Last month, Dallas, Pennsylvania, resident Natalie Gunshannon stopped working at her local McDonald’s after three weeks on the job, not necessarily because the pay was bad (at $7.44 an hour, though, it was), but because the local franchise holder repeatedly told the 27-year-old that the only way she could be paid was in the form of a prepaid Chase Bank debit card that basically made the single mother pay extra any time she wanted access to her earnings.
The Times-Leader reports that after taking into account the multitude of charges and assorted service fees, including a “$1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, $5 for over-the-counter cash withdrawals, $1 per balance inquiry, 75 cents per online bill payment and $15 for lost/stolen card,” Gunshannon was left with the funny feeling she was earning far less than the $7.25 minimum wage.
So she never signed the card, and now the former McDonald’s employee is suing the franchise holder for unspecified damages. Though Gunshannon is apparently not part of a larger movement, activists argue that cases like hers are typical of the spectrum of unfair working conditions throughout the fast-food industry. For almost a year, organizers have led a series of strikes across the country to give workers a platform to demand better pay across the board.
McD’s Worker Sues: Don’t Pay By Credit Card [Times-Leader]
Earlier: New York’s Fast Food Workers Resume Citywide Strikes
