California fast-food workers launch new union: ‘They have to listen to us’

The Guardian (UK) ^ | Fri 9 Feb 2024 | Michael Sainato

[Salman]

Hundreds of fast-food workers met in Los Angeles on Friday to kick off the launch of the California Fast Food Workers Union, a statewide union aimed at organizing cooks and cashiers at fast-food companies across the state.

The new union comes in the wake of a victory at the end of 2023 to boost pay for California’s more than 500,000-strong fast-food workforce to $20 an hour.

...

In California, over 80% of fast-food workers are people of color and two-thirds are women. In recent years, workers at fast-food chains throughout the state have held strikes in response to poor workplace conditions including excessive heat exposure in the workplace, sexual harassment and retaliation against workers, child labor violations, and wage theft.

“I’m very proud to say that we’re going to have a union. This is like a dream come true for me to be able to say this,” said Angelica Hernandez, who has worked at McDonald’s for 19 years in Los Angeles, California. “McDonald’s and other brands like Carl’s Jr, Chipotle – they have to listen to us. They’ve been making millions and millions of dollars in profits, and they want to keep their employees working at minimum wage.”

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[small farm girl]

Central, do you seriously wait for me to post about ag? Yes, 13 year old kids are worth $20 an hour. Got it. All I was saying is you exclude newbies from the workforce when you set a high wage.
So I can take it you think $20 an hour is good for fast food too. Great! Enjoy paying $9 for a crap hamburger...and if you don't eat fast food, or vegetables, stfu already. Grow all your own but leave the rest of us out of your totally ignorant and imbecilic remarks. 😊 OH, and be sure to buy all your produce from out of the country so you can support their economy, regulations, and $8/day wages. Keep encouraging illegals to pour over our borders and destroy our country, it's working.

[CIB-173RDABN]

Oh they will listen, to the humming of automation while you sit in your mommy and daddys basement with out a job
—
I am comfortably retired and will sit in my own basement thank you (without a job other then exploring the internet).

[CIB-173RDABN]

I think I’d be much more satisfied with paying the prices IF the food looked like what is on the menu pictures.

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They have “food artist” to make the food look good. Actually you would not want to eat the burger they are photographing since they add things to make it look better.

[MayflowerMadam]

“They have ‘food artist’ to make the food look good.”

My friend used to do food photography for (IIRC) Marriott when they had airport concessions. Most of the food wasn’t food, but made out of plaster or resin or something.

[markman46]

the only “fast food” restarant is IN-N-Out, and only as a treat, and only when i have to travel to northrn cal and southern Org. clean and fast and the employees are paid very well.