Category: Press Statements

Student Guestworkers to McDonald’s: Our Fight Goes Global June 6th

Monday, 01 April, 2013 12:25
Student Guestworkers to McDonald’s: Our Fight Goes Global June 6th

McDonald’s J-1 guestworkers to “supersize” protests against guestworker exploitation in multiple countries

CHICAGO, IL, April 1, 2013—McDonald’s J-1 student guestworkers fighting to end exploitation by the fast food giant said Monday that they would hold an international day of action against McDonald’s on June 6. The date coincides with the three-month anniversary of the students’ strike against McDonald’s restaurants where they faced severe labor abuse in Pennsylvania.

“McDonald’s thought it could wait until we went back to our home countries and the problem would go away,” said NGA member and student guestworker Rodrigo Yañez. “We’re going to keep the fight up in our countries, and we’re going to make it grow. We’re inviting allies in the U.S. and around the world to join us.”

Student guestworkers gathered last week at McDonald’s corporate headquarters and the home of CEO Don Thompson. They personally delivered over 100,000 petition signatures and demanded a high-level meeting to discuss ending the abuse of guestworkers at McDonald’s restaurants.

When McDonald’s refused, the students decided to bring the campaign to their home countries around the world, including Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Malaysia, with an international day of protest set for June 6.

“McDonald’s could make all this go away,” said NGA Executive Director Saket Soni. “They could take responsibility for what happened to these guest workers inside their stores. They could adopt labor standards as they’ve promised. Or they could look forward to a long, hot summer.”

The student guestworkers paid $3,000-4,000 apiece to participate in the U.S. State Department’s J-1 visa program, expecting decent work and a cultural exchange. Instead, McDonald’s used them as a sub-minimum wage exploitable workforce. Students faced:

  • As few as four hours of work a week at $7.25 an hour, with exorbitant housing deductions that brought their net pay far below minimum wage
  • Shifts as long as 25 hours with no overtime pay
  • Being packed into employer-owned basement housing, up to eight students to a room, for $300 each per month
  • Retaliation by McDonald’s franchisee Andy Cheung and labor supplier GeoVisions against students for exercising their labor rights, including further cuts to hours and surprise home visits
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McDonald’s student guestworkers from Latin America and Asia joined the National Guestworker Alliance and went on strike on Mar. 6 from the Central PA stores where they had worked, demanding that the fast food giant take responsibility for labor abuse at its restaurants. Their fight gained national attention by The Nation, NBC News, NPR and the Wall Street Journal, and they won the exclusion of McDonald’s franchisee Andy Cheung from the McDonald’s system.

Traveling the country to build support, the student guestworkers held rallies and protests in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York, and Chicago. They were joined by hundreds of allies, including from One Pittsburgh, Fight for Philly, United NY, SEIU International, Retail Action Project, Jobs with Justice, United Worker Congress, National Domestic Worker Alliance, IBEW, Workers Organizing Committee Chicago, and other community groups.

Student Guestworkers Demand Dignity at McDonald’s CEO’s Front Door – 3/26/13

Tuesday, 26 March, 2013 12:46

Student Guestworkers Demand Dignity for All Workers at McDonald’s CEO’s Front Door

McDonald’s J-1 guestworkers march on CEO’s home March 26

WHAT:  McDonald’s student guestworkers march on CEO Don Thompson’s home to demand high level meeting on ending labor abuses
WHO:  International student guestworkers; members of Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago, Restaurant Opportunities Center, and labor, community allies
WHERE:  CEO Don Thompson’s Home, 8000 South Drew Ave, Burr Ridge IL 60527
WHEN:     Tuesday, March 26, 2013, 5:30 p.m. CT

Chicago,IL— At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, J-1 student guestworkers who exposed severe exploitation and retaliation at McDonald’s restaurants will march on the home of CEO Don Thompson to personally deliver more than 100,000 petition signatures and demand an end to labor abuse.

The students delivered the petitions and demanded a high-level meeting at McDonald’s corporate headquarters yesterday, but Don Thompson refused to appear. 

At 5:30 p.m. they’ll bring their demands and petitions right to CEO Don Thompson’s home. Along with the petitions students will bring food from each of their countries to offer Don Thompson the cultural exchange that they were denied. 

McDonald’s student guestworkers from Latin America and Asia joined the National Guestworker Alliance as members and went on strike on Mar. 6 from the Central PA stores where they had worked, demanding that the fast food giant take responsibility for labor abuse at its restaurants. Their fight reached the pages of The Nation, NBC News, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal.

Since going on strike on March 6th with a demonstration outside the Camp Hill, PA McDonalds where a number of students were employees, they and their allies have demonstrated at McDonald’s stores in Pittsburgh, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C..

