---
title: "Employees at Quick-Service Chains Like McDonald's and Starbucks Are Starting To Speak Out"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/44680afa-024e-4fb1-989f-58ccecca2bf1
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/employees-at-quick-service-chains-like-mcdonalds-and-starbucks-are-starting-to-speak-out-2708866
category: "Coffee & tea"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Coffee & tea"
topics: ["Operations"]
published: 2019-01-14T22:17:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:32:15.527Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/f9bb98f71949951ad18e0608ef665217205.jpg
---

# Employees at Quick-Service Chains Like McDonald's and Starbucks Are Starting To Speak Out

**TL;DR:** Employees at quick-service chains like McDonald's and Starbucks are speaking out about workplace safety and violence, citing incidents such as physical attacks and threats. Some chains, including McDonald's, say they are working to protect their workers.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-01-14. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/employees-at-quick-service-chains-like-mcdonalds-and-starbucks-are-starting-to-speak-out-2708866).*

## Story

Waiters, baristas and cashiers “often encounter routine risks, violence, and injuries while on the job. And, they are increasingly unwilling to stay silent on the dangers of the fast-food industry,” according to an article in Business Insider. Twenty-year-old McDonald’s worker Yasmine James was recently attacked by a male customer in a now-viral video, but her experience isn’t an isolated incident, according to the article.

“A customer recently burned a teenage McDonald's drive-thru worker by throwing hot coffee her face” at a location in South Carolina, the article said. Other instances include the assault of a pizza delivery driver and a Church’s Chicken employee who was threatened at gunpoint by a customer denied a refund, the article said.

Starbucks recently introduced needle disposal boxes after employees were inundated with the task of throwing away dirty needles in the coffee chain’s bathrooms.

The article noted that some chains say they are working to protect their workers.

“‘Our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees and customers at our restaurants,’ a McDonald's representative said in a statement last week,” according to the article.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- McDonald's (company)
- Starbucks (company)
- south carolina (location)
- Church's Texas Chicken (company)
- workplace safety (topic)
- quick service chains (topic)
- employee violence (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/employees-at-quick-service-chains-like-mcdonalds-and-starbucks-are-starting-to-speak-out-2708866). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/44680afa-024e-4fb1-989f-58ccecca2bf1).