Connecticut rest-stop McDonald’s new ‘Fight for $15’ target

Bloomberg

The union behind the “Fight For $15” campaign that successfully raised the floor for low-wage work in much of the US has a new target: Highway rest stops, where government ownership and oversight could help establish labour’s long-sought foothold in fast food.
Fast-food workers at several Connecticut highway rest stops will announce wage theft claims against several companies including three McDonald’s franchisees and declare their intent to unionise with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). They’ll be joined by some state lawmakers, whom organisers hope will help the workers win.
“The government has a clear responsibility to ensure that anyone they do business with acts as a responsible employer,” said Kyle Bragg, president of 32BJ, the SEIU affiliate organising at the Connecticut rest stops. “I think unionisation goes hand in hand with that.”
A spokesperson for McDonald’s Corp said the company recognises employees’ right to choose whether or not to join labour organisations. Franchise owners either didn’t return calls for comment or were unavailable.
Since New York fast-food workers kicked off the “Fight For $15” campaign with a 2012 strike, SEIU has experimented with a mix of tactics designed to raise labour standards
and unionise workers at low-wage chains — especially McDonald’s.
The campaign has helped create a sea change in the US, with states like California and companies like Amazon establishing a $15 hourly minimum. Earlier this year, McDonald’s said it would no longer participate in lobbying against across-the-board increases to the minimum wage.
But organisers have been unable to wrest union recognition from fast-food giants like McDonald’s, which is facing National Labor Relations Board complaints that allege widespread retaliation aimed at chilling the campaign.
McDonald’s has denied wrongdoing and last year joined the NLRB’s Trump-appointed general counsel in proposing a settlement that would resolve those allegations without making the company liable for misconduct at franchises. The offer has been rejected by a judge and is now pending before the Republican-controlled agency.
For years, SEIU leaders have focussed on the top fast-food corporations, with the idea that they establish the business model for franchisees and could forge a deal to let workers unionise.
In a speech, SEIU president Mary Kay Henry called on 2020 presidential candidates to “commit to bring McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King to a national fast-food industry bargaining table that will lift wages and improve working conditions for fast-food workers across the nation.”
The rest-stop strategy draws from labour’s success at airports, where SEIU and other unions have organised thousands of service workers in recent years.