BY CLIVE TURNBULL
BURKE, Virginia - "We're not asking for much. They just have
to sell one `super sizé meal per hour to cover a person's
wages," said Josh Whitman, 17, one of seven workers at
McDonald's here who walked out on strike October 16.
Whitman explained, "We've got horrible working conditions. There are only four or five people working, when there should be nine or ten. Employees sometimes end up working for 12 hours with no breaks, because we're short handed. They don't treat us with common respect. They treat us like children. I'm supposed to be a full-time employee, but I only get 32 hours a week. I was promised 40."
Enrique Peña, 16, said, "I haven't been on the schedule for three weeks. They called me up to come in for one hour. I had to come as I needed the money."
The strikers have picketed since walking off the night shift October 16. Within 45 minutes a team of managers from a corporate "flying squad" was brought in to keep the restaurant open.
Talks between strikers and McDonald's management were held that night and the following day. "They said that most of what we're asking for was already McDonald's policy," said Whitman, "but it isn't occurring here. So we're continuing our picket. We're seeking at least the same terms of employment as McDonald's workers who went on strike in Ohio."
Clive Turnbull is a member of USWA Local 2610, Baltimore, Maryland.