Join us today!
Printable version
Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/1063/29813
From The Socialist newspaper, 11 September 2019
McDonald's: 'I'm fighting for £15 an hour now because I have to work from 7am to midnight'
Lindon, photo Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge)
McDonald's striker Lindon, who will be walking out on 12 November spoke in the '£15 an hour minimum wage - is this what we need to fight for?' session at Socialism 2019. Below are extracts from his speech about why he is fighting for £15 an hour
"I'm a father of three and we're going on strike on 12 November. Being a worker for McDonald's for the past seven years I know it doesn't treat people with respect.
Managers talk to you anyway they want to. The way McDonald's treats us is appalling.
In the run up to this strike I was talking to my colleagues about joining the campaign for £15 an hour and I was called in by my manager and told that I must not talk to anybody about the strike.
He said if I respect him then I should not talk to anybody about the strike. I told him it's going to benefit me, benefit my kids and everybody inside the store. If we get £15 an hour it's going to benefit him.
Fighting for £15 an hour means a lot to me. It would mean I don't have to do two jobs. Currently I'm full time at McDonald's and part time at Sainsbury's. I start at Sainsbury's at 7am and then at McDonald's at 3pm until 11 or 12 at night. I basically only sleep 3 hours in the week.
If we won £15 an hour then I would have enough time to spend with my kids, enough money to save up to go on holiday, and I would basically have enough money to look after myself and my family. We are in this to win this. We are fighting together to win £15 an hour and together we will win and be able to live a comfortable life."
Donate to the Socialist Party
Coronavirus crisis - Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- Our 'fighting coronavirus workers' charter', outlines a programme to combat the virus and protect workers' living conditions.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our special coronavirus appeal.
In The Socialist 11 September 2019:
News
Whose side are you on? Tories out - Corbyn in with anti-austerity and socialist policies
Tony Blair launches manifesto to sabotage a Corbyn government
Grenfell fire inquiry spin deflects blame from establishment
General election 2019 round-up
Berlin Wall
Socialism 2019
Elections, strikes and revolutions: Socialism 2019 - daring to fight
PCS: "Under the right leadership workers are prepared to fight"
McDonald's: 'I'm fighting for £15 an hour now because I have to work from 7am to midnight'
Northern Ireland: Uniting the working class to transcend division
Preparing to shape events internationally
International socialist news and analysis
End repression in Chile - freedom for soldier David Veloso
Workplace news
PCS: Pay, jobs, pensions... Vote for a fighting general secretary
UCU votes for pay and pension strikes
Incompetent bosses use tech to bully us
£1 million cuts plan: Peabody housing workers announce strike ballot
Forbo Flooring Derbyshire strike
West Midlands Trains guards to strike
Double-dealing Hackney council bosses face renewed strike action
Minimum wage
Minimum wage debate: what should we be demanding?
Readers' opinion
TV: Crime and Punishment - this brutal watch is a damning indictment of cuts and capitalism
Home | The Socialist 11 September 2019 | Join the Socialist Party
Subscribe | Donate | Audio | PDF | ebook
2019