Merry Maids
{{Short description|Cleaning services franchise}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Merry Maids
| logo = Merry Maids logo.svg
| logo_caption = The Merry Maids logo
| image = Merry Maids vehicle.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = A Merry Maids service vehicle
| type = Subsidiary
| industry = Service
| foundation = {{start date and age|1979}}
| location = Memphis, Tennessee
| key_people =
| num_employees = 8,000+ (in 2007)
| parent = ServiceMaster
| homepage = [http://www.merrymaids.com/ merrymaids.com]
}}
Merry Maids is an international franchisor which sells and supports residential cleaning services franchises throughout the United States, Canada, Toronto and the GTA and the United Kingdom.{{r|Rich-2007|p=298}}{{r|Ehrenreich-Hochschild-2004|p=94}} Merry Maids was founded in 1979, and was acquired by ServiceMaster in 1988.{{r|Rich-2007|p=298}}{{r|Vanderkam-2010|p=140}} In 2007, the company had 1,400 independently owned and operated franchises worldwide and over 8,000 employees.{{r|Rich-2007|p=298}}
History
=Timeline=
- 1979 – Merry Maids was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, by Dallen Peterson and his family.{{r|Rich-2007|p=88–89}}{{r|Vanderkam-2010|p=140}}
- 1988 – ServiceMaster Brands purchases Merry Maids.{{r|Rich-2007|p=88–89}}{{r|Zook-Allen-2010|p=82}}
Labor relations
Several Merry Maids franchisees in the United States have been sued by their employees and by United States federal agencies for labor law violations.{{r|Kurin-2017|p=219}} In 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld an unfair labor practice order issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against a Merry Maids franchisee, Merry Maids of Boston, in a dispute over the right of a labor union to hold a union representation election among its employees. The First Circuit ruled that the NLRB had jurisdiction in the case, and rejected the franchisee's claim that the behavior of certain employees made a fair election impossible.{{r|Anthony-and-Lewis-nd|p=4}}{{r|Kurin-2017|p=219}}
Safety record
In 2015, Northampton's Merry Maids franchise was awarded a Governor’s Award for Safety Excellence by the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, with a record of no work-related injuries for over 1,580 days and no work-related fatalities in 23 years of operation.{{r|Wolf-and-Manderino-2015|p=31}}
See also
References
{{reflist | 30em | refs =
{{cite web
| url = http://webcasts.acc.com/handouts/Case_Law_241_3970_ACC_Handout-_Employment_Law_Update-_W__Anthony.pdf
| last1 = Anthony
| first1 = William J.
| last2 = Lewis
| first2 = Jackson
| date = n.d.
| title = Employment law update
| website = Association of Corporate Counsel
| language = en
| access-date = 2017-11-09
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171109213555/http://webcasts.acc.com/handouts/Case_Law_241_3970_ACC_Handout-_Employment_Law_Update-_W__Anthony.pdf
| url-status = live
| archive-date = 2017-11-09
}}
{{cite book
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CBcrpIkb458C&pg=PA94
| last1 = Ehrenreich
| first1 = B.
| last2 = Hochschild
| first2 = A.R.
| date = 2004
| title = Global woman: nannies, maids, and sex workers in the new economy
| publisher = Henry Holt and Company
| language = en
| isbn = 978-1-4299-6305-3
}}
{{cite journal
| url = http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1274&context=jbtl
| last = Kurin
| first = Jaclyn
| date = 2017
| title = A third way for applying U.S. labor laws to the online gig economy: using the franchise business model to regulate gig workers
| journal = Journal of Business and Technology Law
| volume = 12
| number = 2; Art. 4
| pages = 193–226
| language = en
| via = University of Maryland Digital Commons
}}
{{cite book
| url = https://archive.org/details/unofficialguidet00jaso
| url-access = registration
| page = [https://archive.org/details/unofficialguidet00jaso/page/298 298]
| last = Rich
| first = J.R.
| date = 2007
| title = The unofficial guide to opening a franchise
| publisher = Wiley
| series = Unofficial Guides
| language = en
| isbn = 978-0-470-13193-0
}}
{{cite book
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cSDAxOi-rjIC&pg=PT140
| last = Vanderkam
| first = L.
| date = 2010
| title = 168 hours: you have more time than you think
| publisher = Penguin Publishing Group
| language = en
| isbn = 978-1-101-43294-5
}}
{{cite book
| url = http://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Workers-Compensation/publications/Documents/2015%20WC%20Annual%20Report.pdf
| last1 = Wolf
| first1 = Tom
| last2 = Manderino
| first2 = Kathy M.
| date = 2015
| title = Pennsylvania workers′ compensation and workplace safety 2015 annual report
| publisher = Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
| location = Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
| language = en
| access-date = 2017-11-09
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170617150016/http://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Workers-Compensation/publications/Documents/2015%20WC%20Annual%20Report.pdf
| url-status = live
| archive-date = 2017-06-17
}}
{{cite book
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6G9Stwg7eP4C&pg=PA82
| last1 = Zook
| first1 = C.
| last2 = Allen
| first2 = J.
| date = 2010
| title = Profit from the core: a return to growth in turbulent times
| publisher = Harvard Business Review Press
| language = en
| isbn = 978-1-4221-5713-8
}}
}}