Tactical Media List - http://www.tmcrew.org/lista.htm
LE PRODEZZE DI McDONALD'S
Tactical Media List - http://www.tmcrew.org/lista.htm
Dà i suoi panini a una povera
McDonald's lo licenzia
PARIGI - McDonald's inventa il delitto di solidarietà: così titola il quotidiano
francese «L'humanite» nel raccontare l'incredibile vicenda di un impiegato della nota
catena di fast food, licenziato in tronco per aver regalato cinque cheeseburger,
l'equivalente del suo buono pasto giornaliero, ad una medicante che aveva fame. Remy
Millet ha 23 anni, e il suo crimine è scritto nero su bianco nella lettera di
licenziamento: «Non rispetto del contratto di lavoro e del regolamento interno
concernente la politica dei pasti». Da McD non si scherza: la campagna pubblicitaria si
intitola «Smile», sorriso, gli impiegati devono sorridere ai clienti, ma non hanno il
diritto di far parlare i sentimenti.
Quando ha visto entrare la donna, Remy l'ha pregata di andarsene, nei locali pubblici i
mendicanti non hanno accesso. Ma lei ha insistito, non voleva soldi, aveva fame. «Dammi
un panino», ha implorato. Remy, ha avuto allora l'idea di cederle il suo buono pasto.
«Ho pensato - racconta il ragazzo - che un gesto simile avrebbe contribuito alla buona
immagine del locale.» Invece il giovane è stato buttato in strada.E lui ha fatto
ricorso.
McLibel Support Campaign
5 Caledonian Road, London, N1 9DX, UK
Tel/Fax 0171 713 1269
E-mail: mclibel@globalnet.co.uk
Internet info - http://www.mcspotlight.org
Updated Summer Mailing
September 1999
Dear friends,
The 15th annual Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day is approaching on Saturday October 16th.
3 million leaflets have been handed out in the UK alone since 1990 (when the
McDonald's Corporation served libel writs on Helen and Dave aiming to suppress the
London Greenpeace leafletting campaign) and it is now distributed worldwide - we
have copies in 27 languages. Please picket your local store (contact Veggies if you would
like to 'adopt' your local store, leaflets are also available from them at cost price.
01159 585666).
McLIBEL - MORE VICTORIES
Since our last mailout, the global campaign against
McDonald's has continued to grow - mass distribution of leaflets by
thousands of local activists, millions of hits to 'McSpotlight', many
determined residents campaigns against new stores, mass anti-McDonald's
protests by french farmers opposing economic globalisation, a crew
unionisation success in a store in America for the first time and general
bad publicity for the Corporation as a result of the McLibel case. In March
this year the McLibel Appeal resulted in further important victories for
campaigners.
The Defendants have now lodged a petition to the
House of Lords, and after that will go to the European Court of Human
Rights if necessaryto seek to overturn the UK's oppressive libel laws. For
this reason we are making a financial appeal for McLibel -
Funds have run very low,
and we urgently need funds for legal costs (transcripts, photocopying of
papers for court etc). Not a penny will go to McDonald's of course!
Donations will be greatly appreciated (Cheques to
McLibel Support Campaign).
HOUSE OF LORDS PETITION
Helen and Dave, representing themselves, are seeking
to defend the public's right to criticise companies whose business
practices affect people's lives, health and environment, arguing that
multinational corporations should no longer be able to sue for libel. They
will also argue that publishing material about matters of public importance and
interest should be protected by 'qualified privilege' - a point related to
the matters currently being heard by the House of Lords in the libel
case of the former Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds vs The Sunday
Times. Helen and Dave also seek an end to unfair and oppressive defamation
laws and procedures.
But most importantly for McDonald's they are seeking
leave to argue that, having now won the bulk of the issues in dispute with
the fast-food corporation, they should have won the case outright. After a
controversial 314 day trial ending in June 1997, in
which the defendants had been denied Legal Aid and their right to a jury
trial, Mr Justice Bell ruled that: McDonald's marketing has "pretended to a
positive nutritional benefit which their food (high in fat &
salt etc) did not match"; that McDonald's "exploit children" with
their advertising strategy; are "culpably responsible for animal
cruelty"; and "pay low wages, helping to depress wages in the catering
trade." Significantly McDonald's did not appeal over these damning rulings
against their core business practices, stating that the Judge was
'correct in his conclusions' ! [McDonald's written submissions
5.1.99]. The McLibel 2 failed to convince the judge on all issues, however,
and so appealed.
On March 31st the Court of Appeal added to those
damning findings,
after a 23-day hearing earlier this year. Lord
Justices Pill, May and
Keane ruled that it was fair comment to say that
McDonald's
employees worldwide "do badly in terms of pay and
conditions", and
true that "if one eats enough McDonald's food, one's
diet may well
become high in fat etc., with the very real risk of
heart disease.'" But
despite these further findings the Appeal Court only
reduced Mr Justice
Bell's original award of £60,000 pounds damages to
McDonald's (who'd
spent an estimated £10m on the case) by £20,000. The
defendants
believe, and will argue that it is an outrage that
McDonald's has been
awarded any damages at all in the light of all the
serious findings made
against the company and the fact that no sanctions
have been taken
against them.
McLIBEL 2 SUE MET POLICE COMMISSIONER
In September 1998 Helen and Dave launched
proceedings against the
Metropolitan Police Commissioner, claiming damages
for misfeasance
in public office, breach of confidence and breach of
their right to
privacy. Their claim results from actions of police
officers, including
Special Branch officers, which came to light as a
result of the McLibel
trial. Police officers had passed private and in
some cases false
information about the McLibel 2 (and some other
protestors), including
their home addresses, to McDonald's and to private
investigators hired
by McDonald's to infiltrate London Greenpeace.
