A report on fast-food workers shows immigrants are often too scared to report violations and are largely unaware of their rights.
The California Fast Food Workers Union’s latest report done in collaboration with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights documents worker experiences. The groups surveyed 405 workers at more than 200 fast-food locations throughout the state, and found most immigrant workers were unaware of workplace protections, leading to widespread abuse.
The survey found 82% of workers who are afraid for their immigration status are less likely to file complaints. It also found 63% of respondents didn’t know they have the right to file workplace-related complaints, claims or lawsuits regardless of immigration status.
The findings are unsurprising to Yunuen Trujillo, director of workers rights and labor legal services for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. Her organization offers legal support for workers and provides “know your rights” training, so workers are informed of their rights and have access to support resources.
“Foreign-born workers — and I’m not even saying undocumented workers — but foreign-born are less likely to be familiar with the system and to know your rights,” Trujillo told San José Spotlight. “If we then narrow it down to undocumented workers, most of the time they don’t know that employment laws actually do protect them. We see that mirrored in the report.”
Trujillo said immigrant workers are afraid of employers threatening their immigration status, bolstered by anti-immigration rhetoric from President Donald Trump’s administration. The report shows dozens of respondents reported being threatened by their employers — either that they might call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or fire the workers because of their immigration status. Both are workplace violations in California.
The report recommends fast-food workers get training to ensure they know their legal protections. Trujillo said these trainings inform workers of their rights, and give them the tools needed to advocate for themselves if they experience intimidation or other workplace violations.
Armando, a San Jose fast-food worker who requested to use a different name out of fear of retaliation, said learning about his rights helped him file a complaint against a series of workplace abuses at his job.
“I experienced a lot of violations, like wage theft, sexual harassment and they made me feel like I had no rights,” he told San José Spotlight. “When I joined the union and started listening in on the trainings, I learned about workplace abuses and it was really surprising and confusing to me, because I realized that everything they were doing at work was wrong.”
He said knowing about existing protections against harassment helped him speak up against abuse, and that more workers need to learn their rights.
In early April, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a voluntary worker rights training program. Supervisors will review options for full-day training courses in August, with another public hearing planned before then.
Fast-food workers have been rallying statewide for expanded rights and better protections for several years. The California Fast Food Workers Union fought to pass Assembly Bill 1228 in 2023, which raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour and established the Fast Food Council to oversee the industry, though it hasn’t started robust policy discussions.
Ruth Silver Taube, a worker rights attorney and San José Spotlight columnist, said she helps lead trainings and often hears about workplace abuse and violations in the fast-food industry. She’s also heard workers talk about employers threatening to call ICE, which she emphasized is a penal code violation.
“Once workers know that they have those rights, then they’re more likely to advocate with their employers and speak up if there’s a violation,” Silver Taube told San José Spotlight.
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
