By Jessica Corbett, staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published at Common Dreams



A lengthy Bloomberg article spotlighting President Donald Trump’s long affinity for McDonald’s—which preceded a major decision from a federal agency that involved the fast food giant—revealed Thursday morning that thousands of previously unreported company documents and internal emails expose how “corporate executives monitored developments as managers helped orchestrate a years-long anti-union response across the U.S.”

Bloomberg reviewed McDonald’s internal records and reported that the company’s “tactics, which were discussed by and, at times, coordinated by regional executives of the company, included gathering intelligence from a cashier who attended a union meeting as a mole, circulating names of suspected pro-union workers, and coaching a franchisee on how to avoid hiring union sympathizers.”

McDonald’s and several of its franchises had turned over the documents to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in response to a federal judge’s subpoena, which came as part of a years-long case that involved the question of whether McDonald’s is a “joint employer” and thus liable for labor law violations committed by its franchisees.

Bloomberg‘s report came just hours before the NLRB—which is chaired by a Trump appointee—issued a split ruling instructing a federal judge to approve a settlement in the McDonald’s case that does not include a joint employer finding. The Wall Street Journal called the development “a victory for the world’s largest fast food chain as it faces calls to improve working conditions at its 14,000 domestic restaurants.”

Labor board decision is a victory for McDonald's, reports WSJ’s ⁦@heatherhaddon⁩ https://t.co/6hTZU8dJbi — Eric Morath (@EricMorath) December 12, 2019

Bloomberg is out with a major report documenting evidence of @McDonalds coordinating illegal, anti-worker efforts out of headquarters in response to workers in the #FightFor15https://t.co/Pi5nsm6R0F — Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) December 12, 2019

According to Bloomberg:

The company created fast, effective communications channels with franchisees to discuss the union’s activities. In emails and text messages, its managers made plans to combat “the opposition” and emphasized that some messages needed to be secret. “There is a sense of urgency regarding the gathering of this intel so that we can plan and prep the operators…,” said one email from a human resources director. “As a tip, you can text your operators regarding this message, however you have to instruct them to ERASE the message and response back to you, and you will need to do the same.” In addition to a cadre of labor lawyers and several public relations firms, McDonald’s worked with “union avoidance” strategists, records show. In one case, a regional executive shared with a franchisee strategies on how to identify and avoid “salts,” or people who try to get hired in order to help organize a workplace. Federal law restricts the organized avoidance of such hires.

Without addressing several allegations, McDonald’s told Bloomberg in a statement that the case is “incredibly complex” and that the “evidence is vast and complicated, and requires significant context to accurately and responsibly consider.” The company challenged Bloomberg‘s summary of the evidence and said that “what you have highlighted are selective allegations and asserted them as facts, when there has been no judicial decision or review.”

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, concluded from the report that “the owner class will buy up every lever of power they can. They will fight with every tired, dirty trick in the book. But in the end we will win because together we are unstoppable.”