addition to putting thousands of black
teens on successful career paths, each
year M cDonald’s selects one high school
student-employee from each state and
the District of Columbia for $2,500 schol-
arships, as w ell as three national
“McScholar” winners who each receive
$5,000 scholarships.
The National Urban League will con­
tinue to push for federal action in re­
sponse to the jobs crisis in urban America.
In the m e a n tim e , we a p p lau d
M cDonald’s for doing its part with its
“National Hiring Day.”
More jobs mean a stronger economy
and a better future for our children, our
neighbors and our nation.
Marc H. Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the National
Urban League.
Standing Up for Working Class Neighbors
Public sector jobs are core to
a middle class society
M. L inda J aramillo
As I boarded a plane
today, I was confronted by
what I call a first class
attitude.
A passenger had put his/
her fairly large bag in the
overhead bin where it did not fit.
It was simply too long, and it was
left sticking out beyond possibil­
ity of the bin closing. I’m really
not sure what he or she ex­
pected to happen. I can only
assume that the passenger ex­
pected a flight attendant to make
it fit; that the staff would fix it.
Those of us who are privileged
to travel by airplane have most
likely had a similar experience.
Most airlines offer a first class
experience. There is more space,
customer service is ramped up,
and they serve pretty good food.
However, classism has a far
broader reach than the airline
by
in d u stry
alo n e.
There are so many
other places where
first class behavior
and first class atti­
tudes seem to be the
norm in our country
where we claim to be a working
class society.
The most recent one is the
offensive on our working class
neighbors who are employed in
the public sector.
I do not understand why those
work for cities, counties, states,
and school districts have become
the target of our disdain. In
states like Wisconsin and Ohio,
our “public” officials have de­
termined that unions and collec­
tive bargaining are the cause of
the economic downturn so they
must be done away with. Have
we forgotten that the economic
crash was the result of corrupt
business practices in the finan­
cial industry, not in the public
service arena? Have we forgot­
ten that in some states, the bud­
get crisis is because they have
continued to cut taxes thereby
reducing revenues?
Unions are not perfect just as
no other organization is perfect.
However, unions are owned by
their members; members who
can exercise their voting rights
to change what is not working.
They were formed out of a need
to improve working conditions.
We must not forget that most
of us have benefitted by collec­
tive bargaining negotiations and
now we benefit from the gifts of
collective bargaining, such as
paid vacations, sick leave, safety
in the workplace, etc. It seems
odd that our democratic system
that treasures voting rights has
somehow decided to negate the
voting rights of people who have
organized unions for a purpose.
We have watched the middle
c la ss d isa p p e a r in n atio n s
throughout the world. But we
have failed to acknowledge that
our country is headed in the same
direction.
Data proves that the middle
class is essential to any flourish­
ing economic system. Public
workers are at the core of a
middle class society that cares
for its working class. The Cleve­
land Plain Dealer recently pub­
lished the results of a survey that
indicates that 40 percent of those
polled would be willing to have
their taxes raised and only 20
percent advocate for public
workers to lose their benefits.
Who are our elected officials
listening to?
I hope you will join me by
voicing your support of the bar­
gaining rights of teachers, gar­
bage and highway workers, po­
lice and fire fighters, office work­
ers in schools, city halls and state
office buildings, and so on.
Those who work in public sec­
tor jobs, members of working
class America, deserve to be
treated with first class respect.
M. Linda Jaramillo is the
executive minister fo r Justice
M inistries in the United
Church o f Christ.
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