On Tuesday, September 18, McDonald’s workers in cities across the country will participate in a historic strike to demand that the company improve its efforts to prevent and address sexual harassment. AP reports:
Plans for the walkout — to start at lunchtime on Sept. 18 — have been approved in recent days by "women's committees" formed by employees at dozens of McDonald's restaurants across the U.S. Lead organizers include several women who filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May alleging pervasive harassment at some of McDonald's franchise restaurants.
The strike comes as union-backed organizations have been putting pressure on McDonald's on several fronts for better working conditions ...
The strikers say this is the first of its kind: a multi-city strike that is specifically about sexual harassment. The cities participating are Chicago; Durham, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles; Miami; Milwaukee; New Orleans; Orlando, Florida; San Francisco; and St. Louis.
The strike is also backed by the Fight for 15 campaign, which says McDonald’s has been largely successful in union-busting so far. Perhaps sexual harassment will be the gateway issue to encourage workers to mobilize together for better working conditions across the board.