Name: Cramped Kitchens And Crowded Homes Are A Deadly Combo For LA's Fast Food Workers
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Cramped Kitchens And Crowded Homes Are A Deadly Combo For LA's Fast Food Workers

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Support for LAist comes fromWe Explain L.A.Stay ConnectedLAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:Our top stories delivered weeknightsShare ThisDavid WagnerStories like these are only possible with your help!You have the power to keep local news strong for the coming months. Your financial support today keeps our reporters ready to meet the needs of our city. Thank you for investing in your community.Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings.For fast food workers in Los Angeles, long-standing issues including low pay, cramped kitchens and crowded housing have become a dangerous combination during the COVID-19 pandemic.A by the UCLA and UC Berkeley Labor Centers highlights difficult working conditions in L.A. County's fast food sector, which employs nearly 150,000 workers. Reviewing available data on the industry, researchers found that the majority of fast food workers in L.A. are female and Latina. It's rare for them to earn much more than minimum wage. Between 2017 and 2019, even the highest paid fast food workers — those in the top 10% of earners — made only $15.22 per hour. Researchers say low wages make it difficult for fast food employees to make ends meet, and more than two-thirds of workers in L.A. live in a household where family members are enrolled in public assistance programs such as Medicaid or SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). They estimate the total cost of this aid at $1.2 billion in L.A. County.Support for LAist comes fromMost of L.A.'s fast food workers are renters, and more than half of them spend at least 30% of their income on rent. They also tend to live in larger, multi-generational homes. Nearly 70% live in households with at least four members. Close to half live in homes with five or more people. Overcrowded housing has become during the pandemic, especially for frontline workers at risk of contracting COVID on the job then infecting family members at home. UCLA Labor Center research director Saba Waheed said fast food workers tend to skew younger, but a third of them live with someone 55 or older. "These are very full households. It's not just a workplace risk. It is a household risk. It is a family risk. It is a community risk," Waheed said.Dozens of coronavirus outbreaks at fast food establishments have been reported in Los Angeles County since last summer. The report finds that social distancing in the kitchen can be a challenge. Workers also say mask mandates are not always followed inside fast food establishments. Research has shown that, of all occupations, cooks have seen the biggest increase in mortality during the pandemic.L.A. County's Board of Supervisors commissioned the study following reports of McDonald's workers in Boyle Heights being fired for demanding safer working conditions.Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: . To support our non-profit public service journalism: .

Support for LAist comes fromWe Explain L.A.Stay ConnectedLAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:Our top stories delivered weeknightsShare ThisDavid WagnerStories like these are only possible with your help!You have the power to keep local news strong for the coming months. Your financial support today keeps our reporters ready to meet the needs of our city. Thank you for investing in your community.Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings.For fast food workers in Los Angeles,...

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Cramped Kitchens And Crowded Homes Are A Deadly Combo For LA's Fast Food Workers

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