McDonald’s Pay Hike Covers a Fraction of Employees

Dow Jones reported the news exclusively, and it was cited at CNBC before being posted at The Wall Street Journal.

McDonald’s also will add paid vacation and perhaps other benefits. The motive, according to new CEO Steve Easterbrook, is to revive sales:

What we need to underpin [improved sales] is highly motivated teams in our restaurants. Motivated teams deliver better customer service and delivering better customer service in our restaurants is clearly going to be a vital part of our turnaround.

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In mid-February, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced that approximately 500,000 U.S. employees will receive a pay hike in the first half of the 2016 fiscal year, raising their hourly wage to at least $1.75 above the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. By February 1, 2016, current associates will earn at least $10 an hour.

Workers who have been picketing McDonald’s and other low-wage employers are not satisfied with the hike. In a press release a McDonald’s worker said:

Because we joined together and stood up, McDonald’s was forced to raise pay. Still, this is too little to make a real difference, and covers only a fraction of workers. It’s a weak move for a company that made $5.6 billion in profits last year. We’re going to keep fighting until we win $15 and union rights for all fast-food workers and our families.

McDonald’s is currently battling a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that would force the company to share the responsibility for franchise employees. Wednesday’s announced wage hike does not include the hundreds of thousands U.S. workers at McDonald’s franchises in the United States.

While McDonald’s does not set wages at franchised stores, critics argue that by setting every other fee that franchisees pay the company is in fact setting the workers’ wages.

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