Mc Job

A job working at McDonalds, or by extension any form of employment held in similar disregard. That is to say, the worst case result when you JustGetAnyJob.

The more realistic, but equally dismal outcome, is a WalJob. I'd say more dismal. While McDonalds isn't exactly a great place to work--the work is boring and routine, and the pay ain't great--McDonalds has nowhere the reputation for mistreatment of workers that WalMart does.

• From what little research I've done, I'd have to say the "reputation for mistreatment" is largely unearned. Nobody finds it odd that McDonalds workers have no union. WalMart, on the other hand is really big, has big stores, and is centrally owned, rather than franchised, making it a delicious target for the unions, who view any large body of employees as their property. The company, having witnessed the gradual decline of other large, unionized American businesses is, not surprisingly, reluctant to share their fate. I have other bones to pick with them, but "not having a union" isn't one of them.
• WalMart is well-known for its anti-union activities, including the outright closing of at least one store whose workers organized. WalMart is also been successfully sued for widespread abuses such as mandatory work off-the-clock (for hourly employees), sex discrimination, and so forth. Then there was the recently discovered memo, wherein it was suggested by a senior manager that WalMart add physical duties (like box-lifting) to the job descriptions of all employees, in order to allow WalMart to legally discriminate against persons who are likely to have larger health insurance claims. At any rate, their reputation for mistreatment is not solely based on the presence or absence of a union.
  • On the topic of "physical lifting", I would like to mention that in a certain Asian place I know, it is "not uncommon" for employers to get women near the final weeks of pregnancy to do "lifting work". This is a mechanism to avoid paying for maternality leave.
    • Which country? Is the intent to have the women quit, or to have the women miscarry?