"He would physically grab me by the waist."
"He would ask me for pictures of myself."
"I'd tell him to stop and he'd keep doing it."1
Those are just a few of the stories McDonald's workers came forward with yesterday, along with an explosive report showing that 40% of women in fast food are sexually harassed at work. And instead of getting help, the women who report harassment often get their hours cut or are fired--especially if the employee is a Black woman or Latina.2
Media scrutiny is picking up steam since the report came out. And with McDonald's executives under intense pressure to turn around declining sales, now is the perfect time to get their ear.3 Our friends at Fight for 15, the organization created by fast food workers, have mobilized rapid response protests outside of McDonald's stores today--if we act right now, we can help build the momentum to force McDonald's to do the right thing.4
Tell McDonald's: Enforce a zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy in your stores starting TODAY.
The accounts of sexual harassment from the women are nauseating. One former employee quit her job after her shift manager grabbed her breasts and offered her money for oral sex. Even worse is that McDonald's shrugs off these complaints and allows managers to retaliate--one in five of the women who came forward were denied a raise, had their hours cut, or were given a worse schedule.5
And McDonald's measly wages--so small that the company has told employees to go on food stamps--make sexual harassment even worse.6 The report found that nearly half of the women who endure harassment say they endure the abuse because they can't afford to lose their job.7
Women make up 65% of the sexual harassment-riddled fast food industry.8 As the second largest employer in the country, McDonald's can set an example across the industry.9 If enough of us join the fast food workers who are protesting right now, we can push McDonald's to fix its sexual harassment problem.
Article from --Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kathy, Onyi, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon , Megan, Libby, Emma, PaKou, and Pilar, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. McDonald's Workers Detail Horrifying Sexual Harassment, The Huffington Post, October 5, 2016
2. McDonald's accused of ignoring rampant sexual harassment in its restaurants, ThinkProgress, October 5, 2016
3. McDonald's 2016 Revenues To Decline YoY Despite Improvement; To Pick Up Pace Thereafter, NASDAQ, May 19, 2016
4. McDonald's Workers Across the U.S. Plan Protests Against the Company's Sexual Harassment Problem, Jezebel, October 5, 2016
5. McDonald's accused of ignoring rampant sexual harassment in its restaurants, ThinkProgress, October 5, 2016
6. McDonald's helps workers get food stamps, CNN Money, October 24, 2013
7. McDonald's accused of ignoring rampant sexual harassment in its restaurants, ThinkProgress, October 5, 2016
8. Charts: Why Fast-Food Workers Are Going on Strike, Mother Jones, December 4, 2016
