The symbolic arrest came as multiple class action lawsuits were filed against McDonald's in New York, Michigan and California for wage theft. In New York, many workers complained that they were forced to pay for the cleaning and maintenance of their uniforms which dropped their wages below the minimum wage. Meanwhile, McDonald's made nearly $5.6 billion in profits last year, there is no reason to while McDonald's or any company should get away with wage theft.
That said, you can guess why fast food workers, who are already underpaid, and their allies are fed up by the abuse and wage theft of fast food giants such as McDonald's.
Activists exited to a crowd of supporters and reporters. A group of workers, led by KFC worker Naquasia LeGrand, read Ronald McDonald his rights and indicted him for crimes against workers. Franklin, a 23 yr old worker at McDonald's complained about his Managers not reimbursing him for his uniform upkeep, he assured the crowd that while that may not sound like too much money, "When you're living on the edge like me, every penny counts."
Public Advocate Letitia James concluded the press conference and announced that her office "will establish a hotline for whistleblowers to report wage theft and empower city agencies with the ability to investigate those claims."
That same afternoon, after symbolically holding Ronald McDonald accountable for wage theft, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that his office had reached a $500K settlement with seven New York City McDonald's restaurant franchises. The owner Richard Cisneros will be accountable for failing to pay the legally-required laundry allowances for many employees, for uncompensated work time and for unlawful deductions from wages. The settlement money will go to more than 1,600 minimum wage workers who were affected by these franchises.
We thank the Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Public Advocate Letitia James for standing up for workers rights.
We won't stop fighting until we win $15 per hour and the right to form a union without retaliation.
Show your support by following us on Twitter @FastFoodForward and liking us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FastFoodForward?fref=ts
For more press on the issue:
http://www.amny.com/news/workers-public-advocate-accuse-mcdonald-s-of-wa...
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/18/how_new_york_could_crack_down_on_fast_fo...
http://consumerist.com/2014/03/18/mcdonalds-franchise-operator-to-pay-50...
http://nuevayork.univision.com/fotos/slideshow/2014-03-18/por-que-arrest...
