McDonald’s Employees Discuss Harassment at Work

Stacie Allen, 23, has worked as a cashier at McDonald’s in the Bronx at the Yankee Stadium location for over a year and has heard several horror stories about sexual harassment from teenage coworkers. Though she has not been a victim herself, last month Allen walked out of the popular franchise to march in solidarity with a few coworkers to show her support. “I feel it’s important women stick together and fight for our rights to be protected in the workplace,” says Allen, who works in the day shift but explains that she doesn’t feel comfortable when some male managers stand too close due to safety concerns. “It’s sad women are getting, harassed and I am embarrassed to work here, but I have to pay my bills. I am hoping for real change in 2022.”

Allen is like many employees who are angered by ongoing harassment and violence at McDonald’s stores.

On Tuesday October 26, McDonald’s workers in 12 U.S cities walked off the job to protest what they say are  inadequate efforts to stop sexual harassment in its stores. At least 50 workers have filed charges against McDonald’s alleging verbal and physical harassment over the last five years. In particular, a registered sex offender, Walter Garner, was able to land a manager role at McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. In the spring of 2021, he sexually assaulted a teenage employee. The victim made various complaints that went unnoticed.

In New York City McDonald’s, employees are sticking together in various boroughs and speaking out in hope of ending sexual harassment. “I am horrified at what happened to the victim in Pennsylvania,” says Lashawn Jackson, 17, a cashier at McDonald’s on Fulton Street in Manhattan. “How did Warner get hired without a background check?”

Some employees are particularly angered that McDonald’s, a wealthy corporation that pays low wages, isn’t more interested in the safety of its employees. “McDonald’s is a billion-dollar company,” says Brittany Reaves, 16, who does food prep at the Times Square location. “Our paychecks are terrible, and women are being harassed. You would think top dogs at corporate would do more to protect us.”

Earlier this year, McDonald’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski addressed the safety of his employees in a statement posted on the company’s website.

“Let me say plainly: every single person working under the Arches must have a safe and respectful work environment,” he wrote. “Sexual harassment in the workplace is an affront to everything we stand for as a system. It has no place in any McDonald’s restaurant, and it will not be tolerated.”

Nonetheless, employees continue shaking their heads. “It’s very sad what happened to that teenage girl,” says Matthew Hall, 47, a manager at McDonald’s Astoria location. “It’s important for me as a manager to protect my staff and listen to all complaints. I don’t understand how that happened.”