Guestworkers strike at McDonald's USA

04-04-2013

Young workers from Latin America and Asia working at McDonald's in the US state of Pennsylvania on J-1 "cultural exchange" visas stopped work on March 6 to protest extreme exploitation. Supported by the National Guestworker Alliance they have demonstrated outside McDonald's headquarters and are planning an international day of action for June 6.

Like the J-1 workers at chocolatemaker Hershey's sub-contractors (read the story here [1]), the young workers had paid USD 3-4,000 each for the visas, charged extortionate rent for substandard housing, compelled to work long hours for sub-minimal wages and constantly threatened with deportation.

Some of them tell their stories in an interview with RadioLabour, available here [2].

The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) is an international federation of trade unions representing workers employed in agriculture and plantations; the preparation and manufacture of food and beverages; hotels, restaurants and catering services; all stages of tobacco processing. The IUF is composed of 394 affiliated organizations in 126 countries representing a combined membership of around 2,6 million.

How to contact the IUF:
Email: [email protected]
Post: Rampe du Pont-Rouge, 8, CH-1213, Petit-Lancy (Switzerland)
Phone: + 41 22 793 22 33
Fax: + 41 22 793 22 38

Links:
[1] http://cms.iuf.org/?q=node/1096
[2] http://www.radiolabour.net/mcdonalds-students.htm