Today is National Cheeseburger Day. But if you’re craving one from McDonald’s on Tuesday, you may want to check if your nearest McDonald’s location is in one of the 10 cities where McDonald’s workers are on strike.
Workers at U.S. locations of the global fast food chain walked out at lunchtime Tuesday. Workers on strike are demanding improved procedures for receiving and responding to sexual harassment complaints, as well as required anti-harassment training for managers and employees. The 10-city walkout was staged at franchise locations in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Orlando, and San Francisco, as well as Durham, North Carolina, and Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri.
Tanya, a McDonald's worker in #nola is on strike against sexual harassment today. She’s demanding the formation of a committee, that includes workers, be formed to stop it from continuing. #fightfor15#metoopic.twitter.com/uWTLEzdNgu
— Show Me $15 (@Show_Me15) September 18, 2018
The strike is part of the national action campaign led by Fight for $15, an organization that fights for—you guessed it—a $15 minimum wage for workers in a variety of jobs including fast food work, home health care aides, retail employees, and even adjunct professors.
In addition to support from Fight for $15, the strike is supported by the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund, a legal fund set up in the wake of the cascading stories from the #MeToo movement. The fund began with $13 million in its coffers meant for, among other purposes, legal defense for victims of workplace sexual misconduct.
Today, McDonald's workers in 10 cities across the country will make history, holding the first-ever nationwide strike to protest sexual harassment. We are with you.
— TIME'S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) September 18, 2018
Workers say McDonald’s has ignored sexual harassment complaints for too long. In San Francisco, for example, women employed by the fast food giant say they have experienced and complained about explicit sexual remarks and unwanted touching by coworkers. They also allege that complaints were ignored or met with retaliatory actions such as undesirable shift changes, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. McDonalds did not immediately respond to requests for comment.