The McDonald’s student guestworkers have traveled the country to build support, and are seeking a high-level meeting with McDonald’s on their demands:

  1. That McDonald’s pay students back all the money they are owed, including the money they spent to come work for the company, unpaid overtime, and housing overcharges;
  2. That the McDonald’s franchisee offer dignified wages and full-time work to its U.S. McDonald’s workers, who are struggling with low wages and too few hours;
  3. That McDonald’s reveal all the guestworkers at its stores, sign an agreement guaranteeing their basic labor standards, including non-retaliation against workers who organize to stop abuse;
  4. That the U.S. State Department protect future J-1 students by barring labor supplier GeoVisions from the J-1 program.
  5. That the U.S. State Department agree to create a policy protecting guestworkers from retaliation and deportation if they report workplace abuse.

“Employer retaliation almost blocked these students from exposing labor abuse. McDonald’s needs to disavow that retaliation and meet with the students directly,” said Saket Soni, executive director of the National Guestworker Alliance.

McDonald’s Guestworkers Join Forces with Chicago Fast Food Workers to Fight Exploitation – 3/25/13

Friday, 22 March, 2013 09:36

McDonald’s Guestworkers Join Forces with Chicago Fast Food Workers to Fight Exploitation

Student guestworkers show solidarity for low-wage Chicago workers with teach-in at flagship Rock N Roll McDonald’s, bring their demands for worker protections to McDonald’s corporate headquarters. 

WHAT:  Teach-in by McDonald’s guestworkers on McDonald’s exploitation of J-1 visa program, in solidarity with low-wage members of the Mag Mile and Loop, followed by caravan to corporate headquarters
WHO:  International student guestworkers; members of Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago, and labor, community allies and local fast-food workers
WHERE:  The flagship Rock N Roll McDonald’s, 600 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60610, and McDonald’s Corporate Headquarters, 2111 McDonalds Dr, Oak Brook, IL 60523
WHEN:     Monday, March 25, 2013, 10 a.m. CT
CONTACT:  Davin Larson, 913-909-7641, davin@guestworkeralliance.org
                      Catherine Murrell, 312-523-3882, catherine@standupchicago.org

CHICAGO, IL—At 10 a.m. CT on Monday, March 25, J-1 student guestworkers who exposed retaliation and severe exploitation at McDonald’s restaurants will show their solidarity for organizing Chicago fast food workers by holding a teach-in inside the flagship Rock N Roll McDonald’s.

The students will be speaking to members of the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago, a new union for downtown fast food and retail workers, about how McDonald’s used the guestworker visa program to make them captive sub-minimum-wage workers. The teach-in comes at a time when business leaders are demanding an expanded guestworker program without adequate labor protections as a prerequisite to any immigration reform.

At 12 p.m. the students and their allies will caravan to McDonald’s corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, IL where they will personally deliver more than 60,000 petition signatures and call for a high-level meeting to discuss their demands.

McDonald’s student guestworkers from Latin America and Asia joined the National Guestworker Alliance as members and went on strike on Mar. 6 from the Central PA stores where they had worked, demanding that the fast food giant take responsibility for labor abuse at its restaurants. Their fight reached the pages of The Nation, NBC News, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal.

They and their allies have demonstrated at McDonald’s stores in Pittsburgh, New York City, and Philadelphia. The students have pledged to take their fight to McDonald’s Chicago corporate headquarters and to the homes of Board Chairman, Andrew J McKenna and CEO Don Thompson. They are joined in Chicago by allies from Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago, Jobs with Justice, Restaurant Opportunities Center and many others.

The student guestworkers paid $3,000-4,000 apiece to participate in the U.S. State Department’s J-1 visa program, expecting decent work and a cultural exchange. Instead, McDonald’s used them as a sub-minimum wage exploitable workforce. Students faced:

  • As few as four hours of work a week at $7.25 an hour, with exorbitant housing deductions that brought their net pay far below minimum wage
  • Shifts as long as 25 hours with no overtime pay
  • Being packed into employer-owned basement housing, up to eight students to a room, for $300 each per month
  • Retaliation by McDonald’s franchisee Andy Cheung and labor supplier GeoVisions against students for exercising their labor rights, including further cuts to hours and surprise home visits

 

“Employer retaliation almost blocked these students from exposing labor abuse. McDonald’s needs to disavow that retaliation and meet with the students directly,” said Saket Soni, executive director of the National Guestworker Alliance.

