Workers rallied at a Chicago McDonald’s Saturday afternoon after an employee claimed she was told to “put a bullet” in her head after asking to go home following a “diabetic episode.”
Fast food workers, members of the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago and Aldermen Bob Fioretti, John Arena, Scott Waguespack, and Ricardo Muñoz gathered at the flagship Rock N' Roll McDonald’s around 2 p.m. sporting stickers that read “respect” and “no more verbal abuse."
They also displayed a poster to McDonald’s management that said “You should just put a bullet in your head.”
Carmen Navarrette, a McDonald’s employee for more than nine years at the River North restaurant, claims she was told to “put a bullet” in her head after she asked her manager to go home and recover following a “severe diabetic episode," according to a release from the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago.
Navarrette reportedly shared her experience with the Organizing Committee of Chicago Women Caucus during a meeting last weekend where other workers shared similar stories, prompting the Saturday rally.
"I'm here on International Women's Day to support my fellow workers, women, and stand with my union,” Adriana Sanchez, an employee of the Rock N' Roll McDonald’s, said in a statement. “We are the heart and soul of McDonald's and it's unacceptable for any worker to be yelled at and insulted."
Among the rally attendees were several city aldermen.
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#Chicago aldermen agree that @McDonalds should respect workers, and also advocate for #paidsickdays! pic.twitter.com/tLdcbq8yXG — Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) March 8, 2014
"I stand with the workers of McDonald's and call on the corporation to treat them with respect and dignity,” Ald. Muñoz of the 22nd ward, where Carmen Navarrette lives, said in a statement. “No one should be verbally abused or threatened at work."
McDonald’s has not responded to NBC Chicago’s requests for comment.
