The suffocating heat wave that struck the north-east United States in recent days brought new attention to the harsh conditions that thousands of low-wage workers endure every day of the year.

While millions of New York City residents pondered how to escape from stifling temperatures, workers at a McDonald's in Manhattan's Washington Heights were being forced to work in a real-life “Hell's Kitchen”.

July 19 was one of the hottest days of the year in New York, and workers at the McDonald's at 4527 Broadway raised their concerns — as they had many times before — about the extreme heat coming from the kitchen and the restaurant's lack of air conditioning or a proper ventilation system.

The response from management was the same as in the past: Go back to work, stop complaining and deal with the situation. Instead, after an employee collapsed and had to be sent to hospital, workers sent a strong message by walking off the job.

A call for solidarity was put out on social media by organisers of Fast Food Forward, a group that has organised two days of strike actions by workers in New York City fast-food restaurants. The call attracted dozens of supporters. Unusually, the walkout caught the attention of the corporate media, too.

As the crowd of supporters grew bigger in size, it became clear how significant the bold action taken by these workers was. Followed by the crowd, the manager of the restaurant fled through a side door, finding refuge in a branch of Apple Bank next door. Outside on the sidewalk, workers and supporters chanted, “No A/C, no peace” and “No A/C, no work”.

By late afternoon, at least some of the restaurant's air conditioning units had been repaired, and three portable air conditioning units and fans had been brought in. Managers issued a statement apologizing for the “discomfort that workers experience”.

[Abridged from Socialist Worker.]