WORKING IN FAST FOOD – Fast Food Justice Ahora

May 17, 2023 – Violence, Jack in the Box, Inglewood AD-61 Tina McKinnor ; SD-35 Steven Bradford

Jimena Rojas — Thu, 25 May 2023 21:04:53 +0000

An employee at this Jack in the Box location in Inglewood has had frequent interactions with violent customers who have thrown food and a cash register at her and her coworkers. Customers have also shattered glass windows, and on one occasion jumped behind the counter and physically assaulted her coworkers. When the employee spoke with a manager after one violent incident, the manager said the worker shouldn’t pay attention to customers like that because they could, “come inside and try to do something to you.” The manager was effectively admitting that violence is a recurring threat in the store — and that management has no plan to deal with that threat besides ignoring it.

May 17, 2023 – Burn, Popeyes, Citrus Heights AD- 7 Josh Hoover; SD-6 Roger W. Niello

Jimena Rojas — Thu, 25 May 2023 21:04:53 +0000

A Popeyes worker was severely burned by hot water over her entire arm on April 10, 2023. In her CalOSHA complaint, the worker stated, “The manager did not call an ambulance or offer to take me to the hospital, and the store manager made fun of me and said, ‘What are you doing, taking a bath?’” There was no first aid kit at the store, and management put ice on the burn, which can damage the skin in cases of severe burn. The worker was told to talk to someone on the phone who did not understand Spanish, the worker’s primary language. After 20 minutes, the worker was crying in severe pain and asked a coworker to take her to the hospital. The manager sent them to a clinic that could not treat her, where they called an ambulance to take the worker to the hospital for treatment. The worker missed over two weeks of work to recover. This was the second time she had a burn injury at this store. The first time was August 2022, when a hot tray fell on her.

November 2020 – 8507 Pearblossom Hwy McDonald’s:

Jimena Rojas — Thu, 25 May 2023 21:04:53 +0000

As cases of COVID-19 began to spike heading into the winter, a Littlerock McDonald’s store was devastated after at least 31 workers and family members tested positive for COVID-19. Protesting a lack of protections from their employer, cooks and cashiers walked off the job for a 14-day strike only to see their hours cut. “In my company, so many people — they get COVID,” said McDonald’s worker Imelda Rosales in the LA Times. “We’re in danger…. In my restaurant, they told us they were not going to pay us. Why not?”

June 2020 – 6623 San Pablo Ave McDonald’s:

Jimena Rojas — Thu, 25 May 2023 21:04:53 +0000

A 19-year-old McDonald’s worker in Oakland was attacked and subject to a racist tirade by a customer after asking the customer to put on a mask. The worker filed a complaint with Cal/OSHA detailing how the customer called her a “nasty Mexican bitch” before reaching through the drive-thru window to hit, grab and slap her leaving her with bruises, scratches, and a sprained finger that left her in a cast for weeks. “We’re humans as well,” the worker told Business Insider about the attack. “All we want is to feel safe.”

June 2020 – 1716 Marengo St. McDonald’s:

Jimena Rojas — Thu, 25 May 2023 21:04:53 +0000

Beginning in June 2020, Boyle Heights McDonald’s workers have waged several weeks-long health and safety strikes, garnering the support of local community groups, clergy and elected officials. Workers’ public complaints outlined how McDonald’s failures included not providing employees with masks, not enforcing social distancing and not providing paid sick leave. At least six workers at this McDonald’s location contracted COVID-19. In February 2021, the California Labor Commissioner issued a citation against the McDonald’s store for illegally firing four workers who went on strike.

May 17, 2023 – Child Labor, Violence, Wage Theft, Popeyes, Oakland AD-18, Mia Bonta; SD-9, Nancy Skinner

Jimena Rojas — Thu, 25 May 2023 19:12:36 +0000

At a Popeyes in Oakland a 13-year-old was working until midnight on school nights and 17-year-old workers were working shifts longer than permitted. By law, 13-year-olds are not allowed to work on school days, and 17-year-olds cannot work past 10 pm or for more than 4 hours on school nights.

The workers fear for their safety because of multiple violent incidents including an altercation in which a manager beat a customer with a baseball bat and another worker beat the customer with a trash can, pepper spray incidents including one in which a worker was accidently sprayed by the security guard, and an incident in which a security guard threatened to kill a customer in a conflict about not being able to bring a bike into the store. The young workers are also subjected to sexual harassment at work, including a manager calling them prostitutes, asking a worker if she likes small or big male genitalia, and asking another minor if the hair on her head matched the hair on her genetalia.

One 17-year-old worker stated the violence at work triggered her depression, she started failing her classes, and had a hard time catching up because of working from 5pm to 10pm on school nights. Another teen worker stated that she was kept at work until 11pm and then missed her morning classes the next day due to arriving late at school, was tired at school, and was called in to work during school hours. Workers at this Popeyes store are also denied legally-required rest breaks. “Working like this takes a big emotional toll, and has impacted our learning at school,” explained the workers in their Child Labor Complaint to the Bureau of Field Enforcement. The workers also filed a violence complaint with CalOSHA.