Category: News

McDonald’s outsourcing your drive-thru orders

First the manufacturing jobs went away, then IT, and now this:

The McDonald’s restaurant in Hermiston, Oregon appears to be “outsaucing” customers drive-thru meals.

The restaurant on Highway 395 has outsourced one of the most important jobs at the drive-through window — order taking.

When a customer drives through, they’ll be patched through to Grand Forks, North Dakota to place the order. Why? Because the minimum wage in North Dakota is $5.15, compared to Oregon’s $7.25.

Tim Nesbit is head of Oregon AFLCIO. He says this undercuts Oregon’s minimum wage by more than $2 an hour.

A McDonald’s media relations person in Illinois, where the corporate headquarters is based, never returned a phone call to the [Associated Press]

American Airlines asking about your friends

From Cory Doctorow:

Why is American Airlines gathering written dossiers on fliers’ friends?

Last week on a trip from London to the US, American Airlines demanded that I write out a list of the names and addresses of all the friends I would be staying with in the USA. They claimed that this was due to a TSA regulation, but refused to state which regulation required them to gather this information, nor what they would do with it once they’d gathered it. I raised a stink, and was eventually told that I wouldn’t have to give them the requested dossier because I was a Platinum AAdvantage Card holder (e.g., because I fly frequently with AA).

(continued)

How long until there’s a multiple-choice quiz followed by an essay section you have to pass before you’re allowed on an airline?

Unintentional consequences of amendment

From WCPO News:

Some attorneys are attempting to use Ohio’s new gay marriage amendment to defend unmarried clients against domestic violence charges.

The constitutional amendment took effect on December first. It denies legal status to unmarried couples.

In at least two cases last week, the Cuyahoga County public defender’s office has asked a judge to dismiss domestic-violence charges against unmarried defendants. The attorneys in the two cases argue that the charges violate the amendment by affording marriage-like legal status to unmarried victims who live with the people accused of attacking them.

Advocates for victims of domestic violence have worried about the effect of the amendment since it passed in November. They fear defense attorneys around the state will copy the tactic used in Cuyahoga County.

Of course, the the victim could still press charges for assault even if this defense works, but it would curtail the ability of a third party, usually the state, to press charges even if the victim refuses.

FBI warns about tsunami spam and scams

CNN Money has an article on the FBI’s recent statement about Tsunami relief scams that are appearing on websites and spam mail.

Normally, this would be the point where you’d expect a surprised exclamation about the fact that such a horrible event that’s resulted in more than 150,000 dead would be used so crassly and obviously to make quick money, but the truth is I doubt many of us are surprised by it happening.

It’s telling that when I checked my email in the days after the first reports started coming in I actually expected the folder where my spam filter places the unwanted email it detects to be filled with relief money request scams. Unfortunately, I wasn’t disappointed, because within twenty four hours a 419 scam mail using the disaster as it’s base showed up.