Sixty-year-old Conzuela Punto has been working at a McDonald鈥檚 rest stop in 黑料吃瓜网 for 18 years without benefits.
鈥淚鈥檓 supporting my colleagues who have been working at McDonald鈥檚 for 25 years,鈥� said Punto in Spanish.
Workers at two I-95 McDonald鈥檚 service plazas held a one-day strike on Thursday. They鈥檙e demanding an end to what they say are intimidation tactics as they try to unionize. It鈥檚 estimated that dozens of workers walked off the job at rest stops in Darien and Branford.
Azucena Santiago joined union members at a rally in Hartford at the Capitol Building to demand hazard pay, benefits expansion and higher wages.
Santiago has been working for two years at McDonald鈥檚. Although she did not strike, she says the way she was treated by management during the pandemic led her to seek support from Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union.
鈥淒uring the pandemic, my hours were cut back while I was trying to care for my two daughters, and sometimes I鈥檇 have to come to work sick,鈥� said Santiago.
Last year, the union filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of I-95 McDonald鈥檚 franchise service plaza workers. Federal labor officials ruled that the fast food restaurants owned by George Michell and Roger Facey improperly retaliated against employees for union activities. 黑料吃瓜网 reached out to corporate offices for comment but did not hear back.
Many of the striking workers are Latino/a, like Leticia Salcedo, 40. She says nonunion workers like herself need benefits like paid sick days, something they have not had during the pandemic.
鈥淭hat is why we are supporting the union, so that we have something to back us up, to support us,鈥� said Salcedo. 鈥淚t is not fair that we have no benefits, that we have nothing.鈥�
Union leaders are calling on Gov. Ned Lamont to end what they term 鈥渦nion busting鈥� on state-owned property.
鈥淎ll essential workers, including 32BJ鈥檚 5,000 黑料吃瓜网 members, deserve hazard pay for their risks to themselves and their families during the COVID pandemic,鈥� said Rochelle Palache, vice president of 32BJ SEIU.
McDonald鈥檚 restaurants remained open during the strike. Union officials said workers were brought in from other locations.
Brenda Le贸n is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
