fast food alienation

107 Pages·2010·1.09 MB·English

by  Jeremy Milloy

FASTF OODA LIENATIONS:E RVICEW ORKA ND
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SIMONF RASERU NIVERSITY
Fall 2007
All rightsr eservedT. hisw orkm ayn otb e
reproduceidn w holeo r in part,b y photocopy
or otherm eansw, ithoupt ermissioonf t hea uthor.

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ABSTRACT
SinceW orld Wor ll, servicew ork hosb ecomet he moiore mployment
sectori n North Americo.O ne of the mostr ecognizoblefo rmsi t tqkesi s in the
fostf ood industryo, multi-billiodno llor businesws ith outletso ll over the globe.
Littleh osb eenw ritteno boutt he historyo f thisw ork, centrolt o the functioning
of the globole conomyo nd o key porto f the movef romo n industrioelc onomy
to o consumeor ne. Thism oveh osc hongedw ork drosticolloyn d rolledb ock
the limitedb orgoino f postworF ordism.
Thist hesish istoricizefso stf ood work by exominingB C'sW hite Spot
choin,w hichu nlikeo lmosto ny otherh osb eenu nionizedfo r overt hree
decodes.D rowingo n unionr ecordso nd orol interviewsi,t onolyzesf ostf ood
unionisme, voluoteso rgonizingi n the sector,o nd drowso ut workploce
dynomicsq nd processeso;r guingt hotl obourp rocticeisn thiss ectorh oveb een
crucioli n mokingw ork more exploitotive.
Keywords: fast food; labour history; Fordism; service work; unions
Subject Terms: Fast Food Restaurants- Canada;L abour Unions -
RestaurantE mployees- Canada- 2}thC entury
ill
To Soroh,f or everything
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I hod heqrdq lot of greott hingsq boutM qrk Leierb eforeI comet o SFU,
but he stillm onogedt o exceedm y expectotionsF.o r hisk nowledge,
encourogemenrtig, or,g ood humor,o nd coochingl,o m trulyg rotefull.o m
olsot honkfuflo r the chollengeosn d supporto fferedb y EliseC heniero, nd to
StephenM cBridef or beingq perceptiveo nd engogede xternoel xqminer.
My reseorchw os oided enormouslyb y the stoffo t UBC'sR oreB ooks
ondsS pecioCl ollectionsw,h ilem y progressth rought he progromw os enobled
ond encourqgedb y the stoffo t SFU'sH istoryD eportmentI. musto lsot honk
thosew orkersq nd trode unionistws ho grociouslyto ok timef or on interview.
Supporte, ncourogemenlto,u ghtero, nd intellectuoslt imulotiowne re
providedb y my friends,b oth ot SFUq nd outsideT. honky ou. Thonky ou to my
fomily,J ohn,M olly,C lore,B ridgeto, nd M-J,w hosel oveq nd encourogement
hoves ustoinemd e qnd whosee xomplesh ovei nspiredm e.T hisw ork is olsoi n
memoryo f my mother,C otherine.
Finollyt,h isw ork is dedicotedt o Soroh,w ith boundlessg rotitudef or
your love in oll its mony monifestqtionIs o. m luckyo nd proudy ou shorey our
lifew ith me, ond I with you.
TobleO f Contents
Poge
Approvol ii
Abstroct iii
Dedicotion iv
Acknowledgements Y
Chopter1 : IntroductionJ:o bsO f lhe Fulure
Chopter2 : Serving,S weoting,S milingo nd Selling:W ork of White Spof ond
r9
KFC
Chopter 3: "l Didn't EvenK nowW e HodA Union" 47
Chopter4 : "l GuessT hisK indo PufsS guomishO n fhe Mop": A RebuihU nion
65
Iokes On McDonolds
Chopfer5 : Conclusio:n E veryone'Jso bs 87
95
Bibliogrophy
vi
Chapter 1
Introduction: “Jobs Of The Future”

Look at the past serving the future. The men sitting at the table in the
photograph served by one embodiment of their industry’s history. Confident
and relaxed in expensive suits, they can enjoy the service of the bearded
prospector as an amusing throwback to the old days of Canadian restaurants.
The days when food was strictly a necessary proposition, something sold to
camp workers in mining towns, factory workers in the big cities, or in Chinese
restaurants dotting the small towns from coast to coast. The days of running
1
hardscrabble, subsistence businesses are over. They can laugh because they
have seen the future of their trade, the future of the Canadian economy, and
the future looks very different.1
Harvey Smith, the youthful, crew-cut man in the centre, is the president
of the Canadian Restaurant Association. Bonanza ’65, the trade show he put
together, drew over 20,000 delegates to Exhibition Park in Toronto to meet,
greet, and be wowed by 500 displays erected by 275 firms. Even better, it’s
getting front page coverage in the Globe and Mail’s business section, a must
read for Canada’s elite, above the fold next to articles on the big players in
pulp, airlines, and auto manufacturing. His comments to the Globe reporter are
fitting for a man, and an industry, in a confident, expansive mood.
Smith and the man to his right in the picture, Arthur Somerville, asserted
that restaurants would be one of Canada’s leading employment engines over
the next two decades, and that the industry was already of such importance
that its fundamentals needed to be taught at the university level. The biggest
challenge facing this rosy future was the ability to attract the right workers.
Smith said better people needed to be attracted with higher wages and better
technology. Somerville said of the importance of workers, “in the past, many

1 Roger Newman, “Restaurant Industry Forseen As Mainstay For Jobs Of Future,” Globe and Mail, 23 March 1965.
The headline also is the source for this chapter’s title.
2