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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."
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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
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