OAK BROOK, Ill. – In a move that the convenience-store industry is watching closely, McDonald's Corp. has announced that it will raise the average pay of about 90,000 U.S. workers to approximately $10 an hour effective July 1. McDonald's USA also announced paid time-off for full- and part-time crew employees.
These benefit enhancements apply to workers at the quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain’s approximately 1,500 company-owned locations, which represent more than 90,000 employees and about 10% of McDonald's restaurants nationwide. The more than 3,100 McDonald's franchisees operate their individual businesses and make their own decisions on pay and benefits for their employees.
On July 1, 2015, starting wages at McDonald's company-owned restaurants in the United States will be $1 over the locally mandated minimum wage. It will adjust the wages of all employees up to restaurant manager accordingly based on tenure and job performance. By the end of 2016, McDonald's projects that the average hourly wage rate for McDonald's employees at company-owned restaurants will be in excess of $10.
Also on July 1, full- and part-time crew employees at company-owned restaurants, with at least one year of service, will begin to accrue personal paid time-off. For example, an employee who works an average of 20 hours per week will be eligible to accrue approximately 20 hours of paid time off per year. If these employees don't take the time off they have earned, they will be paid for the value of that time.
The company also is expanding its Archways to Opportunities education offerings to provide eligible U.S. restaurant employees at both company-owned and franchised restaurants with free high school completion and college-tuition assistance.
"We've been working on a comprehensive benefits package for our employees--the people who bring our brand to life for customers every day in our U.S. restaurants," said McDonald's president and CEO Steve Easterbrook. "We've listened to our employees and learned that--in addition to increased wages--paid personal leave and financial assistance for completing their education would make a real difference in their careers and lives."
Referring also to the chain’s sales slump, he said, "We are acting with a renewed sense of energy and purpose to turn our business around. We know that a motivated workforce leads to better customer service, so we believe this initial step not only benefits our employees, it will improve the McDonald's restaurant experience. We'll continue to evaluate opportunities that will make a difference for our people."
Wal-Mart and other retailers recently have introduced entry-level wage hikes.
Union-backed workers groups slammed McDonald’s announcement. “Raising wages only a little for only a small fraction of workers isn’t change; it’s a PR stunt,” said Kwanza Brooks, a McDonald’s workers from Charlotte, N.C., who is paid the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. He is a member of the Fight for $15 (“Fight 4/15”) movement. “Real change happens when workers lock arms and stand up together, and that’s exactly what you’ll see in the streets across the country on April 15.”
Groups are planning April 15 tax day protests in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, N.C., Denver, Detroit, Hartford, Conn., Houston, Kansas City, Mo., Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Madison, Wis., Memphis, Tenn., Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Miramar, Fla., New York, New Orleans, Oakland, Calif.; Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Va., St Louis, San Diego and in the state of Washington.
“Workers will continue joining together and going on strike until McDonald’s responds with more than a publicity stunt,” said Kendall Fells, organizing director of Fast Food Forward.
"Today’s announcement by McDonald’s that it is raising wages by $1 over local minimum wage rates for employees of the fast-food operations it directly owns is a modest gesture that will boost pay a little for a small number of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who are trying to make a living selling McDonald’s food and burnishing McDonald’s brand,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project.
"McDonald’s action falls far short of what is needed to make sure fast-food jobs provide a decent living for the men and women who work [at the restaurants]. … And even for those employees who will benefit, the rate adjustment will still leave many hovering around the poverty line. For a corporation that raked in nearly $5 billion in profit last year and compensated its CEO $13.8 million in 2013, in a $200-billion industry with the greatest disparity between CEO and worker pay, McDonald’s can and should do much better.”
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