McDonald’s Instructed Employees To Treat Burns With Condiments

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

McDonald’s workers have recently filed complaints stating that management told them to treat burns sustained on the job with condiments. In the past two weeks alone, employees in 19 different cities have filed 28 different health and safety complaints against the company.

The complaints allege that managers force employees to work quickly and carelessly while understaffed, which has resulted in multiple accidents and injuries. Many of the locations also had inadequate first aid kits, and employees were told to treat their burns with condiments.

In a recent statement, McDonald’s spokeswoman, Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem said,“We are committed to providing safe working conditions for employees in the 14,000 McDonald’s Brand US restaurants and will review the allegations. It is important to note that these complaints are part of a larger strategy orchestrated by activists targeting our brand and designed to generate media coverage.”

Instead of taking responsibility for the mistreatment of their employees, McDonald’s representatives are blaming the employees and accusing them of sabotaging their brand.

Employee Brittney Berry came forward to tell her story during a press conference this week, discussing experiences she has had during her 5 years with the company.

“My managers kept pushing me to work faster, and while trying to meet their demands I slipped on a wet floor, catching my arm on a hot grill. The managers told me to put mustard on it, but I ended up having to get rushed to the hospital in an ambulance,” she said.

As an employee of 5 years it is unlikely that she was coaxed by activists to share her story, and even if they did the chances that this story is fabricated is highly unlikely.

She is not the only employee to complain about being told to use condiments for burns. In fact, 33% of employees who were burned at work were told by their managers to use condiments such as mustard, butter or ketchup instead of burn cream.

Another McDonald’s employee, Martisse Campbell from Philadelphia, says that he is at constant risk of burns and that he has witnessed management tell other workers to treat their burns with mayonnaise.

“One of my coworkers and I have to empty the grease trap without protective gear, and since we were never given the proper equipment or training, we just dump the hot grease into a plastic bag in a box of ice. Once, my coworker got badly burned, and our manager told him: ‘Put mayonnaise on it, you’ll be good,’” Campbell said.

“Our first-aid kit is just an empty box,” Campbell added.

According to a Heart Research survey of 1,426 adults who work at various fast food restaurants, four in five employees have been burned on the job in the past year.

It is not hard to see that decline of McDonald’s is happening, even in your own local neighborhood. Where once there were lines wrapped around the parking lot at multiple McDonald’s locations in every town, there are now very sparse crowds at the restaurant, even in high traffic areas and during busy times.

It was announced earlier this year that McDonald’s will be closing hundreds of stores worldwide, as global sales continue to decline. To begin the year of 2015, the infamous fast food chain will be closing at least 700 of its locations, which is double the number that was planned for closure earlier this year.

In the first 3 months of 2015, McDonald’s saw a 2.3% decrease in sales and a 28% drop in operating revenue, continuing a trend of loss that the company has been experiencing for years.


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John Vibes is an author and researcher who organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference. He also has a publishing company where he offers a censorship free platform for both fiction and non-fiction writers. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can purchase his books, or get your own book published at his website www.JohnVibes.com.

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