By Julie Jargon
McDonald’s Corp.is gearing up for more action on the part of a fast food workers group that’s been criticizing the company for paying low wages.
In an April 17 e-mail to franchisees, McDonald’s vice president of U.S. Human Resources Danitra Barnett warned that McDonald’s had gotten wind of “on-the-ground activity on May 15.”
The e-mail, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, went on to explain that McDonald’s global security team is working with its regional security teams around the country to monitor the situation.
A McDonald’s spokeswoman declined to comment on the e-mail, but said, “Our focus remains on our valued employees and the career opportunities McDonald’s offers them. Our crew and managers are dedicated to providing a great McDonald’s restaurant experience for our customers, every single time they visit us.”
McDonald’s has been a primary target of community and workers’ groups backed by the Service Employees International Union since Nov. 2012. The campaign to push for fast food workers’ rights to organize and to earn a starting wage of $15 an hour has included everything from protests to social media messages.
On May 7, international McDonald’s employees are expected to hand deliver a letter to the company, via a McDonald’s restaurant in New York City.
“We call on you to respect the internationally recognized right to freedom of association as a human right and enter in good faith negotiations with workers’ representatives to raise wages for its workers and respect workers’ rights,” states the letter, reviewed by the Journal, from the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, a federation of trade unions comprising 396 organizations in 126 countries.
McDonald’s workers in up to 150 cities across the country are planning to strike on May 15, according to a person familiar with the matter. And the movement is headed overseas, with plans for protests in 33 countries on six continents scheduled for May 15 and 16, this person said. The overseas protests will involve both McDonald’s and KFC, a unit of Yum Brands Inc.
In its latest annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 24, McDonald’s listed among the risks to its growth in sales and profits: “The impact of campaigns by labor organizations and activists, including through the use of social media and other mobile communications and applications, to promote adverse perceptions of the quick-service category of the (informal eating out) segment or our brand, management, suppliers or franchisees, or to promote or threaten boycotts, strikes or other actions” involving McDonald’s or the industry.
In the e-mail, McDonald’s Ms. Barnett applauded the franchisees who “come together like no other to serve our customers, especially when faced with challenges.”
