Sacramento-area McDonald’s workers protest, say hours cut over support of California bill

A few dozen cooks and cashiers, including two employees who had their work hours cut, held a protest Tuesday afternoon outside a McDonald’s restaurant in North Highlands in support of a California bill to strengthen fast food workers’ rights.

Maria Bernal says her managers at the McDonald’s at 5008 Auburn Boulevard reduced her work hours in response to her public support of California Assembly Bill 257. She said her work hours were cut from 25 to 30 hours a week to just three hours.

“We’re suffering right now from repression,” Bernal said in Spanish in an interview with The Sacramento Bee.

Also known as the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, AB 257 would make California the first state to establish a Fast Food Sector Council, setting pay and workplace standards for the entire industry.

Bernal, of North Highlands, is a member of a statewide effort called Fight for $15 and a Union, a group of fast-food workers rallying to form the California council that would give them a seat at the table and the power to shape industry standards.

Bernal and her McDonald’s coworker, Crystal Orozco, both used to work at a Jack In The Box restaurant in Folsom. In October, Bernal and Orozco participated in a protest outside the eatery, saying the business management there threatened to call immigration enforcement after the employees made complaints about wage theft, a lack of meal or rest breaks and COVID-19 safety.

Bernal said she left her Jack In The Box job of 10 years after her hours were drastically reduced, “making it really difficult for us to stay there.” She started working at the North Highlands McDonald’s six months ago.

McDonald’s media representatives did not respond to an email from The Bee seeking comment on the workers’ allegations and the protest.

There were no employee walkouts and the protest did not disrupt restaurant operations Tuesday at the North Highlands location. Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies arrived and informed protesters they could continue their demonstration but not on McDonald’s property.

Orozco, of Carmichael, said for many fast food workers, these jobs are their only source of income. Some workers are single parents trying to support their families. She said she used to work part-time at the McDonald’s for four days. Now, Orozco said she’s only offered one day of work a week; six hours if she’s not sent home early.

“Here, there’s a lot of intimidation,” Orozco told The Bee. “Unfortunately, some are promised certain hours, and then they cut them. A lot of people depend on them as their primary job.”

Orozco said AB 257 would give workers “a seat at the table” to voice their concerns, create better working environments and eliminate the fear of standing up for fellow employees. She and other fast food workers in the statewide effort want the ability to organize for union representation, along with gaining higher pay and improved health and safety standards.

Assembly Bill 257 , which was amended in the California Senate in mid-June, is expected to receive a full vote in the Senate in the coming weeks, organizers of Tuesday’s protest said. The bill will need to be re-approved by the state Assembly before it can go to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature.

Jot Condie, president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association, has said lawmakers should reject AB 257, which will harm tens of thousands of counter service restaurants.

“It would impose increased employee costs and onerous new workplace rules at a time when many are still struggling to get back on their feet after the devastating impacts of the government mandated COVID closures,” Condie said in a June 28 written statement. “Many restaurants are struggling with labor shortages and increased costs for food and supply chain delays – all while trying desperately to stay afloat.”

Condie also said the proposed bill strips franchisees of autonomy, turning them into “corporate middle managers” and restricting new entrepreneurs who want to be in business for themselves with a brand already known to the public.

Tuesday’s protest in North Highlands occurred as fast food workers from throughout California met at the state Capitol in Sacramento for two days of rallies, marches and meetings with lawmakers. The demonstrators were expected to sleep overnight in front of the Capitol Building to demand passage of AB 257.