After over 20 years in the fast food industry, Evelyn Barillas says she’s seen it all.
“I’ve seen a lot of harassment, I’ve seen people get hit,” she said. “A person doesn’t like what you’re handing them and they’ll throw it at your face.”
Barillas is a single mom of four from East Los Angeles and works at a Subway in Reseda making $15 an hour. Prior to that she said she worked for McDonalds, Jack in the Box and Starbucks.
She said she’s even faced sexual harassment, saying one manager at a previous fast food job cut her hours after she refused to go out with him.
Across California, there’s more fast food workers than anywhere in America.
Barillas argues workers like her deserve more of a voice on their working conditions, things like store safety and pay.
“Our voice matters,” she said.
On Wednesday, Barillas was part of a caravan of fast workers that drove to the Orange County offices of State Senators Dave Min and Josh Newman to demand they support AB 257 – a bill workers say will give them a seat at the table when it comes to setting those standards.
They also made their way to the Taco Bell offices in Irvine, Chipotle offices in Newport Beach and El Pollo Loco offices in Costa Mesa to demand the companies support the bill as well.
The bill is expected to go before the state senate appropriations committee on August 11.
The aim is to create an appointed 13 member fast food sector council responsible for setting minimum industry standards on wages, working hours, and...
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