TODAY 11AM – LOOK UP: Women’s Group Flies Plane Over McDonald’s HQ in Chicago in Solidarity with Striking McDonald’s Workers
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Tuesday, September 17, 2018
CONTACT: Brett Abrams | brett@unbendablemedia.com | (516) 841-1105
TODAY 11AM – LOOK UP: Women’s Group Flies Plane Over McDonald’s HQ in Chicago in Solidarity with Striking McDonald’s Workers
Fight for 15 McDonald’s Employees Fed Up with Sexual Harassment On-the-Job Go on First Ever #MeToo Labor Strike
CHICAGO — Today, as McDonald’s workers go on strike over innumerable ignored reports of sexual harassment and abuse on-the-job, national women’s advocacy group UltraViolet is commissioning a plane banner to fly over McDonald’s corporate headquarters in Chicago reading, “MCDONALDS: STOP SEXUAL HARASSMENT” in solidarity with the employees.
Employees at McDonald’s franchises in 10 cities will stage a walkout to pressure the company to address the first labor strike in U.S. history to target a corporation in connection to the #MeToo movement. The strikes will take place at some McDonald’s restaurants in Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Orlando, San Francisco, and Durham.
- WHEN: Tuesday, September 18, 2018. 11:00am – 1:00pm CST
- WHERE: McDonald’s Corporate HQ. 1045 W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL
- THE BANNER WILL READ: MCDONALDS: STOP SEXUAL HARASSMENT
In response to tomorrow’s strike, McDonald’s is reportedly engaging Seyfarth Shaw at Work, a subsidiary of a law firm that has defended fast food companies like Dominos, Jimmy Johns and most notably, the Weinstein Company in the Harvey Weinstein affair, to help strengthen its sexual harassment policies.
“UltraViolet and its members stand in solidarity with the courageous McDonald’s workers who have come forward with their stories of sexual harassment at the company,” said Shaunna Thomas, Executive Director of UltraViolet. “It is absurd that in response to worker’s demands to strengthen sexual harassment and abuse policies, McDonald’s has chosen to hire Seyfarth Shaw at Work, a firm that defended the Weinstein Company in the Harvey Weinstein affair, and companies ranging from Dominos to Kay Jewelers in sexual harassment cases against them. Men in positions of power—be they infamous film producers or supervisors at McDonald’s—have absolutely no place in the workplace following a report of sexual abuse.
“If McDonald’s is serious about meeting worker demands, they’d start by firing Seyfarth and listening to their employees,” Thomas continued.“ Sexual harassment—we’re not loving it.”
“For two years, we’ve been calling on McDonald’s to hear our calls to stamp out sexual harassment in its stores,” explained Adriana Alvarez, McDonald’s worker from Chicago and member of the Fight for $15 National Organizing Committee. “We’ve been ignored, mocked and retaliated against. And so we decided to go on strike, to make sure our voices are heard. We’re excited that those calls will be made even louder Tuesday by the overhead actions of UltraViolet. Together, we will make a bold statement against sexual harassment, one that will be impossible to ignore.”
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UltraViolet is an online community of over 1,000,000 women and men who want to take collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media. Find out more at WeAreUltraViolet.org.