"McDonald’s employees stage noon walkout, protesting extreme heat at work", October 24 2023

Cooks and cashiers at an East Los Angeles McDonald’s held a lunchtime walkout Tuesday, Oct. 24, claiming kitchen temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees during last week’s heat wave. (Photo courtesy of Fight$15)Cooks and cashiers at an East Los Angeles McDonald’s held a lunchtime walkout Tuesday, Oct. 24, claiming kitchen temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees during last week’s heat wave.

They are calling upon management to “take responsibility for worker health and safety” and fix the store’s air conditioner.“Last week it was like 98 degrees inside the kitchen,” said Samantha Mendez, a cashier at the restaurant. “We can’t concentrate on what we’re doing when it’s that hot and there are very long lines.”“They don’t answer … they don’t say anything,” the 30-year-old East L.A. resident said. “We also went on strike a couple months ago.

In a May 31 complaint filed with the California Labor Commissioner and CalOSHA, coworkers said Montes told her manager she was sick on April 13 and needed to go home.