CHICAGO — About three dozen McDonald’s workers and activists walked down Randolph Street in West Town Tuesday afternoon to protest alleged sexual harassment at the fast-food giant’s restaurants.
Members of the group carried signs saying “My smile is not on the menu” and “Sexual harassment is unacceptable” as they gathered outside the company’s corporate headquarters.
“It’s time for McDonald’s to address the pattern of sexual harassment in its stores,” said Adriana Alvarez, 29, who said she has worked at a Cicero McDonald’s for 10 years.
Protests were held in 11 other cities in response to recent complaints of sexual assault and harassment at the company’s restaurants, according to the Fight for $15 workers’ rights group.
Last month, a teen who worked at a McDonald’s in the Pittsburgh area filed a lawsuit alleging the restaurant manager raped her and that other employees were aware of sexual harassment in the restaurant. Separately, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit in federal court in Nevada in September alleging a franchise owner with restaurants in Nevada, Arizona and California “was aware of, perpetuated, and tolerated sexual harassment” in its restaurants.
AMTCR, the franchisee sued by the EEOC, declined to comment. Michele Rice, the franchisee who owns the Pittsburgh restaurant, called the allegations “deeply disturbing” in a statement provided by her lawyer.
“My organization has no tolerance for sexual harassment and we terminated the employee in question as soon as we learned about a complaint against him,” Rice said.
Local McDonald’s employees have also alleged they experienced harassment on the job and filed complaints with the EEOC, according to the Fight for $15.
Activists and McDonald’s workers held a similar protest outside the chain’s Chicago headquarters in 2018.
McDonald’s introduced a set of standards for all of its restaurants in April that require they provide retaliation, harassment and violence prevention policies and training and provide a process for reporting complaints or concerns. The requirements go into effect in January.
“Every single person working at a McDonald’s restaurant deserves to feel safe and respected when they come to work, and sexual harassment and assault have no place in any McDonald’s restaurant,” the company said in a statement. “We know more work is needed to further our workplace ambitions, which is why all 40,000 McDonald’s restaurants will be assessed and accountable to Global Brand Standards.”
Alvarez said she doesn’t think the standards can hurt, as long as the company doesn’t “keep trying to brush it under the rug.”
While Alvarez hasn’t experienced sexual harassment at work, she said she’s seen it happen to co-workers. Alvarez and other activists at the protest called for a union “to ensure our voices can be heard.”
