Salon.com > Wendy's

Fast food strikes spread to Detroit

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:47:00 +0000

Earlier this week Josh Eidelson reported for Salon that St. Louis was hit with a surprise fast food worker strike, when non-union workers from restaurants including MacDonald's and Wendy's walked off the job Wednesday. He now reports that Detroit has become the fourth city in five weeks to see such a strike. Organizers expect over 100 workers from at least 60 stores, including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Subway, Little Caesar’s, and Popeye’s to walk out at 6 a.m.. Eidelson, who has closely followed the wave of strikes since they began in New York, noted their significance despite their small size in a post for the Nation:

Surprise fast food strike planned in St. Louis

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:30:00 +0000

For the third time in five weeks, non-union fast food workers in a major American city are headed out on strike. Starting at 5 p.m. Central Time today, dozens of employees plan to walk off the job in St. Louis, following similar strikes in Chicago April 24, and in New York City on Nov. 29 and April 4. Like their counterparts in New York and Chicago, the St. Louis workers are demanding a $15 an hour wage, and the chance to form a union without intimidation.

“I just feel that if we don’t stand up now, it’s never going to happen,” said Tomecka Wilson, a 32-year-old who works for the seafood chain Captain D’s. “They’re making billions off of us making little to nothing. So they can afford to share a little bit more.”

Organizers expect 50 to 70 St. Louis workers to strike over the next 24 hours, including workers from McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Hardee’s and Domino’s. The strike got an early start this morning, when a group of workers at a Jimmy John’s went out on strike in protest over alleged humiliation by management: They say their boss required them to wear signs stating that they worked too slowly. “It’s clearly getting national traction,” said Ed Ott, a lecturer in labor studies for the City University of New York, consultant for unions, and board member of New York Communities for Change, the group spearheading fast food organizing in the nation’s largest city. “This is potentially the largest organizing drive in decades.”

Obamacare stiffs low-wage workers

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:44:00 +0000

The whining from some fast food chains that they won’t be able to afford paying for their employee’s health coverage under Obamacare have gotten a lot of press. But what is more troubling is the recent news that some big chains are concluding that the costs won’t be nearly as high as they had projected. The reason: their employees won’t be able to afford the health insurance and will instead pay a fine and remain uninsured. This fight is just the first battle in the coming war over Obamacare that will center around those who get left out. Big flaws in the bill will mean that many low-wage workers will be forced to choose between paying huge chunks of their income on premiums or on a penalty that leaves them with no coverage at all. Reformers should take note and get ready for the coming struggle.

Fast-food striker fired — but not for long

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 14:47:00 +0000

Friday, 200-some New York City fast food workers returned to work after pulling off an unprecedented strike against one of the country’s largest and lowest-paying industries. They didn’t return alone – the strikers were escorted back into their stores by squads of supporters designed to discourage managers from retaliating. And organizers say the fast food companies so far haven’t tried to punish strikers, with one dramatic exception: A Wendy’s store that told a woman she was fired, then backed down after the store was occupied and picketed by activists, community leaders, and a member of the City Council.

According to Councilmember Jumanne Williams, 10 out of 11 strikers were allowed to resume work when they arrived at Brooklyn’s 425 Fulton Street Wendy’s, but management told the eleventh that she was being fired for absenteeism. Williams said that workers provided management with written notice that they were striking Thursday, but a manager claimed not to have received it. “We tried to speak with the general manager that was there, and he wasn’t forthcoming in talking to me,” said Williams. “So I decided to ask all of the customers that were there if they would leave in support of the worker that was fired. That did happen – they left. We began to protest in the store.”

200 take part in largest strike in fast food history

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:48:00 +0000

As Josh Eidelson reported on Salon early Thursday, "New York City fast food workers walked off the job, launching a rare strike against a nearly union-free industry."

Reports from organizers rallying in Times Square in support of the strike suggest that as many as 200 workers walked out Thursday to demand fair wages. The Huffington Post noted that employees, the majority from McDonald's around the city, continued to walk off the job throughout the day, making official strike numbers difficult to confirm. "At a McDonald’s on Madison Avenue at 6:30 am, 16 workers picketed. According to Raymond Lopez, one of the 16, that was almost half of the store’s total workforce of 40 people," HuffPo noted.

Radio Dispatch host John Knefel and writer Jesse Myerson, both reporting from the Times Square rally, posted the comments and chants of some one-day strikers on Twitter:

[embedtweet id="274270316430237698"]

[embedtweet id="274269219447791618"]

[embedtweet id="274266014504603650"]

“I’ve never been more hopeful”

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 01:56:00 +0000

What are you seeing and hearing in your state and at the polling place? Send information and photos to readermail@salon.com.

[liveblog id=38]