Flipping burgers pays

By Ramone Simmons

V.O.I.S.E. Academy

McDonald’s, once the ultimate burger-flipping summer job, just recently offered to hire 50,000 people on April 19.

With so many McDonald’s jobs out there, how often do teens reap the benefits of employment?

Keith Allen is a member of the Black McDonald’s OperatorsAssociation (BMOA). He currently owns five Chicagoland McDonald’s.

But that wasn’t always the case. Allen started out as a crew member at McDonald’s in 1976, flipping burgers and working his way to the top.

In an April interview with rollingout.com, Allen said that his road from worker to owner was not an easy one. (Allen was contacted multiple times for this story, but scheduling problems prevented an interview.)

“I couldn’t hang out all night because I had to go to work. It kept me out of trouble. . . . It allowed me to escape the neighborhood and some of the problems. It allowed me, eventually, to get off the bus,” Allen said.

Danielle Papenbrok is a field consultant in the human resources department at the McDonald’s corporate office in Oak Brook. She said it depends on the personality of the worker, not the worker’s age.

“Working there (McDonald’s) applies big benefits to those who have good customer skills,” Papenbrok said.

Papenbrok also stressed that teens are, on average, just as hardworking as adults and that McDonald’s tries to give teens the hours that will still allow them to be in school.

“We are willing to work around school schedules and generally offer flexible schedules,” she said. “When teens are hired, most of them are responsible workers.”

Since minimum wage increased last year in Illinois, some analysts think that may be the reason there aren’t many teens with jobs. In June 2010, minimum wage for adults 18 and older increasedfrom $8 to $8.25.

For teens under the age of 18, the minimum wage grew from $7.50 to $7.75.

“Minimum wage may be a reason why teen rate for jobs is low, but there may be a variety of more reasons,” Papenbrok said.

But not everyone becomes successful working at McDonald’s, and it can be especially hard for teens.

Latisha Turner, a student at V.O.I.S.E Academy, worked at a Chicago McDonald’s where she said 60 to 65 percent of people working beside her were teens.

Turner had no difficulties finding the job, but once she got the job, she said it wasn’t what she expected.

“I was not treated fairly at my work place,” she said. This is because Turner said she wasn’t paid for all her hours she worked.

“I didn’t like working at the McDonald’s because they were giving me unusual hours that didn’t fit my school schedule, and sometimes I didn’t get enough hours,” she said.

Fred Brown, the supervisor at Turner’s McDonald’s, said employee hours are not based on seniority.

“[The hours] are based on what the restaurant needs and if her schedule is compatible,” said Brown.

Teens struggle everyday with finding jobs. According to the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics, in July 2010 employment rates for 16- to 24-year-olds were the lowest on record since 1948.

In spite of the odds being stacked against teen workers, someone like Keith Allen was still able to beat the odds and become a success. Allen said that having someone look out for you and mentor you can make all the difference as a teen.

Keith Allen, when asked by diversityinbusiness.com last April if a young person applying today for an entry-level would have the same opportunities to become an owner-operator as he did, he answered yes.

“I mentor, and I’ve also developed people from crew into management. It’s ‘reach one, teach one’ and it’s an ongoing process,” he said.