Well I will first start off by saying i started at McDonalds when I was 17 years old and I was hooked!!! i always dreamed of owning my own and felt as if there was never a better company to work for!! 12 1/2 years later I have decided that there is not a worse COMPANY to work for than the corporation of McDonalds. Owner Operators though I feel deferintly about though. Reasoning behind this is very hard for me and I will explain to the best of my ability without injurying myself or my lawsuit against the corporation.I have worked for the corporation for only 3 years and the harm they installed on me mentally will last a life time indeed. I was working as a closing Manager for 2 years for the corporate store. I worked 15 to 16 days in a row for me it was issued unlimited overtime something McDonalds tries never to give, so I felt honored. I worked 11 to 12 hours a day and was making excellent money at this time. during this time I had a condition called pink eye. The doctor informed me that until it cleared up i could NOT work because of it being highly contagious. But my store manager didnt feel that way and had me work anyway. Then I had a kidney infection and passing kidney stones at the same time it started while at work, but after calling my store manager he decided I could work out my shift anyways, which I did. Then after working I went to the hospital in extreme pain. Placed on medication and pain killers the doctor said for me to take a few days off. Now once again my store manager didnt feel I needed the days off, just felt that I shouldnt overwork my self and stay in the office while working.
Another time we were having a huge snow storm parents called in insisting their children get off work early because of road conditions. Again I called my store manager, he had asked who would that leave with me if they went home. I told him 1 person and asked if I could close early his reply NO stay open in driv-thru. lock the lobby and myself and this 1 person could handle it. So of course once again being dedicated I did as he asked. That night my heater went out in my car the ice on my windsheild was so thick i could not even see the hood of my cars and could barely make out the light from my headlights. I actually tried to drive home home I made it on the road and slide sideways a police officer saw me and guided me back into the parking lot where I ended up spending the night. The next morning when the openers came in all was set up to go because I had everything ready to go. A man was stuck in driv-thru and since there was not enough openers this particular morning, due to the conditions, I pushed in out of the driv-thru. And help out working until more people came in. I was never paid for this or thanked and still had to come back to work in 8 hours to do it all over again.
Then 1 year and 6 months ago my daughter who was 2 years and 9 months old was ran over in my drive way. She landed on the road, I was getting ready to go to work, while my neices their father and my 3 children were outside playing. When one of my neices ran in a yelled my daughters name the look of horror on this childs face i will never forget and the picture I ran out too I will never forget and probably never quit having nightmares about. My baby on the road with her leg bent and the mass of blood around her head, as i bent down the world the life as I knew it was shattered and gone forever. The emptyness and heartache and the pain I felt at this time I feel every day. I bent down and ran in the house with her in my arms yelling at her to wake up I knew though she was gone but would not believe it could not believe it. The rescue workers where there in seconds and I do mean seconds of the accident. while they worked on my daughter I actually called in to work to let them know I would not be there. And to this day I can never forgive myself for being so dedicated to these people.
I was allowed 2 weeks off then i tried to return to work, I couldnt stop my pain I could not forget my daughter I was hurting and acheing so bad that i can not describe but had to leave my PERSONAL problems at home!!!! I had finally broke down at work, and another manager complain because I was crying. Then I recieve a phone call early in the morning from my younger sister in texas, 28 days after my daughter was ran over my father was in a car accident in Kentuckey died instantly. I called in to work completely out of sorts had to explain once again I wouldnt be in to work. One week after my fathers funeral I had a break down and it was at work. I ended up checking my self into a hospital for this and stayed for a week, on the condition I stay with someone because the doctor felt I could not take care of myself or my other 2 children at this time. I was a single mother going through a divorce, we seperated before my daughter died. I was off work now for 3 1/2 months when I returned to work the rumors that was circualting about me was so hurtful and cruel there were even actual bets whether I would come back!!! The store manager was promoted while i was off, and the 1st assistant promoted to store manager. On my first day back this man actually took me down in the crew room and started off by saying that there were alot of rumors about me and he was going to tell me them but I was to sit and listen and I could NOT COULD NOT say anything about what was being said to him or anyone else I could not defend myself or my name at all not even during this meeting with him!!!! I tried and as soon as I opened my mouth he stopped me and said " I told you I dont want to here it!!!!" So here I was rumors saying I blackmailed the store manager in order to get my job back, I was having an affair with the store manager, I would allow drinking after store hours in the store, and that I would leave my store unattended while outside talking to semi drivers. And if all these lies were not bad enough to hear on my first day back, this man then proceeded to tell me that there was a couple of managers that were intimidated by him and wanted to know if I was. I told him NO and he said"GIVE ME TWO WEEKS!!!!" Now what the HELL was this all about I didnt know.
Now as I said before I was gettting the hours before my daughter died but McDonalds felt after this tragic incident that i was no longer good enough to work alot of hours anymore I was scheduled 10 to 15 hours a week no more. Their explanation was they had too many managers now and didnt have enough hours to give me 4 of these manager were hired in after my daughter died I had senority and the years of experience behind me but that didnt mean anything anymore I was to them expendable!!!! Now lets skip to Dec. 14th 1996 CHRISTMAS PARTY I did not want to go and was scheduled to work anyways, so I had made the decison not to go I felt it best to work through the party, emotionally the holidays drained me I was hurting so deeply over my losses and I would have severe anxiety attacks I was on medication for these attacks and my superiors knew this. Well they did not did not care about my feelings anymore and my store manager came in the night of the x-mas party and said in front of the crew and customers with his finger in my face "YOU WILL BE AT THIS PARTY I EXPECT TO SEE YOU THERE.!!!" turned around then walked out the door. I had an anxiety attack and had to take my medication upon arriving at this party I stood in the middle of the bar and not 1 not 1 person said a word to me just looked at me as if I was a freak I looked around at the gifts and decorations my head began to spin my heart felt as if it was going to explode and I prayed my medication would kick in, I went up to the bar and purchased a beer. I put it in a McDonalds coffee cup and sat down the man training our store manager was there and sat beside me. He said he knew what I was drinking and had even said it was fine to purchase another with a gift certificate I had just won. There was a crew member sitting across from me that heard him say this and in turn gave me his gift certificate he had won also. So I went up to the bar and purchase another drink. In the course of the night I had 2 and I will repeat this 2 beers. I was put on suspension without pay the next day for drinking and returning to work even though I was told yes you can have a beer. When I was leaving I handed my keys to the store manager his response to this was shocking and to me I flet it was disturbing. He told me to keep my keys for now. Now think about this I was just suspened from work, until they decide if I should be terminated and they dont want my keys. NO NO something is fishy here so the following evening I went in and gave my keys to the manager on duty telling her I did not want these until a desicion was made that I didnt want to be held responsible in case the store was broken into or if money came up missing>4 days later I was fired for drinking and returning to work.
Since then I have hired a lawyer and we have a lawsuit against the McDonalds Corporation. McDonalds will not comment on this and since then they have been trying to discredit me but making up lies about me and they have been trying to defame my name. But as I see it, they are doing in vain, reason I feel this way well I now work for an owner operator store who also work for the corporation and his feelings towards them are the same as mine and I am once again a Manager and I will say a Damn fine one at that. McDonalds may continue to try to defame my charectar if they feel the need but my record with them and the other stores I have worked for will back up my suit and all I can and will say to them is this" dont take advantage of your crew people or managers, because though some are misfits of society others are well educated, hard working indiviuals who will take a stand, when they have been done wrong" Even though I can not say I will win this suit I can say I tried to take a stand for all the people McDonalds Corp. has cheated and treated harshly.
