Durham McDonald's employees rally for $15-an-hour wages

McDonald's cooks and cashiers in Durham went on strike Wednesday, a day before the company's annual shareholder meeting, to demand McDonald's pay every worker at least $15 an hour.

Posted 9:28 a.m. May 19, 2021 — Updated 4:26 p.m. May 24, 2021

Lora Lavigne

, WRAL Durham repoter, & Kasey Cunningham, WRAL reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — McDonald’s cooks and cashiers in Durham went on strike Wednesday, a day before the company’s annual shareholder meeting, to demand McDonald’s pay every worker at least $15 an hour.

Dozens of workers walked off the job at the McDonald's on Guess Road and rallied in the parking lot as part of a nationwide effort to press the fast-food chain to increase wages. McDonald's workers in Fayetteville also joined in the strike.

Some employees said they earn less than $9 an hour, which is barely enough to cover their monthly bills.

"Once you do all that, you only have about $30 or so left, and it’s like I can’t save any money," said Nah'shon Blount, who added that he's trying to save money for college to pursue a nursing degree.

Employees said working on the front lines of the food-service industry has been especially difficult during the pandemic, yet they're not getting the respect the feel they deserve.

"Don’t listen to the shareholders. Listen to us, the stakeholders. We are the ones that are in there every day, that were in there every day during this pandemic," Precious Cole said. "It’s very hard to keep a smile on your face and keep the brand up and just be happy when all of this is going on, and we’re making poverty wages."

Hazard pay, sick leave, proper protective gear and health care benefits were among the workers' demands.

Advocates said striking is the best way to get their concerns heard as the restaurant industry scrambles to find enough workers.

"That should be the priority for how a humane and civilized society lives. The rest is secondary," Ana Ilarraza-Blackburn, of the North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign, said of a living wage. "People being able to house their family, people being able to eat, people being able to afford health care should be in the forefront."

"The only reason why people do not want to work is because of the wages we get paid. It’s not fair that we get paid so little," Blount said.

McDonald’s raising hourly wages to $11-17 at company-owned locations

The chain announced last week plans to raise hourly wages by an average of 10 percent for more than 36,500 workers at some company-owned restaurants nationwide. While McDonald’s has nearly 14,000 U.S. restaurants, 95 percent are independently owned and operated.

McDonald's officials haven't responded to questions about any plans to advise franchise owners to raise the wages they pay.

"People only understand minimum wage and forget about what a living wage is, and a living wage coincides with housing [and] inflation," Ilarraza-Blackburn said. "The fact that McDonald’s workers have to fight for $15 when, in 2019, a living wage was $23 to $24 [an hour], that’s immoral, and everyone should have a problem with that."

Competitor Chick-fil-A now offers more than $15 an hour and benefits to its workers, a move the company says will attract and retain top talent.

"We know that, in order to take care of our guests, we need to take care of our team members first," Chik-fil-A said in a statement.

More than 75 percent of North Carolinians, including 65 percent of Republicans, say the minimum wage should be higher than $7.25 an hour, according to a poll from Meredith University.

McDonald’s workers also called on the company to withdraw from the National Restaurant Association and the International Franchise Association.

In 2019, McDonald’s pledged to stop lobbying against local, state and federal minimum wage increases while continuing to retain membership in the NRA and the IFA. But since then, the NRA and IFA have spent more than $3 million lobbying against increasing the federal minimum wage.

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