Fast food chains occupied by protests for higher pay

Low wage paid workers at fast-food restaurants are staging protests to demand a pay hike of as much as 100% to $15 an hour in order to help them get in the middle class. “McDonald’s made $5.5 billion in profits,” one labor leader told Yahoo Finance. “There’s plenty of money to pay the workers who work there and new hires without firing anyone.”

A spokesman for the Service Employees International Union said the SEIU is helping to organize the protests among the non-union employees.

Workers at fast-food restaurants in dozens of cities including New York, Chicago, Boston, Indianapolis and Denver plan to walk off their jobs in protest of low wages and poor working conditions. A large rally of fast-food employees was scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Union Square in New York City.

In addition to McDonald’s and Burger King, other big chains being targeted by protesters include Taco Bell and KFC, both owned by Yum! Brand, and Subway.

In fact McDonalds restaurant chain is very profitable. Those $5.5 billion in profits last year came from revenues of $27.6 billion, giving the Golden Arches a profit margin of nearly 20%. The average profit margin of big companies in the S&P 500 index is only 8.7%, according to S&P Capital IQ. McDonald’s has been a over performer, which makes protesters seeking a bigger slice of the pie.

The workers are seeking a pay raise to $15 an hour, up from the average hourly wage of $9 an hour, organizers said. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Workers also want the ability to organize unions without fear of being fired or other forms of retaliation.

McDonalds tried to defend its policies by stating: “The story promoted by the individuals organizing these events does not provide an accurate picture of what it means to work at McDonalds.,”.Company also added that “McDonalds aims to offer competitive pay and benefits to our employees. We provide training and professional development for all of those who wish to take advantage of those opportunities. Our history is full of examples of individuals who worked their first job with McDonalds and went on to successful careers both within and outside of McDonalds.”

However, all those statements doesnt seem to calm down employees urge for a change. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, which left millions of Americans unemployed and forced others into part-time work, fast-food employees no longer see this job as a short term solution and put their hopes on the wages they receive from it.

McDonalds slumped 1.3% in yesterday trading session while 1 year return of shares has been almost 10% positive.