Chipotle Workers Demand Paid Sick Leave

As COVID-19 continued to ravage the general public, Chipotle employees on Thursday demanded that the parent company provide sick leave pay and other benefits amid the ongoing pandemic.

“Workers have reported that they are not able to access paid leave and that’s unacceptable for a minimum and dangerous for the family,” said Shirley Aldebol, Vice President of the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union.

Throughout New York, and across the world, the Mexican fast food chain is one of the many essential businesses still open during the pandemic.

Chipotle CEO, Brian Nichols, issued a statement ensuring that the safety of the workers is the company’s highest priority,  offering a paid leave benefit for the two weeks for those who get sick. According to The New York Sick pay law.

However, some Chipotle employees have not received or heard of this benefit.

“ Instead of listening to executives, we should be listening to workers who want to do their job and continue to provide service to the public not at the cost of their life,” the union leader said.

Manhattan City Councilman Mark Levine jointed the aggrieved workers at the Zoom press conference.

“When it comes to food services practices that are bad for the staff, are bad for the public” Levine stated. “Everyone who’s sick must stay home.”