McDonald's workers walk out in US over sexual harassment

Workers at McDonald’s restaurants across 10 American cities will walk out on Tuesday in protest over the fast food giant’s sexual harassment policy.

Staff at the burger chain claim there is a culture of sexual harassment and are calling for management to take greater steps against on-the-job sexual harassment.

The strike – which organisers say is the first multi-state strike in America which specifically addresses sexual harassment – comes after 25 women filed complaints against the fast food chain.

The women allege McDonald’s failed to enforce company rules against abuse – claiming they were ignored after reporting incidents such as indecent exposure, groping and lewd comments.

Workers in Chicago, McDonald’s hometown, Durham, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, St Louis, Orlando and San Francisco are all set to walk out at lunchtime.

Organisers of the strike have been inspired by the #MeToo movement – the movement against sexual harassment and assault which exploded last autumn after a series of sexual misconduct allegations were made against powerful men in Hollywood and a number of other industries.

Since 2016, 25 McDonald's workers have filed complaints with the US National Labor Relations Board, alleging their reports of harassment were either ignored, mocked or met with retaliation.

The complaints named both McDonald's franchisees and the firm itself. But the chain regards its franchisees as independent business owners.

“Sexual harassment is pervasive across the fast food industry, where over a million workers – especially women of colour – face abuse as a routine part of their job,” Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Centre, said in a statement announcing complaints in May.

“This sort of harassment puts working people in a no-win situation – forced to choose between a paycheck and speaking up about the abuse.”

According to the National Women's Law Center, a 15-year-old cashier in St Louis alleges that an older male employee said "You have a nice body. Have you ever had white chocolate inside you?" When the girl reported the incident to her manager, she was reportedly told, "You will never win that battle."

“As the world’s second largest employer, McDonald’s could set the standard for addressing sexual harassment in the service sector. So far, it has failed,” Noreen Farrell, Executive Director at Equal Rights Advocates, a non-profit women’s rights organisation that is based in San Francisco, said.

“That’s why we stand with the McDonald’s workers who are walking off the job. Nothing will change unless we demand change.”

Demonstrators – who have the support of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund and the Fight for $15 low-wage group – say procedures for reacting to harassment complaints are inadequate and that all staff should go through anti-harassment training.

In a statement, McDonald’s said: “There is no place for harassment or discrimination of any kind at McDonald’s. Since our founding, we’ve been committed to a culture that fosters the respectful treatment of everyone. We have policies, procedures and training in place that are specifically designed to prevent sexual harassment at our company and company-owned restaurants, and we firmly believe that our franchisees share this commitment.”

The firm also disclosed a new initiative that will engage outside experts to work with the company to help “evolve” those policies and procedures. Some of the experts would come from Seyfarth Shaw at Work, which is an employment law training firm, and RAINN, an anti-sexual violence organisation.

The strike comes as union-backed organisations have been lobbying McDonald’s for better working conditions – including a $15 minimum wage.