The Cruel Reality of Fast Food Operations Behind Trump’s McDonald’s Moment

On October 20, Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump held a photo op at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. key condition of the battlefield where both he and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, are trying to win over voters in the final weeks before Election Day on November 5. Trump appeared to be preparing French fries and serving customers passing through the gas station window.

“This is fun, I could do this all day.” Trump said after handing over the bag to the buyer. “I wouldn’t mind this job.”

There are approximately There are 3.6 million fast food workers in the US.., who earn an average of $30,110 per year. Many took to social media to express their disappointment at Trump cosplaying the work of millions of Americans.

Trump answered questions from the press through the drive-thru window, although he did not say whether he would support raising the federal minimum wage when asked. On Tuesday, Harris said for the first time that she would support raising the minimum wage to $15.

According to HuffPostHarris also said that during her 2020 presidential campaign, she supported a $15 federal minimum wage.

“The minimum is $15 an hour, but we’ll work with Congress, right? That’s what’s going through Congress.” Harris said.

According to the US Department of Labor, federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 per hour since 2009.

How Recon reported Earlier this week, myths about who works in fast food portray the industry as an after-school job done by teenagers working part-time. However, the data published National Employment Law Project shows that 70% of fast food workers are age 20 or older, and in 2021, less than one-third were between the ages of 16 and 19.

Employees say their jobs require more than just “flipping burgers” but instead require them to juggle multiple tasks and provide customer service, often for low wages, while managing poor working conditions and work in places where there is a shortage of staff.

“Why do so many people choose to put up with this? Because some options aren’t really choices, Emily Gendelsbergerjournalist and former fast food employee, wrote in Vox in 2019. “In my experience, most people are willing to make enormous sacrifices to ensure the safety and happiness of their children. In a country with a moth-eaten social safety net, health care tied to employment, and little difference in job quality between working at McDonald’s, Burger King or Walmart, corporations have long learned that workers are willing to put up with just about anything. means saving our jobs.”

2023 California Nonprofit Report. Economic round table found that the fast food industry has the largest share of workers living in poverty, which the researchers say is due to low wages and difficulty obtaining full-time jobs. In California alone, one in 17 homeless people works in fast food. according to the report.

Cyann PetersenHe is 22 years old, works as a Sonic server in Oklahoma and makes $7.75 an hour. She usually works 36 hours a week, although her hours were recently reduced after taking two weeks off for emergency surgery. From then on, she was scheduled to only work 16 hours a week.

“I went from 36 hours a week to 16 hours a week, and based on my paycheck, it doesn’t pay enough. This is really not true. There was no way. I have stepchildren and they (managers) still didn’t understand what was going on,” she told Reckon.

Petersen’s daily tasks include preparing orders, taking payments and delivering food to customers. Although her position includes tips, she says it’s not much.

“If it’s a coupon day or a promotional day, I’ll get a maximum of $9 that day,” she said. Petersen said she understands that customers are trying to save money and may not have extra money to give away, but the situation is setting her back financially.

“I can’t survive with this. I really can’t,” she said.

Physical and emotional abuse at work

Rise “KarenThe stereotype has become a household meme, describing (usually) middle-aged white women displaying entitlement and often racism in fits of rage. These viral videos gained popularity in 2020. during the COVID-19 pandemicand often depict verbal and sometimes

But Karen’s behavior is more than a meme: fast food employees experience angry outbursts from customers in the real world. A 2021 study by restaurant industry analytics firm Black Box Intelligence found that 60% of restaurant workers have suffered emotional abuse and disrespect from clients that year, and 78% reported it affected their mental health.

In November 2021, McDonald’s workers across California went on strike against unsafe working conditions. Jasmina Alfaro, who worked at a McDonald’s restaurant in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Daily News about the violence she experienced at work.

“We’ve been robbed at gunpoint, beaten, bitten and threatened just for trying to do our jobs,” Alfaro said. “It was only after we held a protest at our store that management came up with a security solution. But this is not enough.”

Petersen said her underage co-worker recently had to press charges against a drunken male customer who harassed her.

“It’s not common for a weirdo to come to us, but maybe once every two months,” she said, adding that everyone in the industry has experienced similar situations.

She told Reckon that she encourages people to be kind to employees because “you never know what they’re going through.”

“I’ve had clients apologize to me a few times for being rude because of my ‘kill them with kindness’ attitude, and I always forgive them because we all have our days and I totally understand that,” Petersen said. “Most people don’t apologize these days, which makes the job suck even more.”

Unions, protests and legal protection for fast food workers

As reports of workplace violence and wage theft grew, fast food workers began organizing for change. Their efforts have led to significant victories, especially in California, where new laws are changing the industry.

The rise in violence against employees has sparked a movement to introduce legal protections to ensure their safety, with California at the epicenter of the fight.

During the pandemic, fast food workers in Los Angeles County were at greater risk of contracting COVID-19, faced increased hardship in working conditions and did not receive protections to which they were entitled, according to a 2022 report. UCLA Labor Center.

Half of the fast food workers surveyed in the report said they had been verbally harassed, and one third said they had faced threats, racial slurs or attacks. In addition, nearly two-thirds of employees have experienced wage theft, more than half have experienced health and safety hazards on the job, with 43% suffering an injury. Wage theft occurs when employers withhold money earned, such as compensation or breaks.

“Fast food workers have shown up every day during the COVID-19 pandemic, risking their lives to keep our stores open and our communities fed.” Angelica Hernandez, a McDonald’s employee in Los Angeles, told UCLA.. “The companies we work for have called us essential, but this report shows that they think we are disposable and that they have decided that keeping us in unsafe and unsanitary conditions is worth it for the sake of higher corporate profits.”

In response to years of unfair conditions, industry began to unionize. In February California fast food workers form first minority union of its kind representing hundreds of employees of McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Jack in the Box, Carl’s Jr. and Subway. California Fast Food Workers Union lists its goals as increasing the minimum wage by 3.5% over the next three years and establishing rules to ensure workers are given enough hours to support themselves.

In September 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the law into law. increased the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour and created Fast food tip that workers have a say in setting working conditions policies and health and safety standards.

A year later, the governor’s office reported that the state had more fast food jobs than ever before, including 11,000 new jobs created in the four months after he signed the bill.

“What’s good for workers is good for business, and as California’s fast food industry continues to thrive each month, our workers are finally getting the pay they deserve. Despite those who spread lies that this would doom the industry, California’s economy and workers are proving them wrong again,” Newsom said in an interview. August 2024 statement.

Opponents of the wage increase warned that the wage increase would also affect customers.

“Every day you see headlines about restaurant closures, job losses and reduced hours, and rising food prices for consumers,” said a spokesperson for the International Franchise Association. told the socialist magazine Jacobin a few months after it came into force.

Report Harvard University published October 9 found that raising California’s minimum wage had no unintended consequences for staffing, scheduling, or wage theft, and Center for Wage and Employment Dynamics at the University of California, Berkeley found that menu prices increased by only 3% to 7%, which equates to 15 cents for a $4 hamburger.

Starbucks employees have also fought to unionize across the country. According to his website, Starbucks Workers United now represents 500 stores and more than 10,500 employees since opening its first store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize in 2021.

According to CNBCThe latest unionized store, in Bellingham, Washington, recently sent a letter to the company’s new CEO, Brian Niccolexplaining the reason for their organization.

“Starbucks’ ultimate success in recovery depends on us baristas having the support we need to do our jobs well so that in turn we can ensure that customers enjoy their Starbucks experience and keep coming back.” they wrote.