The fast food employees claim a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour

Washington. McDonald’s workers, led by Latina women, went on strike Wednesday in several cities to demand a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour as the company struggles to find new employees.

According to organizers, the protests extended the day before the multinational company held its annual shareholder meeting, to AngelsAnd the AucklandAnd the San FranciscoAnd the MiamiAnd the TampaAnd the OrlandoAnd the ChicagoAnd the DetroitAnd the FlintAnd the Kansas CityAnd the Saint LouisAnd the Raleigh-DurhamAnd the FayettevilleAnd the Houston s Milwaukee.

It also organized a demonstration in front of the House of Representatives McDonald’s headquarters are in Chicago (Illinois) While, as a result of the pandemic, which has increased demand in fast food restaurants and created jobs across the country, the company is having trouble attracting employees.

McDonald’s employees have rallied for the $ 15 minimum wage and the right to organize in unions since 2012.

McDonald’s restaurants in many parts of the country offer a bonus of up to $ 500 for new employees Blake Casper, owner of 60 franchises in the Tampa (Florida) area, offered only $ 50 for those wishing to work to appear in the interview..

With the current federal minimum wage of $ 7.25 an hour, the average full-time McDonald’s employee’s wage, before taxes, is $ 13,920 per year.

McDonald’s recently announced salary increases for its restaurants, which has resulted in this $ 11 an hour for new hires’ pay, Previously $ 15 shift managers, An average increase of 10% for your employees.

But this improvement, by which the company aims to hire 10,000 new employees in the coming months, affects only 5% of restaurants in the United States, and It does not apply to franchisees.

“If McDonald’s could pay more than $ 10 million to its CEO in compensation, and could spend billions of dollars on share buybacks as bonus from shareholders and executives, it might pay $ 15 to all of its workers an hour.” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said today.

“I am proud to support the striking workers,” the former Democratic presidential candidate added in a message to the strikers.

For his part McDonald’s, It is a statement, “His first responsibility is towards the hardworking restaurant workers, and we respect and appreciate their dedication to serving millions of customers every day,” he stated..

He added, “It is the responsibility of the federal and local governments to set the minimum wage, and we are open to dialogue so that any changes meet the needs of thousands of restaurant employees and 2,000 franchisees and independent operators.”

The McDonald’s workforce and similar businesses have shifted in recent years from jobs that have attracted teenagers and low-skilled workers to a growing presence of immigrants, most of them women.

“Because of our work, McDonald’s has remained open in light of this pandemic, and it is time for them to recognize our efforts with a fair salary and fair conditions,” he told Efe. Imelda RosalesWho has been working in the company’s restaurants for eleven years.

Rosales explained that despite the fact that his salary is already over $ 15 an hour, the money he makes a week is not enough for him.

The 53-year-old Hispanic mother, a mother of four, reported that she had experienced interruptions in her working hours and were replacing old workers with new hires.

“It cost me a lot of sacrifices to get my salary, but now they prefer to bring young men to pay them less, and they make us believe that they are raising their salaries, which is not true,” he says.

McDonald’s, like other companies and Republican politicians, is citing the extension of unemployment benefits, which President Joe Biden’s administration enacted to deal with the pandemic, as another factor in employment difficulties.

Looking at this generalized panorama, sportswear company Under Armor announced today that, starting June 6, it will raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour in the US, and $ 12.50 in Canada, to join companies like Walmart in the increase. Compensation to address the current staff shortage.