Day 138 - 20 Jun 95 - Page 08


     
     1        that process of debate and discussion?
     2        A.  No, the contrary.  We encourage it.
     3
     4   Q.   Mr. Stein, behind you on top of the shelf you should find
     5        some loose leaflets.  What I am looking for is a copy of
     6        that (Indicating) which you may or not have seen before.
     7        That is the libel in this case?
     8        A.  Yes, I have seen that before.
     9
    10   Q.   That is it.  Could you turn, please, to the last page but
    11        one?
    12        A.  The last page?
    13
    14   Q.   The last page but one.  Do you see a section headed:
    15        "What's it like working for McDonald's?", in the middle of
    16        the left-hand side?
    17        A.  Yes, I do.
    18
    19   Q.   "What's it like working for McDonald's?"
    20        A.  Yes, I have it here.
    21
    22   Q.   It reads:  "There must be a serious problem.  Even though
    23        80 per cent of McDonald's workers are part-time, the annual
    24        staff turnover is 60 per cent.  In the USA, it is 300 per
    25        cent.  It is not unusual for their restaurant workers to
    26        quit after just four or five weeks.  The reasons are not
    27        hard to find".  I do not ask for any comment about that at
    28        this stage, Mr. Stein.
    29
    30        Then it goes on in capital letters:  "No unions allowed".
    31        Black blob:  "Workers in catering do badly in terms of pay
    32        and conditions.  They are at work in the evenings and at
    33        weekends doing long shifts in hot, smelly, noisy
    34        environments.  Wages are low, chances of promotion are
    35        minimal".  Again I have asked you about that so far as
    36        I need to at the moment.
    37
    38        Then it goes on: "To improve this through trade union
    39        negotiation is very difficult.  There is no union
    40        specifically for these workers".  Pause there.  Is that a
    41        statement which is true of the United States or not?
    42        A.  Not true at all.  There are literally, I was going to
    43        say scores of unions, but there are hundreds of unions in
    44        the United States, maybe beyond hundreds, that are
    45        available for employees in our industry.
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It is a question I want someone to inform me
    48        about in relation to the UK in due course, but we had
    49        mentioned in court of a very large British trade union, The
    50        Transport and General Workers Union, which, you will not be 
    51        surprised to hear, takes an interest in having people in 
    52        the catering trade as members, but I think what you are 
    53        being asked is whether there is a union in the United
    54        States which is specifically concerned with the interests
    55        of people working in the catering industry, not just a
    56        union which would be happy to have them as members, but
    57        specifically directed at having them as members?
    58        A.  My Lord, let me try to explain that. If I do not hit
    59        the mark, please come back to me.
    60

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