“McDonald’s Corp. agreed on Monday to pay a penny per pound more to field hands who pick the restaurant chain’s tomatoes — a minuscule-sounding raise that still won plaudits for bringing attention to long-suffering agricultural workers.
The high-profile deal, brokered by former President Jimmy Carter, will put more money in the pockets of underpaid migrants, who toil in the Florida sun to fill 32-pound buckets with the tomatoes McDonald’s uses in its salads and chicken sandwiches.”
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This represents a potential 70% raise for many workers who currently earn under $200 a week and will end up costing McDonald’s only around 1 million. I know that there are still serious issues involved with this situation, but it is a step in the right direction (that being justice, fairness, and respect for all people) It’s going to take big companies like this to set the precedent for others. Granted its easy for McDonald’s to say we can afford to acknowledge that our workers might be real people with real families and real needs and that we will try to treat them a little less like crap. For others worship at the alters of capitalism and saving a buck will continue to be used as justification for treating people unjustly. But when the trend setters actually start setting decent trends, perhaps progress can be made.