McDonald's Corporation (MCD) Braces For Minimum Wage Protests In Chicago

When McDonald's begins its annual shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, Thursday morning, it is expected to be targeted by protesters seeking a 15 minimum wage and the right to unionize. In recent months, the American fast food giant and its franchisees have increasingly faced accusations of underpaying workers and wage theft. "McDonald's profits keep growing while their workers struggle. People who work full time should never have to rely on food stamps to feed themselves and their families," the Fight For 15 movement, which announced the start of protests in Chicago Tuesday, said in a statement posted on its website. "It's wrong for a company whose stock just hit an all-time high to pay wages so low that its workers have to rely on public assistance to scrape by. McDonald's profits in the first quarter rose 35% -- it's time for the company to share its good fortune with its workers."