The National Labor Relations Board announced on Friday that its general counsel had brought 78 charges against McDonald's and some of its franchise operators, accusing them of violating federal labour law in response to workers' protests for higher wages around the country.
The general counsel's move immediately drew outrage from a variety of national business groups because the labour action deemed McDonald's a joint employer, a status that would make the fast-food titan equally responsible for actions taken at its franchised restaurants.
The labour board's complaint asserts that McDonald's and numerous franchise operators in more than a dozen cities illegally retaliated and made threats against workers who had joined national protests pushing for a base wage of $15 an hour in the nation's fast-food restaurants.
Business groups vigorously attacked the general counsel's complaint, saying that it was wrong to consider McDonald's a joint employer and seek to hold it jointly responsible for the actions of its franchise operators. The labour board's complaint, if successful, could disrupt many longtime practices in the fast-food industry - as well as other industries - and ease the path for unionising fast-food restaurants nationwide.
Representatives of the United States Chamber of Commerce, the International Franchise Association, the National Restaurant Association and the National Retail Federation denounced the labour board's move, warning that it could result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs by forcing franchising companies to rethink and reduce their number of franchised outlets.
The NLRB's general counsel, Richard F Griffin Jr, said that McDonald's was a joint employer because it set numerous requirements for how food was prepared, how stores were run and how employees were managed. About 90 per cent of the company's restaurants in the United States are franchise operations.
Mary Joyce Carlson, a lawyer for the Fight for 15 movement seeking higher wages for the workers, said, "Today's news makes it clear that the NLRB's general counsel finds merit in the claim that McDonald's - a $5.6 billion global company - is a joint employer because it exerts substantial power over the working conditions of employees at McDonald's franchise stores and is therefore responsible for compliance with employment and labour laws."
The general counsel said that McDonald's workers and their lawyers had sought to bring 291 charges, and that he had issued complaints in 78, with 71 others still under investigation. He said 11 charges had been resolved.
The general counsel issued the charges through 13 regional offices, including Manhattan, Chicago and Los Angeles. The first trials are scheduled to begin in March. The charges said that McDonald's and its franchisees illegally disciplined employees who had protested, reduced their hours, spied on them and restricted their ability to communicate with union representatives.
McDonald's said that the general counsel's action "improperly and dramatically strikes at the heart of the franchise system - a system that creates economic opportunity, jobs and income for thousands of business owners and their employees."
The company said it was "disappointed with the board's decision to overreach and move forward with these charges" and said it would challenge them. The charges would first be heard by an administrative law judge, then rulings could be appealed to the full labour board in Washington, then could go to federal courts.
The Service Employees International Union has spent more than $10 million underwriting the fast-food movement, hoping to lift wages for fast-food workers and other low-wage workers and ultimately to unionise them as well. If McDonald's is deemed a joint employer, that would give unions more leverage to pressure it not to fight unionisation.
Randel Johnson, the United States chamber's senior vice president for labour, immigration and employee benefits, said, "Today's action is just another in a line of decisions and initiatives by the board within the last two weeks that blatantly advance the union agenda."
Kendall Fells, the chief organiser for Fight for 15, said, "McDonald's and its lobbyists have launched an aggressive campaign to defend the status quo in the fast-food industry. The industry has sounded the alarm and declared that the sky is falling."
©2014 The New York Times News Service
