U.S : Tell MCDONALD'S to end their sexual harassment culture now !

Oct 01 2018

McDonald's culture of workplace sexual harassment must end ! Join us in demanding real justice now

Dear friend,

McDonald’s has a culture of workplace sexual harassment and employees across the country have had enough of their inadequate response. Instead of McDonald’s doing the right thing and properly addressing the toxic culture that led to 10 McDonald’s employees filing sexual harassment complaints with the US Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in May¹, workers courageously organized a strike this week to demand the corporation take real action to change. The workers, mostly women, decided to put their livelihood on the line across the nation because McDonald’s, one of the largest franchises in the world, doesn’t believe that the demands of women and low wage workers in their company are urgent enough to care about.

Tell McDonald's that their gross culture of sexual harassment must end! Women and low wage workers deserve dignity and safety at work!

One of the strikers from the Chicago’s South Side, Brenda Harris, 59, said she had worked at McDonald’s since 1995 and had been groped and harassed too many times to count.² Brenda’s experience is not only unacceptable, it is all too common for low restaurant workers. Especially now when a movement like #MeToo is pushing society to confront its rape culture problem, it is abundantly clear that only real investment can make change; the hollow response from a McDonald’s spokesperson is simply not enough.³ It’s time that McDonald’s invests in their work culture and not just their brand; they need to commit to having proper procedures for receiving and responding to harassment complaints and mandatory anti-harassment training for managers and employees. The corporate office has not taken proper action since May, leaving workers wondering if they are valued at all.

Join us in demanding that McDonald’s be accountable to workers like Brenda Harris and commit to procedures and trainings consistent with the urgency of this issue.

Low wage and restaurant workers are especially at risk of sexual harassment on the job. 40 percent of fast food workers report being sexually harassed on the job, and 42 percent of those who experienced harassment felt keeping their jobs required they accept the behavior; of those who did report it, more than one in five said they were retaliated against for doing speaking up.⁴ Many of those who work in fast food are women and young people, an already marginalized group; the low pay and lack of job security makes these workers even more vulnerable to harassment and lack of accountability from employers. Many workers have families to feed and complaints jeopardize the lifeline needed at home. Being poor should not compromise worker safety, and it’s time for McDonald’s to set a precedent that protects their employees from predators in their ranks.

People deserve dignity. People deserve to be safe at work. McDonald's has allowed for a culture where neither of these things are true. When workers took to the streets last week, they were not only fighting for women and low wage workers, they made history as the first official strike to combat workplace harassment.⁵ McDonald’s has the responsibility to join their workers in this historic moment, and together we can fight to make that happen.

The workers strike is in the right! Sign here to let McDonald’s know that you are not ok with their culture sexual harassment. We want real change now.

 

Until justice is real, 

Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Jade, Evan, Johnny, Future, Corina, Chad, Mary, Saréya, Angela, Eesha, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

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References :

1. "McDonald's workers file sex harassment claims" AP News, May 22 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/95910?t=9&akid=18716%2E1942551%2Eg2w8z9
2. "McDonald's workers across the US stage #MeToo protests" New York Times, September 18 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/95911?t=11&akid=18716%2E1942551%2Eg2w8z9
3. "Some McDonald's workers vote to strike over sex harassment" AP News, September 12 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/95912?t=13&akid=18716%2E1942551%2Eg2w8z9
4. "Fast Food Worker Survey Memo" Hart Research Associates, October 5 2016 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/95913?t=15&akid=18716%2E1942551%2Eg2w8z9
5. "The McDonald's sexual harassment strike isn't just brave, it's historic" The Guardian, September 15 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/95914?t=17&akid=18716%2E1942551%2Eg2w8z9

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Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.