You see, I work for McDonald’s in Denmark, where an agreement between our union and the company guarantees that workers older than 18 are paid at least $21 an hour. Employees younger than 18 make at least $15 — meaning teenagers working at McDonald’s in Denmark make more than two times what many adults in America earn working at the Golden Arches.
To anyone who says that fast-food jobs can’t be good jobs, I would answer that mine isn’t bad. In fact, parts of it are just fine. Under our union’s agreement with McDonald’s, for example, I receive paid sick leave that workers are still fighting for in many parts of the world. We also get overtime pay, guaranteed hours and at least two days off a week, unlike workers in most countries. At least 10 percent of the staff in any given restaurant must work at least 30 hours a week.
Many of the U.S. workers I meet make less than $9 an hour. And unlike in Denmark, where most fast-food workers are young people looking to make extra money while in school, the vast majority of U.S. fast-food workers are adults trying to support their families. Roughly 70 percent are in their 20s or older, according to a recent study, and more than a quarter are raising kids.
Jessica Davis, for example, who works at a McDonald’s in Chicago and has two daughters— one 4 years old and the other 4 months old. After working four years at McDonald’s, she makes $8.98 an hour and has no stable work schedule.
How can fast-food companies expect employees to work hard but not pay them enough to live on? All fast-food workers should be able to support themselves while helping large companies like McDonald’s make huge profits.
Employees also deserve a voice in their workplace — as we have in Denmark — and McDonald’s should respect the right of employees in all countries to organize and speak for themselves.
McDonald’s didn’t give us our union. We had to fight for it. It was a five-year struggle that involved many demonstrations like the ones that will stretched across the globe on Thursday.
Last week, 200 workers at Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Domino's and Taco Bell went on strike and joined workers at Car Washes, Supermarkets, and Airports throughout NYC in demanding better pay working conditions.
On December 6th we’re standing up to protect the right to organize!
Too many low wage workers rely on public assistance to get by in our economy. While workers throughout the city are making near or below minimum wage or are fighting to protect their wages and benefits, CEOs are making record incomes and their lobbyists are pushing our elected officials to cut spending on social programs and extend tax cuts for the richest 2%.
We won't stand for this. We won't stand policies that prioritize tax cuts for millionaires over funding programs that working families rely on. And we are telling workers who are struggling at work that we've got their back.
Stand with workers as they come together to demand better wages and working conditions and economic policy that’s good for all of us.
Today across NYC, fast food workers walked off the job and joined festive picket lines, calling for a living wage, fair working conditions, and a union. You can find out more, including how to support their efforts, at Fastfoodforward.org. For live updates on Twitter, use #fastfoodfwd. Also, today at 4pm, join us for a rally in Times Square to show support in person!
From Walmart to fast food, low wage workers are standing up and demanding more!
Today, NYC fast food workers from dozens of stores, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Domino’s, KFC, Taco Bell, Wendy’s and Papa John’s are walking out, in a historic one day strike for a fair unionization process, decent wages, reasonable scheduling, paid sick days and an end to retaliation.
Put these multi-billion dollar corportations on notice: these workers do not stand alone.
Thursday, Nov. 29th 4:00 pm Rally at the Times Square McDonald's
220 West 42nd Street (between 7th & 8th Ave.)
Friday, Nov. 30th Show solidarity with striking workers as they go back to for work. Collective action is protected under U.S. labor law, and the workers are asking the community to be on-site at fast food locations around the city to support them as they return to the job.
Sign up for a shift on Friday by RSVPing to gfries@unitedny.org. Two shifts are available: 5:30am-8:30am and 9:30am-12:30pm. Meet-up locations are all over the city, including Manhattan (310 W. 43rd St.) and Brooklyn (2-4 Nevins).
