McDonald's Workers Launch ‘Right to Recall’ Campaign for All Workers

Four victorious McDonald’s workers in a case before the National Labor Relations Board this week celebrated their victory against the owners of the Darien service plaza McDonald’s—where the four workers soon hope to return to their jobs—and launch a campaign to expand the defense of all service workers facing unfair layoffs in the pandemic. They were joined by State Legislature Labor Committee co-chairs Julie Kushner and Robyn Porter, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff and others at the I-95 service plaza in Darien. They

On December 31, a decision from the NLRB ruled that Mario Franco, Rosa Franco (no relation), Pilar Mestanza and Milagros Vasquez were illegally discriminated against when the McDonald’s owner, Michell Enterprises, refused to recall them after the pandemic’s initial shutdown.

The four are leaders in the fight to improve pay, benefits and working conditions at the interstate service plazas, and to allow workers to form a union without management interference. In media interviews and rallies, they and other workers have made clear that every fast food and concession outlet across Connecticut’s interstate system is obliged to pay the Standard Wage and other benefits as subcontractors with the State of Connecticut, which owns the land under all the plazas.

“In a few weeks we hope to return to our jobs, but our fight is not over,” said Mario Franco, who worked for 26 years at the Darien plaza McDonald’s. “We will keep fighting for better jobs and a union, and for an extended Right to Recall law, to stop bad bosses from using the pandemic as an excuse to put good people out of a job.”

“Mario, Rosa, Pilar and Milagros fought for almost two years and endured a lengthy trial before their victory,” said State Senator Julie Kushner, co-chair of the Labor Committee. “Their courage and tenacity is remarkable, even heroic, but service workers need other recourses, especially when there is no clear anti-union activity, with a law that stops unscrupulous employers from using similar tactics. That’s why the ‘Right to Recall’ simply mandates that employers recall service sector workers laid-off in the pandemic according to seniority, before hiring new employees. The law, however, is only in effect until May, so we need to fight to extend it as the pandemic continues to rage.”

Only a handful of states have enacted similar Right to Recall laws, making Connecticut a national leader in the effort to protect workers from an insidious form of job termination during the worst global health emergency in a century. A lawsuit is still pending against Mitchell Enterprises for violation of the law.

 “It’s outrageous that Michell’s McDonald’s used the cover of Covid to abuse workers like Mario, Rosa, Pilar and Milagros,” said Rochelle Palache, Vice-President of 32BJ SEIU. “We stand outside the Darien service plaza to celebrate their victory and leadership in our campaign to bring a union to all 800 workers across Connecticut’s interstate plaza system. We call on the State of the Connecticut, the owners of this property, to help get their subcontractors to end their anti-worker and anti-union shenanigans, and start recognizing what it means to be all in this together.”