SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
McDonald's Slammed for Super-Sized Grip on European Economy
Already known for questionable business practices, multinational corporation challenged for harming food quality across Europe
Jan 12, 2016
From poverty wages to poor working conditions, the business practices of McDonald's are facing mounting protests world-wide.
Now the iconic brand is facing another powerful challenge, this time from three Italian consumer organizations that are demanding an anti-trust investigation from the European Union (EU).
The groups--Codacons, Movimento Difesa del Cittadino, and Cittadinanzattiva--filed a complaint on Monday to the European Commission--the executive wing of the EU. They are backed by unions on both sides of the Atlantic, including the international SEIU.
"This complaint is an important step in recognizing how anti-competitive practices and bad corporate citizenship harm consumers," the coalition wrote in a statement. "We urge the Commission to examine McDonald's franchising system in detail, and take all appropriate action to ensure that the unfair burdens on the company's franchisees end, and can no longer harm consumers."
The groups charge that the multinational food company "abuses its dominant fast-food market position in Europe, restricting consumer choice and leading to higher prices and poorer quality of service and food," according to a summary of the complaint by the low-wage worker campaign Fight for $15.
For example, the food giant is accused of being an exploitative landlord--charging exorbitant rents to franchisees at up to 10 times the market rate.
The complaint follows a separate Commission investigation, launched last month, into whether the multinational corporation is unfairly dodging taxes in Luxembourg.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Commission confirmed receiving the complaint. If found guilty of breaking EU anti-trust law, the multinational could fined "up to 10 percent of their global revenue," the paper reported.
"To coincide with the filing of the antitrust complaint and the petition on working conditions, two-dozen U.S. McDonald's workers are traveling to Europe this week to meet with politicians in six countries," Fight for $15 wrote. "They plan to discuss their involvement in the Fight for $15 as well as the importance of holding McDonald's, the world's No. 2 private employer, accountable to workers, consumers, and taxpayers."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
From poverty wages to poor working conditions, the business practices of McDonald's are facing mounting protests world-wide.
Now the iconic brand is facing another powerful challenge, this time from three Italian consumer organizations that are demanding an anti-trust investigation from the European Union (EU).
The groups--Codacons, Movimento Difesa del Cittadino, and Cittadinanzattiva--filed a complaint on Monday to the European Commission--the executive wing of the EU. They are backed by unions on both sides of the Atlantic, including the international SEIU.
"This complaint is an important step in recognizing how anti-competitive practices and bad corporate citizenship harm consumers," the coalition wrote in a statement. "We urge the Commission to examine McDonald's franchising system in detail, and take all appropriate action to ensure that the unfair burdens on the company's franchisees end, and can no longer harm consumers."
The groups charge that the multinational food company "abuses its dominant fast-food market position in Europe, restricting consumer choice and leading to higher prices and poorer quality of service and food," according to a summary of the complaint by the low-wage worker campaign Fight for $15.
For example, the food giant is accused of being an exploitative landlord--charging exorbitant rents to franchisees at up to 10 times the market rate.
The complaint follows a separate Commission investigation, launched last month, into whether the multinational corporation is unfairly dodging taxes in Luxembourg.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Commission confirmed receiving the complaint. If found guilty of breaking EU anti-trust law, the multinational could fined "up to 10 percent of their global revenue," the paper reported.
"To coincide with the filing of the antitrust complaint and the petition on working conditions, two-dozen U.S. McDonald's workers are traveling to Europe this week to meet with politicians in six countries," Fight for $15 wrote. "They plan to discuss their involvement in the Fight for $15 as well as the importance of holding McDonald's, the world's No. 2 private employer, accountable to workers, consumers, and taxpayers."
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
From poverty wages to poor working conditions, the business practices of McDonald's are facing mounting protests world-wide.
Now the iconic brand is facing another powerful challenge, this time from three Italian consumer organizations that are demanding an anti-trust investigation from the European Union (EU).
The groups--Codacons, Movimento Difesa del Cittadino, and Cittadinanzattiva--filed a complaint on Monday to the European Commission--the executive wing of the EU. They are backed by unions on both sides of the Atlantic, including the international SEIU.
"This complaint is an important step in recognizing how anti-competitive practices and bad corporate citizenship harm consumers," the coalition wrote in a statement. "We urge the Commission to examine McDonald's franchising system in detail, and take all appropriate action to ensure that the unfair burdens on the company's franchisees end, and can no longer harm consumers."
The groups charge that the multinational food company "abuses its dominant fast-food market position in Europe, restricting consumer choice and leading to higher prices and poorer quality of service and food," according to a summary of the complaint by the low-wage worker campaign Fight for $15.
For example, the food giant is accused of being an exploitative landlord--charging exorbitant rents to franchisees at up to 10 times the market rate.
The complaint follows a separate Commission investigation, launched last month, into whether the multinational corporation is unfairly dodging taxes in Luxembourg.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Commission confirmed receiving the complaint. If found guilty of breaking EU anti-trust law, the multinational could fined "up to 10 percent of their global revenue," the paper reported.
"To coincide with the filing of the antitrust complaint and the petition on working conditions, two-dozen U.S. McDonald's workers are traveling to Europe this week to meet with politicians in six countries," Fight for $15 wrote. "They plan to discuss their involvement in the Fight for $15 as well as the importance of holding McDonald's, the world's No. 2 private employer, accountable to workers, consumers, and taxpayers."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.