Fast food workers plan to stage strike lines at various locations across San Jose on Wednesday, demanding government action in response to low pay and alleged wage theft, violence, harassment, and unsafe working conditions. The strikes and rallies have been organized by the labor advocacy group Fight for $15 and a Union.
The planned rallies are set to take place at Carl’s Jr. on Saratoga Ave, San Jose City Hall, and KFC on East Santa Clara St. City Councilmembers Rosemary Kamei, Omar Torres, and Peter Ortiz, along with local labor leaders and allies, are expected to join the striking workers.
According to Fight for $15, San Jose’s fast food workers are urging local and state lawmakers to support their fight for industry-wide solutions to issues such as wage theft and unsafe working conditions. They are also calling out fast food corporations for allegedly silencing workers’ complaints.
The striking workers are demanding the passage of AB 1228, the Fast Food Corporate Franchisor Responsibility Act. This act would hold corporations like McDonald’s accountable when franchise stores violate labor laws, negatively impacting workers’ health and well-being.
Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 257, the FAST Recovery Act, into law. This act formed a statewide Fast Food Council to better represent fast food workers in the government.
Fight for $15 data shows that California’s fast food workers, numbering over half a million, are predominantly people of color (nearly 80%), over 60% are Latino, and two-thirds are women.