Fight Back Against Wage Slavery! The Fast-Food Industry’s Exploitation of Black & Low-Wage Workers

Fran Marion captured while helping with the Healthy Families and Fair Wages campaign (Photo: Missouri Workers Center) Fran Marion has over 20 years of experience in the fast-food industry. She has worked at Taco Bell and now works as a General Manager for McDonald’s. On most days, Marion starts her day by waking up at 4:15 in the morning–45 minutes before her morning shift starts. From there, she inspects the machines to ensure they are running properly, counts cash drawers, prepares tea, coffee, and hash brown, and takes morning inventory. These things all have to be done before the first customer arrives at 6:00 a.m. A normal 8-hour shift would mean that Marion is off the clock by 1:00 p.m. (including an hour lunch), but normal for fast-food workers has its own implications. It’s normal for Marion to pull a 12-hour work shift with no breaks due to low staffing. It’s normal for employees to be pressured to work even when they are sick. It’s normal for fast-food workers to deal with unruly customers, disrespectful upper management, and unsafe work environments. It’s normal for fast-food workers to endure all of this while receiving low wages and hardly any paid time...