Fast Food – Silicon Valley Worker Stories Project

Ramona

Ramona is a McDonald’s worker in San Jose. She escaped a violent home life in Mexico to raise her children with more safety and opportunity here in the states. Fortunately, although Ramona has faced obstacles, she has begun to see how using her voice for change matters. Ramona advocates for workers to lift up andContinue reading “Ramona”

Ignacio

Ignacio Valencia is a Fight for $15 leader that works for a McDonald’s in San Jose. He has worked in fast food for the past 15 years. During the pandemic Ignacio faced job loss as well as hours lost. Luckily for him, the manager for the McDonald’s he works at has been responsive to complaints,Continue reading “Ignacio”

Alphonso

Alphonso Gutierres-Ruiz has worked for McDonald for over 20 years since immigrating to the US. During his time working he has faced issues with wage theft, even during the pandemic. Alphonso recalls that in the past he has raised his voice when things needed to change, and due to this has been retaliated against byContinue reading “Alphonso”

Maria Elena

Maria Elena is a Fight for $15 leader in San Jose who has worked at McDonald for 24 years. Maria has faced wage theft from management and unfair working conditions for many years. At the onslaught of the pandemic she began to fear for family members with preexisting conditions. She feels that although there haveContinue reading “Maria Elena”

Maria Ruiz

Maria Ruiz, a Fight for $15 leader, has worked at McDonald for 16 years. During the start of the pandemic, Maria worked without protective equipment nor safety practices to protect her and other workers. Maria shares that her employer and health agencies didn’t care that she and other workers were not being protected, because despiteContinue reading “Maria Ruiz”

Lisa

“When I came from my country, I came because of my dad. He’s elderly, he’s 83 years old. He depends on me. I send him money monthly so he can have his money to buy his medicine. Also there [her hometown in Mexico] there is no work because of the violence which is another reasonContinue reading “Lisa”

Rosa

“Share [my name] because I do not want others to go through what I am going through,” Rosa, a leader with the Fight for $15 movement, has been working in the food industry for decades. From 1996 to 2017 she worked at McDonald’s for the same owner. Recovering from her stroke that shesuffered from twoContinue reading “Rosa”

Laura

“Before the pandemic I worked 8 hours, I had enough to cover the costs for food andrent. When the pandemic hit they would give us 3 to 3.5 hours…It is a tragedy becauseI could not cover my costs for the kids and I couldn’t pay rent. Everything here is allabout money […] money moves everything.”Continue reading “Laura”