McDonald’s employees are still protesting across the U.S. in hopes of higher pay. A local Detroit McDonald’s restaurant was forced to close Thursday morning after its employees walked out and hundreds gathered outside to protest for higher wages.
McDonald’s employees make minimum wage with raises given every quarter based on performance. However, employees are fighting for the increase to make $15 an hour, which is more than double their current salaries. Employees are also requesting that the fast food giants unionize all workers. Protests kicked off in many cities at 6:30 am on Thursday morning.
One employee in a Detroit restaurant told reporters, “We’re out here fighting to raise the minimum wage and get rid of $7.40 because $7.40 an hour is not enough to take care of our kids and our families and we want to, you know, get the raise up to $15.”
Another employee in the Bronx area, Shaniqua Davis, 20, told reporters that she pays the rent with public assistance but struggles to afford food, diapers, subway and taxi fares, cable TV and other expenses with her paycheck. “It’s really hard,” she said. “If I didn’t have public assistance to help me out, I think I would have been out on the street already with the money I make at McDonald’s.”
What are your thoughts? Do you feel that fast-food employees should make $15 an hour?
What does McDonald’s Corp. say about all this?
McDonald’s say that they don’t make decisions about pay for the independent franchisees that operate the majority of their U.S. restaurants; however, for the restaurants they do directly own, employees start at minimum wage but the range goes higher, depending on the employee’s position and experience level. Representatives said that raising entry-level wages would mean higher overall costs, which could result in higher prices on menus. The Wendy’s Co. and Yum Brands Inc., which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, did not respond to a request for comment.
Check out photos from around the U.S of the protests here.
