‘Hundreds’ of fast food workers to walk off the job TODAY in protest demanding better coronavirus protections

HUNDREDS of non-union fast-food workers in California plan to go on strike today, demanding more on-the-job protections amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Employees of 30 restaurants including Burger King, Taco Bell, Popeye’s, and Pizza Hut, intend to walk off the job and strike on Thursday.

AP:Associated Press

‘Hundreds’ of fast-food workers are expected to go on strike today in California[/caption]

Workers were inspired by two recent strikes at McDonald’s restaurants in San Jose and Los Angeles after an employee at the LA restaurant tested positive for the coronavirus last week.

The protest was partly coordinated by advocacy group Fight for $15, according to Vice.

Fast-food employees claim their companies aren’t doing enough to provide personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies to safeguard them from being exposed to the virus on the job.

“I’m very afraid for my life and the life of my daughter who also works at McDonald’s,” said Maria Ruiz, who works at the Mickey D’s in San Jose.

“Workers are scared of retaliation, but we’re not going to wait for one of us to die or get sick with the virus.”

As of Thursday, at least 500 people have died from COVID-19 in California and more than 19,100 people have been infected with the killer bug.

AFP or licensors

Workers were inspired by an April 6 at a Los Angeles McDonald where an employee tested positive for the coronavirus[/caption]

More than 90 per cent of McDonald’s workers have reported “limited or no availability” of masks at work, according to a survey by Fight for $15.

Of the 800 employees surveyed by the advocacy group, nearly a quarter said they went to work while they felt sick.

“Roughly half of workers reported having discouraged or banned from wearing face masks or gloves on the job,” Fight for $15 tweeted on Wednesday.

Nicole Enearu, owner of the McDonald’s restaurant in Crenshaw, told The Sun on Monday an “ample supply” of gloves have been given to employees and that the restaurant will pay infected workers as well as those who need to quarantine.

A spokesperson for the Golden Arches told Fox News Thursday that employees at its corporate-owned restaurants who are impacted by the virus will get two weeks of paid leave to focus on their health.

Workers at a “large percentage” of franchise restaurants will receive emergency paid leave through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the spokesperson added.

AP:Associated Press

More than 90 per cent of McDonald’s workers report not having enough masks to protect them on the job, a recent survey found[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Fast-food workers are demanding their employers provide ‘masks, gloves, soap, $3-an-hour hazard pay’[/caption]

 

But workers are still demanding their employers provide “masks, gloves, soap, $3-an-hour hazard pay” in addition to 14 days of paid sick leave to employees who were exposed to the virus, according to Vice.

Although thousands of businesses around the country have shut down temporarily during the outbreak, many fast-food chains remain open for business.

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