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McDonald’s Workers Strike to Demand Personal Protective Equipment

HeadlineMay 21, 2020

The Labor Department reports another 2.4 million U.S. workers filed unemployment claims over the last week. The total number of newly unemployed people is rapidly approaching 40 million, a level not seen since the height of the Great Depression.

Hundreds of McDonald’s workers went on strike around the United States Wednesday demanding the fast-food giant take full responsibility for the safety of workers and customers during the pandemic. This is Ieshia Townsend, a Chicago McDonald’s employee on strike for personal protective equipment, paid sick leave, health insurance benefits and hazard pay.

Ieshia Townsend: “I’m doing what I feel is best for me and my family due to the COVID-19 situation. I want to be able to protect my family, but I also want to be able to protect my co-workers around me when I have to go to work. … So I just want McDonald’s to make sure that workers like me — you say that we are essential workers. Protect me and my beautiful boys, and even my friends and family that are around me.”

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