Day 138 - 20 Jun 95 - Page 07

     
     1        employees.  We would definitely prefer that, there is no
     2        question, but we would obey the wishes of our employees if
     3        they wanted to be represented and we would, clearly, comply
     4        with the laws of our country.
     5
     6   Q.   Can I ask you this?  It may be suggested to you that the
     7        fact that there are no unionised restaurants in the United
     8        States or, indeed, in this country in the McDonald's
     9        organisation, deprives the workforce of certain benefits in
    10        relation to pay, conditions, or representation in relation
    11        to certain instances, pay, conditions, safety at work,
    12        legal representation, things like that.  Do you have a
    13        comment about that?
    14        A.  I think that that is totally wrong.  I can tell you,
    15        from my experience, having seen labour agreements in our
    16        industry that have terms and conditions that are less than
    17        what our people enjoy.
    18
    19   Q.   I do not know about about the United States.  When a union
    20        negotiates a wage increase on behalf of its members inside
         a company, how are the increases tailored?  Are they across
    22        the board percentage annual increases or how does it work?
    23        A.  Generally speaking, pay for performance is alien to
    24        union contracts and it would generally be an across the
    25        board increase based upon seniority, if you will.
    26
    27   Q.   What is the Company's attitude towards attempts, either by
    28        crew members themselves or by agents for unions, to
    29        organise within your restaurants?
    30        A.  You would expect (and it does occur) that, from time to
    31        time, unions attempt to organise our restaurants, either
    32        directly appealing to our employees or, frankly, trying to
    33        use some muscle and not deal with our employees but try to
    34        force us one way or another into a contract.
    35
    36   Q.   How do you react to that, if it should happen?
    37        A.  What we try to do is make sure that if it is an attempt
    38        with our employees (and there have been attempts where they
    39        do not really care about the employees and they are just
    40        applying pressure to us), but if, in fact, it is the case
         where they are applying pressure to us, we seek the
    42        recourse of the National Labour Relations Act because
    43        employees under the law are not permitted to do that yet
    44        they do it, but it is not legal to do that or appropriate
    45        under the American system.
    46
    47        If it is an attempt directly with our employees, we want to
    48        make sure that our employees factually understand what it
    49        is all about, and we will do our best to communicate as
    50        even handedly as possible what those facts are and 
    51        encourage, frankly, our employees to seek out facts on 
    52        their own so they can weigh the claims and the 
    53        counterclaims that often times happen in what I would call
    54        somewhat of a political atmosphere.  I think I
    55        have described it on occasion to be somewhat like the House
    56        of Commons, with both sides saying things.  Then our
    57        employees need to evaluate it and seek out from neutral
    58        people views and opinions.
    59
    60   Q.   Is there any Company policy designed to inhibit or prevent