McDonald's has been in contact with local law enforcement in Oak Brook, Illinois, and is encouraging employees to work from home because of traffic concerns, spokeswoman Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem said.
"We've adjusted work schedules for our employees and access to our facilities to assist the Oak Brook Police Department and address the protests and the related traffic congestion," she said in an e-mail.
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About 2,000 protesters, including about 325 McDonald's workers, were planning to picket the headquarters at 2111 McDonald's Drive in Oak Brook, calling for higher wages. The location of the protests is now shifting to Jorie Boulevard and Kroc Drive, the entrance to the McDonald's campus that houses Hamburger University and a Hyatt Lodge, also in Oak Brook.
McDonald's and other chains are facing growing criticism for not paying workers enough. In November 2012, fast-food employees protested in New York to demand wages of $15 an hour and the right to form a union. Since then, protests and strikes for higher pay have spread to McDonald's, Taco Bell and Burger King across the country. Earlier this month, some fast-food workers also demonstrated overseas.
While the U.S. federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, some states require higher pay than the national minimum. Fast-food workers in America make about $9.08 an hour, or $18,880 a year, on average, if they work full time, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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