McDonald’s is the latest company to agree to increase the minimum wage of its workers while also improving their benefits.
Effective July 1, the fast food chain will pay a portion of its workers at least $1 above their local minimum wage. While the federal minimum wage is $7.25, the majority of states have higher wages and McDonald’s said they
will lift their minimum wage average to $9.90 an hour starting in July and $10 by the end of 2016. About 90,000 employees will be impacted by the increase; however, the changes won’t apply to approximately 750,000 employees who work for more than 3,100 franchisees. They will be free to set their own pay policies.[Related: ABFF and McDonald’s Partner for ‘Lovin’ Campaign]
In addition to announcing an increase in minimum wage, the fast food chain also said they would give workers who’ve been working with the company for more than a year paid time off, whether they are part-time or full-time. Under this new policy, an employee who works an average of 20 hours a week might collect as much as 20 hours of paid time off a year, the company said.
“We know that a motivated work force leads to better customer service, so we believe this initial step not only benefits our employees, it will improve McDonald’s restaurant experience,†said CEO Steve Easterbrook in a statement.
McDonald’s has been under fire for some time from workers who are fighting for a base pay of $15 an hour. Employees have held one day rallies outside of restaurants and the Service Employees International Union has spent millions in a campaign to encourage McDonald’s employees and others to press for higher wages. The next set of rallies are scheduled to take place across the country on April 15.
Source: The New York Times