OAK BROOK, Ill. -- An estimated 300 to 400 McDonald's workers and other protesters, many arriving on a fleet of a dozen or more buses, descended on the McDonald's campus near its headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill., on Wednesday, calling for a significant pay increase to $15 per hour and the right to unionize.
The protest comes on the eve of the company's shareholder meeting.
About 2,000 protesters, including about 325 McDonald's workers, were planning to picket the office building that houses the company's corporate offices, according to a Bloomberg report.
McDonald's Corp. told its 3,200 corporate headquarters employees to stay home Wednesday to avoid the protest, said the report.
"We've adjusted work schedules for our employees and access to our facilities to assist the Oak Brook Police Department and address the protests and the related traffic congestion," spokesperson Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem told the news agency.
The company also closed the heavily trafficked McDonald's restaurant adjacent to its headquarters, including its parking lot, which was being resealed while the protest began several block away.
Following consultation with the police, the protesters moved their demonstration the entrance to the McDonald's campus that houses Hamburger University and a Hyatt Lodge, also in Oak Brook.
Click here to view CSP Daily News video from the demonstration.
Police officers--many in riot gear--guarded the protesters' route in front of the McDonald's campus and directed a steady flow of lunchtime traffic away from the area.
Protesters wearing a variety of t-shirts with messages such as "Fight for $15" and "Action Now" chanted, "Hey McDonald's you can't hide, we can see your greedy side" and "No Big Macs, no fries, make our wage supersize," as well as, "We are the union, the mighty, might union."
Oak Brook Police said about 110 protesters arrested for criminal trespass were from a group of McDonald's workers, clergy and union activists who chose to cross a police barricade, said a USA Today report.
"We respect everyone's right to voice an opinion. McDonald's respects our employees' right to voice their opinions and to protest lawfully and peacefully," Barker Sa Shekhem said in a statement posted on McDonald's media website following protests earlier in May. "If employees participate in these activities, they are welcomed back and scheduled to work their regular shifts. We value our employees' well-being and the contributions they make to our restaurants, and thank them for what they do each and every day. … We respect the right of employees to choose whether or not they want to unionize."
A related statement on minimum wage reads, "At McDonald's, we offer part-time and full-time employment, benefits and competitive pay based on the local marketplace and job level. McDonald's and our owner-operators are committed to providing our respective employees with opportunities to succeed, and we have a long, proven history of providing advancement opportunities for those who want it. We invest in training and professional development that helps them learn practical and transferable business skills whether at McDonald's or elsewhere. It's important to know approximately 80% of our global restaurants are independently owned and operated by small business owners, who are independent employers that comply with local and federal laws. This is an important discussion that needs to take into account the highly competitive nature of the industries that employ minimum wage workers, as well as consumers and the thousands of small businesses which own and operate the vast majority of McDonald's restaurants."
"McDonald's has cleared and closed its corporate headquarters," Deivid Rojas, communications director for the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago, said in a statement obtained by Reuters. "The closing reflects McDonald's refusal to address the growing concerns of workers and failure to take action to raise wages."
McDonald's, which is grappling with sagging U.S. sales and profit-crimping beef price spikes, does not disclose average pay for restaurant workers, most of whom work for franchisees. According to Reuters, citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 3.5 million fast-food and counter workers in the United States earn a median hourly wage of $8.83, or almost $18,400 per year based on a 40-hour work week without vacation.
President Obama has pushed Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour from $7.25 Washington, D.C., and 21 states have minimum wages higher than the federal level, and 38 states have considered minimum wage bills during the 2014 session, said Reuters, citing the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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