A grassroots group is urging Americans to boycott McDonald’s for a full week, claiming the fast food giant is guilty of price gouging, tax dodging, and mistreating workers.
“This is about more than burgers and fries, this is about power,” The People’s Union USA wrote on Instagram. “When we unite and hit corporations in their wallets, they listen.”
The organization has also gone after other major companies in the past — including Walmart, Target, General Mills, Amazon, and Nestlé — accusing them of exploiting workers and the environment.
People’s Union leader John Schwarz slammed McDonald’s for “silencing” employees, fighting unions, and practicing performative diversity — all while funneling donations to politicians who oppose labor rights and equality.
The timing isn’t great for the Golden Arches. Sales have dipped, the brand is still recovering from a 2024 E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounders, and it caught flak for scaling back DEI programs earlier this year.
Last fall, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bob Casey, and Ron Wyden accused McDonald’s of overcharging customers and profiting far beyond inflation. “McDonald’s net annual income rose by over 79% — to nearly $8.5 billion — from 2020 to 2023,” they wrote.
McDonald’s denies the price gouging claims and says pricing decisions are made by individual franchisees — with affordability in mind.
Meanwhile, labor organizing is gaining traction. Fast food workers in California, including some at McDonald’s, recently joined a new union backed by SEIU, a major force in the labor world.
The boycott movement has gotten celebrity support from Stephen King, John Leguizamo, and Bette Midler — and a GoFundMe has raised more than $125,000. But critics have pointed to Schwarz’s past, including a 2007 Alford plea over voyeurism charges. Schwarz insists he was innocent: “I did not take a photograph. I did not do anything inappropriate to anybody.”