Day 003 - 30 Jun 94 - Page 26
1 Q. The next sentence top of the next page: "McDonald's have
a policy of preventing unionisation by getting rid of
2 pro-union workers"?
A. Rubbish.
3
Q. What would happen -- you say it has never been attempted
4 -- has any of the big unions -- I suppose the most
appropriate might be the Transport & General; I am not
5 quite sure about that -- who might represent workers in
your stores ever approached you personally?
6 A. No, never approached me.
7 Q. So far as you know have they ever approached your human
resources department?
8 A. They might have. Certainly no employee has ever said
to me, and I guess I have done McDonald's at most every
9 level there is to do it both here and in the US; 30 years
of cooking hamburgers, waiting on customers, middle
10 management, whatever, I have ever never ever been
approached by someone saying: I think I need third party
11 to interject into our relationship. It has never happened.
12 Q. What about the local level? I mean, suppose by way
of hypothetical example, the local union official were to
13 speak to the restaurant manager and the restaurant manager
were to ask the workers and the workers said they would
14 like to join a union, what would happen then?
A. We are pro-choice, we are pro-individual. If an
15 individual wants to join a union, that is their
perogative. The law gives him or her that right. If a
16 union wanted to talk to our employees, it is their
obligation to make the approach, not our managers on their
17 behalf. But if a store felt they wanted to be unionised,
we would have to do it.
18
Q. Who in that situation, hypothetical situation, would
19 negotiate with the union?
A. I think it would be handled from human resources.
20
Q. Are you aware of any cases in this country during your 20
21 years when that has actually happened?
A. No.
22
Q. Then the next paragraph: "Trained to sweat". Have you
23 got that?
A. I do.
24
Q. "It's obvious that all large chain-stores and junk-food
25 giants depend for their fat profits on the labour of young
people". Would you like to make any comment about that
26 sentence?
A. I think it is false.
27
Q. What do your profits, be they fat or thin, Mr. Preston,
28 depend on?
A. They depend on sales, making customers happy in such a
29 way that they will come back and buy our products. I can
go broke very, very quickly if no-one walks through the
30 front door, satisfied that what they are going to get
under those arches is quality, service, cleanliness,
