US activist hope to raise hourly pay at McDonalds
Print Edition
LABOR organizers say they’re planning another day of strikes and protests exclusively targeting McDonald’s stores in dozens of cities on April 14, following similar demonstrations outside a variety of fast-food restaurants a year ago.
The move is intended to build on a campaign to lift wages and revitalize union enrollment by spotlighting working conditions at the world’s biggest hamburger chain. Already, a wave of demonstrations that began in New York City in late 2012 has made low pay a major political issue and helped spur the passage of higher local minimum wages around the country.
The “Fight for US$15” campaign is being backed by the Service Employees International Union, whose members include nursing home workers and janitors who stand to benefit when the wage floor is raised. Although McDonald’s has been a primary target, organizers have expanded the campaign in hopes of mobilizing new swaths of workers including adjunct professors and airport workers.
For April 14, organizers say they’re focusing on McDonald’s because of its size and ability to influence pay practices throughout the economy.
“When McDonald’s starts to behave the right way, other companies are going to behave the right way,” said Kendall Fells, organizing director for the Fight for US$15.
A McDonald’s representative, Lisa McComb, said restaurants will remain open and “focus on providing an exceptional experience for our customers.” She said McDonald’s provides employees with “lifelong skills, opportunities for advancement and education assistance.”
Turnout for the demonstrations has generally grown with each successive protest. In New York, crowds typically chant and beat drums outside a McDonald’s for about a half hour before moving to another location. The actions are apparently having an impact.
A lawyer for McDonald’s described the pressure his clients felt from the “onslaught of investigations and protests” brought on by organizers in recent years.
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