McDonald's Shutters Chicago HQ in Midst of Minimum Wage Protests

Hundreds gathered in the rain to call for higher wages

The Fight for $15 marches on: Despite pouring rain, as many as 1,000 protesters showed up at McDonald's Chicago-area headquarters yesterday to demand higher pay, Reuters reports.

It marks the third year in a row that protests have taken place ahead of McDonald's annual shareholders meeting, which takes place today. The company shut down its Oak Brook campus yesterday in light of protests, encouraging employees to work from home instead.

In the Fight for $15, perhaps no company has been as specifically targeted as McDonald's. While the company did raise wages for workers at company-owned stores last year — to the tune of about $1 an hour for around 90,000 employees — it continues to insist it cannot be held responsible for how its thousands of franchisees choose to pay their employees, despite a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that says otherwise. The fast food chain is currently battling that decision in court, in a case that could have industry-wide implications.

After a years-long sales slump, McDonald's sales have recently been trending upward, thanks in no small part to all-day breakfast. But as Reuters notes, "While executives and shareholders have reaped rewards via salary hikes and gains in the stock price, front-line workers say they have not shared in the wealth."

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