ATLANTA — Multiple Dunkin' workers said they were taking to the streets, forming a picket line outside Truist Plaza, for a five-day demonstration starting on Friday.
Officials at Dunkin' say the rest of the employees at the store are continuing to report for work, and the location remains fully operational.
The workers initiating the strike action, which began on Aug. 31, said it underscores the pressing need for fair compensation and improved working conditions within the fast-food industry.
"I’ve worked here for over ten years, and I have tried to move up in this company. But I still only make $9.50 an hour,” Melvin Philips, a Dunkin’ worker taking part in the labor protest at the Downtown Atlanta store, said.
An official strike notice was given to management along with demands, organizers with the employees said, and two weeks following that the employees walked off the job.
They said they're rallying against what they call inadequate pay and insufficient benefits amid rising living expenses. A rally outside the store Friday included members of the Union of Southern Service Workers.
“My coworkers and I are on strike today because we need more money and more hours. They act like it costs them a whole lot to give me a quarter raise. The price goes up on the products all the time. But our pay is the same,” Devan Jordan, who has worked at Dunkin’ for nine years, said.
He added he is paid $10 an hour.
This strike action coincides with Dragon Con, a national convention that employees said draws crowds to the downtown Dunkin’ store. Tee Gonzalez, another striking Dunkin’ worker, said, “We work hard and never receive any raises or bonuses, not even during our busiest times, like now during Dragon-Con. But Dunkin’ wants us to do it all again this year."
The workers have put forth a list of demands, including:
- Demand for dignity and equal treatment.
- An end to favoritism.
- Ensuring health and safety in the workplace.
- Affordable company health insurance paid sick leave and vacation time off.
- Fair and consistent scheduling.
- Sufficient hours every week to make a livable income, including returning staff to their previous number of hours per week.
- Fair pay that enables workers to build their lives.
- The exercise of their right to organize and demand for a seat at the table.
