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International guestworkers protest against McDonald's for labor abuse allegations

June 7, 2013

On Thursday, protests were held in more than 30 countries targeting McDonald's for alleged labor abuse against international student guestworkers.

The protests were facilitated by the National Guestworker Alliance, as well as global unions and current and former McDonald's employees. They were held in the U.S., Belgium, Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Paraguay, Philippines, Slovakia, Thailand, Uruguay and more.

According to a news release, protesters were demanding that McDonald's "take responsibility for ending the abuse of international contract workers at its restaurants, and guarantee all its workers the freedom to organize without threats or retaliation at all 34,000 McDonald's restaurants worldwide."

The event comes on the heels of labor abuse accusations from some international guestworkers who worked for a Pennsylvania-based franchisee. They claimed they experienced wage theft, 25-hour shifts and substandard housing conditions during their time working for franchisee Andy Cheung.

After the allegations came to light, McDonald's reportedly cut ties with Cheung. The Patriot-News reported this week that he is still operating six Pennsylvania units, but is in the process of selling the businesses.

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