Rally for McDonald's Boycott, 1 August 2003, Valentine, Nebraska
The rally began at 10:00 AM and lasted until 3:00 PM. Our People could only be on the sidewalk. We had the police called several times on us when we weren't doing anything wrong. This call for a Boycott
of Mcdonalds came after many complaints of People getting sick from eating
there, reports from workers of other "white boys" spitting on sandwiches
and food. Valentine, Nebraska is ten miles south of the Rosebud Indian
reservation. Many of the residents from Rosebud shop in Valentine, Indian
business is probably 60 to 70 percent of the town income, But Our People are not
treated well. There is an undercurrent of Racism that is in play there. Places like Winner, South Dakota and other towns
which border Indian reservations have a high level of Aggressive White
racism which is directed towards Our people who end up shopping
there. Rudeness towards our people who are shopping there is a every day
occurance.
Alfred Bone Shirt
Protesters vow to boycott McDonalds in Valentive
August 8-15 2003
Lakota Journal
by Ruth Steinberger
Lakota Journal Correspondent
VALENTINE, NE -- More than 20 protestors converged on the McDonalds in Valentine, Nebraska on August 1 to express concern over racial incidents and food safety concerns.
Former McDonalds employee Alice Johnson explained some of the issues she saw. Johnson worked at the restaurant for seven months and was recently fired. Johnson said she was not made aware of reasons for her dismissal.
She alleged that an unprofessional work environment led to incidents that cannot be tolerated in any community. She said that a former co-worker came to work with a swastika inked on his arm. According to Johnson, the restaurant manager told him to wash it off, but the image remained for two days. Johnson said, "We had a lot of truckers coming in, a lot of Black guys, and this employee would make racial comments about them." She said that when a Native American boy came through the drive through he called the young man "Tonto" and made threats against him.
Johnson said that to her knowledge this man was not confronted about his comments and behavior, but she added that manager Mike Woodraska has also made racist comments.
Johnson said that some workers at the restaurant use the "five-second rule" a protocol whereby something dropped on the floor for an instant may be used again. Johnson said she caught workers doing this and told her mother, Ila Zais, who called the corporate management. Johnson's mother contacted the corporate offices of the McDonalds Corporation three times during May and June of 2003, but the complaints were conveyed only to manager Woodraksa and Johnson believes that the problems remained silenced at that level.
The store managers told Johnson that her mother was to remain out of the restaurant. She said that instead of addressing the problem, "The manager came to me and wanted me to tell my mother that she was not allowed in the store anymore because she had made a complaint." Johnson alleged that five cases of food poisoning have been reported since the opening of the restaurant last year.
Bruce Haines, Director of Operations for nine regional McDonalds restaurants, said, "We are investigating the allegations and are trying to follow up and get complete information." Haines explained that he had not been made aware of all the allegations regarding conduct at the store. He said he looks forward to resolving the issues and said, "At this point in time I don't have any other information on this. We are waiting for them to call to get names, dates and times so we can look into what happened."
Johnson alleges that she was asked to initial the required hand washing times that had been overlooked because of a visit from officials with the company. She said that the actual hand washing had not taken place, but they wanted to make sure they were signed. "I know for a fact that they don't wash hands every hour."
Alfred Bone Shirt, Sicangu activist, assisted in organizing the protest. Bone Shirt explained his decision to become involved with the protest. He said that for several years he had heard complaints by Indians about the treatment received at businesses in the towns bordering the reservation, including Valentine. Additionally, Bone Shirt and his wife had gotten sick and had to go to an emergency room around a year ago following eating at the McDonalds in Winner, a store under the same ownership as the Valentine store. He said, "Many of us know how these border towns are. I've seen 'em moon our people. I've seen 'em thrown beer cans at people, fight people and beat people up."
Bone Shirt noted, "It's a fact that when you go into Valentine, you are likely to be accosted by a racist attitude. Somebody's going to finger you, somebody's going to follow you around a store...somebody's going to stereotype you."
Other Sicangu say they have never been harassed in Valentine nor have they received any bad treatment at the McDonalds there. Many contend that it is the way one acts that might provoke acts of prejudice.
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