Fast Food Workers Protest Alleged Wage Theft and Poor Work Conditions at San José Chain

A mother and daughter who said they were fired from a fast food restaurant in San José for protesting working conditions rallied Wednesday alongside community members, officials and union representatives to demand their jobs back.

According to the California Fast Food Workers Union, Erika and Adriana Medina, former employees of an El Pollo Loco on Monterey Road, were terminated after they spoke out against working conditions, which is illegal under federal labor law.

Erika Medina, Adriana’s mother, who worked at the restaurant for 16 years, said through an interpreter that she was frustrated with the conditions at the location. “It’s really difficult,” she said, adding that the kitchen’s air conditioning was broken, with temperatures sometimes exceeding 91 degrees.

Medina said she participated in a walkout to “defend our rights.”

“We know that we should work in better conditions,” Medina said.

Now, without a job, Medina said she is “really uncertain how I’m going to support my family.”

The California Fast Food Workers Union said it filed a wage theft complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office and an excessive heat complaint with Cal/OSHA on behalf of the Medinas.

Additionally, the National Fast Food Workers Union filed an unfair labor practice complaint against WKS Restaurant Corporation, which operates the El Pollo Loco in San José, with the National Labor Relations Board on Sept. 8. The complaint alleged “unlawful discrimination” and “termination” for “protected, concerted Union activity.”

Maria Maldonado, the statewide director for the California Fast Food Workers Union, said the firings are part of a pattern of retaliation by the location’s management.

“It’s time that [those employers] respect the workers and listen to what they have to say, because they are worried about their health and the health of the community,” she said at the rally.

In an email, a spokesperson for El Pollo Loco said that worker safety is the “top priority” at El Pollo Loco, and that the corporation’s franchisee partner “took action on the AC unit immediately upon it being reported as broken, and the unit was quickly repaired.”

The spokesperson added: “ … Our franchisee partners operate independent businesses. That said, we have been informed by our franchisee partner that these descriptions concerning particular employees are inaccurate. We cannot comment any further on those matters.”

California’s fast food workforce includes more than 630,000 workers across the state, according to the union’s numbers. Most of these workers are adult women of color, and more than 60% of them are Latina.

Workers also urged Santa Clara County lawmakers to advance the “Fast Food Fair Work Law,” which would mandate “know your rights” trainings for the county’s more than 26,000 fast-food workers.

Speaking at the rally, San José Councilmember Domingo Candelas said he was there to support the workers.

“I know that the fight is not easy,” he said. “But as a leader, as a proud son of immigrants, a proud son of Mexican immigrants who came to this country in search of a better life, I understand that struggle.”