Fast-Food Chains Tell Workers to Treat Burns With Mustard, Ketchup, and Mayo

[undeterred]

On my very first shift after being promoted to line cook from busboy at a busy Texas steakhouse back in the '80s, I watched a wizened colleague deftly transfer a catfish filet straight from a fryer basket to a plate using only his bare fingers. Bristling with teenage zeal, I attempted the same trick—earning a surge of pain and five raised welts (one for each finger tip) that troubled me for weeks. I learned several important lessons—about technique, calluses, and the wonders of tongs—and never suffered another serious burn in my near-decadelong career as a cook.

Kitchens seethe with danger: sharp (or, worse, dull) knives; fire; hot pans full of gurgling liquids; vats of boiling grease. Injuries are inevitable. In a properly trained and staffed outfit, however, they should be minimal. But as the above video shows, that's not always the case. Made by the union-led Fight for $15 campaign, which aims to improve wages and conditions for fast-food workers, it depicts truly nasty conditions prevailing behind the scenes at a McDonald's outlet.

And McDonald's isn't the only chain with worker safety issues. A new poll of 1,426 adult fast-food workers—1,091 of whom work in the kitchen "at least some of the time"—suggests that things are out of control in the nation's fast-food kitchens.


Note that those numbers reflect the injury experiences of all the workers polled, even those who don't work on the kitchen side of the operation. Among the approximately 1,100 kitchen workers polled, 75 percent reported having been burned multiple times over the past year. Among nonkitchen workers, 61 percent reported a burn in the past year, most often from handling hot liquids, the report notes. That 12 percent of respondents said they've been assaulted over the previous year suggests that security, too, is an issue in fast food outlets.

http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2015/03/little-mustard-grease-burn

Don't we have workplace safety laws?

[uppityperson]

1. conditions were like that in the 70's when I became manager in 1 week at a fast food burger joint

After showing up on time for 5 days, they wanted me to be manager but I quit instead. In that week I saw way too much of this sort of crap. I finally found out that the person I replaced had slipped and fallen both hands into the deep fat fryer.

It is appalling this is still going on. Too many people do not know how to report this, or are unable to report due to getting fired if they do. It is appalling.

[Blue Owl]

2. A little relish adds some extra zest

[grasswire]

3. I can say from personal experience......

...that mustard is indeed a good first aid treatment for a burn. Since reading about it a couple of years ago, I use it and find it excellent at pain relief. The turmeric, I guess.

[Hoppy]

4. This needs a call to O.S.H.A. The first aid kit alone is a fine of a couple-a thousand $.