LINKS

Campaign overview: http://wp.me/p1ydmm-Hg
Students on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8lKrbD2U84
Student Petition: http://www.coworker.org/petitions/mcdonald-s-must-pay
Press Coverage: http://www.guestworkeralliance.org/category/press-coverage/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23McDonaldsMustPay

 

McDonald’s Student Guestworkers Hit Philly to Stop Labor Abuse – 3/16/13

Friday, 15 March, 2013 11:58

McDonald’s Student Guestworkers Hit Philly to Stop Labor Abuse

J-1 student guestworkers demands McDonald’s protect all its workers

WHAT:  Protest by McDonald’s guestworkers, allies to end McDonald’s labor abuse
WHO:  J-1 student guestworkers; 30 labor, community allies
WHERE:  McDonald’s, 1401 Arch St. (at N. Broad St.), Philadelphia, PA 19102
WHEN: Saturday, March 16, 2013, 12:30 p.m. ET
CONTACTS:  Davin Larson, 913-909-7641, davin@guestworkeralliance.org Jesse Kudler, 617-974-3684, jesse@fightforphilly.org

PHILADELPHIA, PA—At 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 16, J-1 student guestworkers who exposed severe exploitation and retaliation at McDonald’s restaurants in Central PA will demonstrate at a Philadelphia McDonald’s to demand a meeting with McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson on ending labor abuse.

McDonald’s student guestworkers from Latin America and Asia joined the National Guestworker Alliance and went on strike on Mar. 6 from the Central PA stores where they had worked, demanding that the fast food giant take responsibility for labor abuse at its restaurants.

They and their allies have demonstrated at McDonald’s stores in Pittsburgh and New York City, and the students have pledged to take their fight to McDonald’s corporate headquarters near Chicago and to the home of CEO Don Thompson. They are joined in Philadelphia by allies from Fight for Philly.

Under heavy public fire, McDonald’s announced Thursday it would sever ties with the franchisee that employed the students. The students responded:

“McDonald’s action is an important admission of labor abuse at its stores. But a change of management at three stores will not protect the guestworkers and U.S. workers at McDonald’s 14,000 other stores in the U.S. We asked McDonald’s to meet with us and our allies to come to an agreement on how to protect all McDonald’s workers. If they will not, we will come to McDonald’s headquarters on March 26 to seek a meeting. If they will not meet with us there, we will come to CEO Don Thompson’s house and ask to meet him there.”

The student guestworkers paid $3,000-4,000 apiece to participate in the U.S. State Department’s J-1 visa program, expecting decent work and a cultural exchange. Instead, McDonald’s used them as a sub-minimum wage exploitable workforce. Students faced:

  • As few as four hours of work a week at $7.25 an hour, with exorbitant housing deductions that brought their net pay far below minimum wage
  • Shifts as long as 25 hours with no overtime pay
  • Being packed into employer-owned basement housing, up to eight students to a room, for $300 each per month
  • Retaliation by McDonald’s franchisee Andy Cheung and labor supplier GeoVisions against students for exercising their labor rights, including further cuts to hours and surprise home visits

 

“The U.S. Department of Labor has registered 1,588 labor violations by McDonald’s since 2002. That tells us the exploitation of these guestworkers is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Saket Soni, executive director of the National Guestworker Alliance. “As U.S. corporations push for more guestworkers through immigration reform, McDonald’s needs to lead the way by pledging to protect workers against retaliation for exercising their labor rights.”

“Employer retaliation almost blocked these students from exposing labor abuse. McDonald’s needs to disavow that retaliation and meet with the students directly,” Soni said.

LINKS

 

Student Guestworkers to McDonald’s: Protect ALL Your Workers

Thursday, 14 March, 2013 15:17

Student Guestworkers to McDonald’s: Protect ALL Your Workers

McDonald’s J-1 guestworkers to march on company HQ, CEO’s home March 26

NEW YORK, NY, March 14, 2013—J-1 student guestworkers who exposed severe exploitation and retaliation at McDonald’s restaurants vowed Thursday to march on McDonald’s corporate headquarters and the home of CEO Don Thompson on March 26 if McDonald’s doesn’t take responsibility for ending labor abuse for all its workers.

While students and their allies marched on a Times Square McDonald’s to make their announcement, McDonald’s said that it had ended relations with the Central PA franchisee Andy Cheung, who employed the J-1 students. In response, the students released the following statement:

“McDonald’s action is an important admission of labor abuse at its stores. But a change of management at three stores will not protect the guestworkers and U.S. workers at McDonald’s 14,000 other stores in the U.S. We asked McDonald’s to meet with us and our allies to come to an agreement on how to protect all McDonald’s workers. If they will not, we will come to McDonald’s headquarters on March 26 to seek a meeting. If they will not meet with us there, we will come to CEO Don Thompson’s house and ask to meet him there.”

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