Seattle Fast Food Workers Vote to Strike

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SEATTLE FAST FOOD WORKERS VOTE TO STRIKE

Thursday action part of global day of protest against low wages

SEATTLE – Fast food workers in Seattle today announced their plans to join a global fast-food strike planned for Thursday, May 15.

The workers voted Tuesday to take the strike action, part of a continuing movement to pressure giant corporations to raise wages and lift workers out of poverty.

Seattle fast-food workers previously have gone on strike on May 30 and Aug. 29, 2013.

Workers plan to rally at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 15 at Westlake Park in Seattle. Strike locations and further details to be announced later.

Media Contact: Sejal Parikh, sejal@workingwa.org

"I want to get out."

Seattle fast food workers have called for a one day, city-wide boycott of McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s on February 20th. Here’s why.

“I have two kids and a wife and I send money back home as well. What we are making now we can’t take care of ourselves. It’s tough and it gets tougher when they cut your hours. With little hours and making minimum wage I can’t take care of myself, much less take care of my family.” - Jose

“I live in a household with seven other people in a two bedroom, one bath house. I live in a room now with three people. I just think that if the minimum wage was raised I would be able to afford day to day stuff, maybe even move out on my own, and just live my life.” - Martina

“Both my parents have disabilities. I’m the only one bringing in income for the family. I am always taking extra shifts, but these companies that pay this low minimum wage just don’t understand how hard it is to make it. $15 an hour would change our lives.” - Alonna

“I’ve worked in fast food for five years. I’m a single mother. I live in a bad neighborhood and I’m trying to get out. I want to get out. It’s a struggle. It’s hard on this minimum wage. I’m living check to check. I want to get out.” - Crystal

Join us: Pack your lunch, spread the word, and show support for $15 for Seattle by pledging to Boycott McPoverty on February 20th.

They blamed it on a cookie?

Subway fired Carlos Hernandez after he helped lead a citywide fast food strike. Then they tried to blame it on a 66 cent cookie. Retaliation is wrong and we’re not going to let them get away with it: if Subway won’t give Carlos his job back, they won’t get our business. nosandwich

Send an email directly to the Subway franchise owner who fired Carlos, and tell him you will boycott Subway until he stops retaliating and gives Carlos his job back.

Carlos and his coworkers know he wasn’t fired over a cookie. Just days before he was fired, a manager told him to stop “rabble rousing.” Other workers were told they shouldn’t talk to Carlos anymore. It’s pretty obvious that this was retaliation, and the 66 cent cookie was just a convenient excuse.

Click here to send an email to the Subway franchise owner who fired Carlos — and to Subway Corporate. Tell them you are going to boycott Subway until Carlos gets his job back.

Subway is already feeling the pressure.

We’ve picketed outside of numerous Subway locations owned by the same major franchise owner who retaliated against Carlos, essentially shutting down the lunch rush. We filed federal charges against both the franchise owner and Subway Corporate. We even took our pickets to the pages of Yelp.

And now we are calling for a boycott of Subway until Carlos gets his job back.

Click here to join the boycott — and tell Subway why.

ON STRIKE AGAINST SUBWAY: fast food workers deserve respect

Carlos Hernandez is a Subway worker who helped lead the fast food strikes this summer to demand that the huge, profitable fast food industry treat their workers with respect. Now Subway has fired him — supposedly over a 66¢ cookie.

Federal charges have been filed alleging that Carlos was actually fired in retaliation for his role as a leader in the fast food workers movement.

Everyone should have the right to speak out for a better life — that's why workers have a legal right to strike. It's unacceptable that instead of listening to workers and considering their concerns, Subway fired a leader in the fast food workers movement and is trying to intimidate other workers from speaking out.

Support Carlos & the fast food workers movement: BOYCOTT SUBWAY until he gets his job back.*

Thousands of fast-food workers have joined a nationwide wave of strikes for better pay and the right to organize. Almost every one of these workers went back to work without incident. Why? Because it's illegal to fire someone for striking — and because the law has been backed up by overwhelming community support.

Carlos is a true leader who helped organize the May 30th and August 29th strikes.

He spread the word to his co-workers, and successfully encouraged many to join him on strike, forcing several stores to close. He joined strikelines outside the store where he works, and even spoke out at the rallies which culminated both Seattle fast food strikes.

His managers repeatedly tried to intimidate him into quieting down, but Carlos continued to stand up for what he believed in: better pay & working conditions for fast food workers like him.

Carlos knew that speaking out could be a risk, but spoke out anyway because he thought it was important to be there for his coworkers and for his community.

Now it's time for all of use — workers, customers, and community — to be there for Carlos too.

Everyone should have the right to speak out for a better life. It's unacceptable that instead of listening to workers and considering their concerns, Subway has chosen to fire Carlos.

Don't shop at Subway until they commit to respect the law and give Carlos his job back.

*Our dispute is with Subway. We are not asking anyone to boycott a neutral employer.