Virus sparks strike:
Cooks and cashiers at the McDonald’s on Fillmore Street in S.F. protest what it says is the company’s failure to look after its workers.
Anger among McDonald’s workers over how they believe the company is treating its employees during the coronavirus pandemic is boiling over in San Francisco.
A group of cooks and cashiers at the McDonald’s at 1100 Fillmore St., where employees said four workers at the restaurant recently tested positive for the coronavirus, went on strike Thursday to protest what they said is the company’s failure to prioritize the health of its staff.
Several workers at the location also emailed a complaint to the San Francisco Department of Public Health on Wednesday afternoon, detailing how employees have come to work while visibly sick, and when personal protective equipment was in short supply at the restaurant, employees were told to wear coffee filters as masks.
In an email to The Chronicle, Peter Ou, the local owneroperator of the Fillmore Street McDonald’s, said the company has not had any reported or confirmed COVID19 cases within
its workforce, and all of the locations in San Francisco are “in full compliance with all statelevel orders, including sick pay and PPE requirements.”
“Our organization remains committed to protecting crew, customers and the community during this unprecedented time,” Ou said. “We are disappointed by today’s activities as they do not represent the actions we have taken in the restaurant as we continue to serve the health care heroes on the frontlines.”
Zaira Prieto, an employee at the Fillmore Street McDonald’s who spoke to The Chronicle through a translator, said she knows at least one other worker who was told to go home because of flulike symptoms at a different McDonald’s location in San Francisco, but instead came to work at the Fillmore Street restaurant.
“We don’t get paid if we have to quarantine. We should be getting paid for that time,” Prieto said. “Workers are just afraid they’re going to get fired if they speak out and say something.”
McDonald’s is one of the largest fastfood companies in the world and has more than a dozen locations in San Francisco. The company also has been the source of ire from workers across the country who claim the company is doing little to prevent the spread of coronavirus among workers. In March, more than 700 fastfood workers across the country, many of them McDonald’s employees, participated in protests, according to reports.
Workers at various McDonald’s locations in Oakland also walked off the job in April and submitted a complaint to the Alameda County Public Health Department that stated the company was “behaving irresponsibly and putting us and our customers at risk of contracting or spreading COVID19.”
Both the San Francisco and Oakland protests also are tied to the ongoing “Fight for $15” labor movement, which is a campaign to raise the minimum wage.
McDonald’s workers in San Jose and Los Angeles protested in April for similar reasons. In response to those protests, McDonald’s said it would start wellness checks, increase cleanings and add more social distancing and handwashing guidelines at its restaurants.