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McInsurrection McDonald's, located just around the corner from wherever it is on the planet you happen to find yourself, is the ultimate symbol of global capitalism. But now their own growth strategy may be backfiring. Approximately 85 per cent of McDonald's restaurants in North America (1,000 in Canada, thousands more in the US) are owned by franchisees who put up the cash and take the risk of running the placewhich makes them ownersyet operate the restaurant according to corporate specifications, which makes them employees, in a manner of speaking. In so doing, McD has perhaps committed the cardinal sin of corporate organization: giving too much power to the people who work for you. Now many franchisees are ganging up on McHeadOffice. They are angry over the company's expansion policy, which they say is creating a detrimental density of outlets that only results in less sales for each one. And all the Canadian McDs are refusing to go along with a 55 cent burger promotion planned for this summer. Even in the McWorld, union-style "strength in numbers" logic makes sense.
--Philip Preville
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