Skip to content

California Fast Food Council: Worker Testimony Angelica’s Story

← Back to Section 3: Workers’ Boards

Angelica Hernandez, Fast Food Councilmember

In 2018, I went on my first strike while working at McDonald’s for over a decade after learning my rights as a worker. Now, it’s 2024. My coworkers and I have done the impossible to force wealthy corporations and their franchise owners to sit at the table with their workers. I am honored to have been chosen to be at the table. I have worked in fast food for nearly 20 years.

We fast food workers won’t stop fighting because we know that when we fight, we win!

Credit: Fight for 15

Within the past two years, I have led strikes, lobbied at the Capitol, and now represent over half a million fast-food workers in California. It’s number one for me to speak on behalf of all the workers who have yet to raise their voices because of fear or just not knowing they have rights on the job. The changes we create in our industry will impact generations that come after us so that in the future, they don’t suffer the injustices we are fighting to change in fast food. We are half a million fast food workers who need better standards in the food industry. Fast food workers need fair schedules. No one can survive living in a city like Los Angeles or San Jose while working only 3 hours a day twice a week. This creates income insecurity that affects workers in many ways. Fair schedules would help a mom like me work only one job, not two, so we can finally spend time with our families.

Fast food workers also need safe workplaces. Over half of us fast food workers are women. We are someone’s mother, daughter, caregiver, and loved ones who expect us to come home safe. But our experiences working in fast food have been traumatic, and it has only worsened since the pandemic began. We are constantly exposed to violence, from customers to management. The culture needs to change, and it starts with taking action. We fast food workers won’t stop fighting because we know that when we fight, we win! 

(Translated into English | Courtesy of Fight for 15)