Fast food employees to strike after viral video shows customer attacking worker

January 7, 2019

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- A group of Florida fast food workers are striking after a female colleague was attacked by a customer.

A viral video shows Daniel Taylor grabbing Yasmine James' shirt and attempting to pull her over the counter after he asked for a straw at a St. Petersburg McDonald's last week. James hit him several times in the face.

Taylor was charged with two counts of simple battery. Police say he kicked another worker as he was being escorted out.

The group Fight for $15 says it will strike during the Tuesday lunch rush to demand McDonald's and other fast-food chains protect workers from safety threats.

McDonald's employee Gail Rogers said in a statement that she is planning to strike because she doesn't feel safe on the job and that she and other employees are subjected to all types of behavior including armed robberies and sexual harassment.

January 4, 2019

Days after a video of a Florida McDonald's employee being

went viral, she spoke to

about defending herself –– and why workplace safety needs to improve at the fast food chain.

Yasmine James, 20, started working at the McDonald's in St. Petersburg three months ago. On Monday, a customer got aggressive when she informed him he had to ask for a straw. After cursing and yelling at her, she said he leaned over the counter and attacked her.

"He grabbed me and that really scared me because I didn't know if he had a gun or a knife or what," James said. "When he grabbed me, my main thing was to get him off of me the best way I knew. Just let me go."

James, who learned how to box as a teenager, fought back as fellow coworkers stood by idly as seen in the viral video.

She said her manager didn't come to her aid, but doesn't fault them for it. She claimed they've never received proper training to deal with unruly customers. She is now calling on McDonald's to improve employee safety and train managers to de-escalate similar situations.

"I don't want it to be blamed on him, I want to blame it on the way he was trained 'cause he is not a bad manager," she said. "It's just that when that thing happened it's like he didn't know what to do."

Police arrested 40-year-old Daniel Taylor in connection with the attack. He was charged with two counts of simple battery.

James' attorneys want the charges elevated to felony battery. They said they are exploring all legal options.

"This is the last straw for violence against all workers and all women," she said.

In a statement issued Thursday, McDonald's said its "highest priority" is the safety of everyone in the restaurant. It added: "We firmly stand with our employees everywhere, including our employees at this restaurant who were involved in this incident."

For now, James is taking a leave of absence because she's not comfortable with being "paranoid" and "scared" at her job.