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McDonald's Workers Will Strike for $15 an Hour in 15 Cities
McDonald's cashiers and cooks in 15 U.S. cities will strike on May 19—a day before the fast-food behemoth's annual shareholder meeting—to demand McDonald's pay all of its workers at least $15 an hour amid a national labor shortage in the fast food industry.
In recent months, McDonald's stores have become desperate for employees, offering workers bonuses and incentives to sign up for a job. One store in Fayetteville, North Carolina is offering a $500 sign on bonus, according to a poster viewed by Motherboard. An owner of 60 McDonald's franchises in Florida is paying job applicants $50 just to show up for an interview. In one recent viral TikTok, a McDonald's customer rolled up at a drive thru to find a sign that read, "We are short-staffed. Please be patient with the staff that did show up. No one wants to work anymore." Republican lawmakers are blaming the labor shortage on the Coronavirus relief bill and generous unemployment benefits.
Striking workers around the country, who are part of the Fight For $15 movement, say McDonald's has an easy solution to this labor shortage: it can simply raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour at all of their stores. The company's sales are booming, thanks to demand for faster drive-thru orders. McDonald's recently announced that it earned $5 billion in profits in 2020, and paid shareholders nearly $4 billion in dividends.
"We know McDonald's is gathering for its shareholders meeting to discuss what straws we use, what bags we use, how much we get paid," Terrence Wise, a McDonald's department manager in Kansas City, Missouri, who has worked in the fast food industry for 22 years told Motherboard.
In recent months, McDonald's stores have become desperate for employees, offering workers bonuses and incentives to sign up for a job. One store in Fayetteville, North Carolina is offering a $500 sign on bonus, according to a poster viewed by Motherboard. An owner of 60 McDonald's franchises in Florida is paying job applicants $50 just to show up for an interview. In one recent viral TikTok, a McDonald's customer rolled up at a drive thru to find a sign that read, "We are short-staffed. Please be patient with the staff that did show up. No one wants to work anymore." Republican lawmakers are blaming the labor shortage on the Coronavirus relief bill and generous unemployment benefits.
Striking workers around the country, who are part of the Fight For $15 movement, say McDonald's has an easy solution to this labor shortage: it can simply raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour at all of their stores. The company's sales are booming, thanks to demand for faster drive-thru orders. McDonald's recently announced that it earned $5 billion in profits in 2020, and paid shareholders nearly $4 billion in dividends.
"We know McDonald's is gathering for its shareholders meeting to discuss what straws we use, what bags we use, how much we get paid," Terrence Wise, a McDonald's department manager in Kansas City, Missouri, who has worked in the fast food industry for 22 years told Motherboard.
Read the rest at: https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7885a/mcdonalds-workers-will-strike-for-dollar15-an-hour-in-15-cities