During the trial Sid Nicholson, McDonald's Head of
Security and a
former Met Chief Superintendent, stated from the
witness box that
McDonald's security department were 'all
ex-policemen' and if he ever
wanted to know information about protestors he would
go to his
contacts in the police, (day 249 p38). This
collusion between the police
and a multinational corporation against members of
the public exposes
the political role of the police in ensuring the
wheels of big business
keep turning. The case is expected to be heard later
this year.
Further details of the case and the campaign, or
about London
Greenpeace, from 'McSpotlight' - available on
CD-Rom. Also available:
'McLibel: Burger Culture On Trial' (Pan Books,
Macmillian press,
£5.99) and the superb documentary 'McLibel: Two
Worlds Collide' (53
mins - from One Off Productions, 0171 375 3181)
WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM McLIBEL ?
Around the world there is a war being waged on
society by a powerful
minority who seek to control and use other people,
animals and the
planet in order to make profits for themselves. But
many around the
world are fighting back, for ecological
sustainability and for freedom for
all people and animals. Increasingly companies are
turning to the
courts to suppress this dissent and opposition. But
the thousands of
people around the world who participated in the
McLibel battle have
demonstrated that when people are organised and
defiant these
corporations do not succeed in getting everything
their own way, and
that court cases can instead be used as an
opportunity to draw the
issues to the attention of many more people.
In September 1990 McDonald's issued libel writs in
order to suppress
the distribution (at that time in the thousands) of
London Greenpeace
anti-McDonald's leaflets, and with the wider aim of
frightening off and
silencing all other critics of the company. Instead,
3 million leaflets
have been handed out on the streets in the UK alone
since the writs
were served and there is a much greater public
awareness of what
McDonald's really represents (in a recent survey of
young people, one
in two said they did not trust McDonald's -
Telegraph 6.5.99). There
have been over a million more leaflets (now
available in at least 27
languages) handed out in solidarity protests all
over the world. The
'McSpotlight' Internet site, with over 65 million
'hits' in its first 3 years,
enabled campaigners, researchers, journalists and
interested people
world-wide to have immediate access to a huge range of
anti-McDonald's material and news.
This victory in defiance of McDonalds' threats
demonstrates the power
that ordinary people have when they believe in
themselves and decide
to fight back against the powerful institutions who
currently control our
lives and the planet.
The company had predicted that the case would last
'3-4 weeks', but
instead it was turned into an extensive public
tribunal in which
corporate 'McWorld' was put on trial. McDonald's
spent an estimated
£10 million as against a defence total of £35,000
raised from public
donations. Despite all the cards being stacked
against them, and the
vast amount of work involved, it was an amazing and
empowering
experience for the defendants (and for others too).
People rallied round
to help out in all kinds of practical ways: as
witnesses; helping with
admin; giving legal advice; sending copies of press
cuttings &
company documents, money and even just messages of
support. The
defendants were determined to be seen as fighters
rather than passive
'victims'. Representing themselves in such a huge
trial was exhausting
but was also the most rewarding aspect of the trial,
giving them the
opportunity to challenge corporate propaganda head
on, bring out
previously secret information about the company and
put forward an
alternative world view.
Critics of McDonald's and of the food industry in
general were
completely vindicated by the evidence, the judge
making some
damning major findings against the company's core
business
practices. Following this McDonald's capitulated by
abandoning all
efforts to get costs, damages or an injunction to
stop the leafleting
(which had been their primary aim).
But none of this would have been effective without
the actions of
thousands of ordinary people continuing to
distribute leaflets, ensuring
that the public heard the other side of the story to
that spun by
McDonald's. The McLibel Support Campaign was set up
by volunteers
to galvanise public interest and support, to help
with legal finances and
practical tasks, but amazingly for most of the time
it was run from an
office in someone's bedroom. Despite this it
succeeded in ensuring
that the private and often seemingly obscure legal
battle in the
courtroom became a public issue fought and won in
the court of public
opinion and on the street.
Regular supporters' mailouts, hundreds of e-mailings
and numerous
international 'Days of Action' were organised to
ensure the public got to
hear about the issues. Although the media
(establishment and
alternative) were consistently contacted and given
reports of what was
going on, the capitalist media largely trivialised
or ignored the case,
focussing on the personal side rather than the real
issues. The
campaign, with varying success, also made links with
residents'
associations opposing plans for new McDonald's
stores, gave
encouragement to kids wanting to circulate
anti-Ronald leaflets, and
made contacts with disgruntled employees.
So, despite being up against one of the most
successful propaganda
organisations in the world, campaigners were able to
throw the
company so much on the defensive that after the
trial their usual
sophisticated PR was reduced to an embarrassed
silence on the
subject. The courts were also shown to be powerless
in the face of
mass defiance.
This was a real DIY victory, echoing other recent
movements defying
legal suppression - e.g. over issues of free speech,
rights to organise
and demonstrate, and to party, Poll Tax,
environmental and animal
rights direct actions, occupations of empty homes
and buildings, and
workers' struggles. We can all benefit from those
movements which
have gone before, giving us the perspective and
strength to be able to
fight and win current battles and ultimately, the
long war for a better
world. Social inequalities and controls, and
conflict and environmental
destruction are serious and growing problems, so
public discontent
and opposition is bound to increase - as will our
contact with the
courts. Rather than be intimidated by repression, we
should see it as a
sign of our success and be even more determined to
fight back.
We need to create a new society by taking direct
control of our lives,
workplaces, streets, neighbourhoods and land.
Together ordinary
people can reclaim our world, currently based on the
greed and power
of a minority, and create an anarchist* society
based on strong and
free communities, the sharing of precious resources
and respect for all life.
(*Collins dictionary: a harmonious system of society without
government)
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