Above Photo: The Bradford Franchise Of McDonald’s Has Brought In Staff From Nearby New York Area Franchises To Remain In Operation While They Recover From A Mass Employee Walk Out Over The Weekend. Daniella Griesbaum.
Bradford, Pennsylvania – Citing unresolved complaints, disparities in wages with other businesses, staffing shortages and issues with building maintenance, the entire staff of the McDonald’s in Bradford who worked the weekend morning shift walked out in protest Sunday morning.
Due to the lack of staff, the franchise was forced to close for several hours until alternative staff from other McDonald’s franchises could arrive.
According to a former employee who said he quit last week after working for the store for more than a decade, and who asked not to be named, “this is not the first incident of employees walking out of the Bradford store due to issues with executive management.”
He said that last summer, during a night shift, the staff left due to an ongoing issue with the air conditioning units in the kitchen not functioning properly. The episode resulted in the business’ closure for a short time while the issue was resolved, the former employee said.
The Bradford Era attempted to reach the owner of the Bradford McDonald’s franchise for comment but had not received a response as of Sunday night.
While there are still ongoing issues with air-conditioning units, according to a member of shift management, who also asked not to be named for fear of retaliation by ownership, the latest issue leading to the most recent walkout stems primarily from long-term employees asking for an increase in wages for about a year. Despite promises, the member of shift management said, no raises in pay had been provided.
According to the employee, the Bradford McDonald’s had been experiencing staffing shortages for some time due, in part, to the lack of what employees say is a competitive starting wage.
“Employees and potential hires were going to work elsewhere in town, such as Tim Hortons, Sheetz and Walmart, because they all pay more money to start out than most of the managers make,” the employee said.
However, “Instead of accepting the valid complaints about wages over the past year, executive management decided to place the blame for staffing shortages on store management,” the McDonald’s employee continued.
Yet another member of management in the McDonald’s, who also asked not to be named, stated, “Staff was so bothered by the unwarranted blame placed on their managers that a petition was drawn up and signed by the entire staff and some customers, with more than 100 signatures, and sent to executive management.”
Both members of store management who spoke to The Era reported that executive management’s lack of response to the petition led to Sunday’s walkout.
“They all decided to walk out because they had finally had enough,” one of them stated.