Unionized fast food workers rally outside a Subway in Westchester to shed light on incidents of workplace violence that they want addressed.
Members of the California Fast Food Workers Union made their voices heard Friday, marching through the parking lot and then into the Subway sandwich shop before sharing their stories outside.
KNX News' Margaret Carrero heard from some of the union members.
Sabina Gutierrez says a guy came in asking for free food one day and got mad when she told him she couldn't give it to him.
She says he had a machete in the back of his pants, and when they told management, "They don't say anything, they don't do anything about it."
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Anisha Williams, who works at a Jack in the Box on Slauson, said, "Someone came and shot a BB gun at the drive-through window, and they did not share with everyone at the workplace, and I felt that they should have had a meeting about the situation so we could know what to do when things like that are done in the workplace."
She says management did not call the police; they just fixed the window.
"The whole fast food industry system needs to be fixed when it comes to violence on the job. It's getting more hectic for us, and we're scared," Williams added.
Jaylene Loubet works at a McDonald's on North Figueroa in Los Angeles and said, "There was a customer who came in, and he had a knife. At the time, we didn't know. When he came in asking for the bathroom, I told him if you could just give me a second, I handed out a bag of food. By the time I turned back around, he had already had the knife pointed at another customer, a woman who had her children with her."
Loubet recalls arguing with a manager about calling 911, saying that due to company policy, only managers are permitted to use the phone to call the police. Eventually, the manager called, but the suspect was gone when officers arrived on the scene.
She said after the ordeal, a coworker told her the manager blamed Loubet for the incident, saying she didn't open the bathroom fast enough.
The workers are calling for regular training to be held explaining their rights as employees, and changes to safety protocols.
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