The Associated Press has a scoop on a just-released National Labor Relations Board decision which, bottom line, will make it a bit easier to organize McDonald's workers.
Here you go from AP:
McDonald's says it has been notified by a labor regulator that it can be named a "joint employer" for workers in its franchisee-owned restaurants.
The decision by the National Labor Relations Board was being closely watched because it could potentially expose McDonald's to liability for the working conditions and practices in its franchisees' stores. It also puts pressure on the world's biggest hamburger chain at a time when protests for higher wages in the fast-food industry have captured national attention.
McDonald's and other fast-food companies have repeatedly said they are not responsible for determining wages and other terms at their franchised locations.
Basically, the issue is: McDonald's and others employers, not just in fast-food, try to argue that the individual franchises are independent operations and, so, each of them has to be organized on its own. Obviously, that makes it really hard to organize.
But:
Labor organizers say McDonald's should be held accountable as a joint employer because the company has so much control in setting the terms of operations even at its franchised locations, such as what menus, supplies, uniforms and training materials are used. The matter has come under the spotlight as fast-food worker groups backed by the Service Employees International Union have agitated for pay of $15 an hour and the right to unionize since late 2012.
If McDonald's is the clear employer, basically, a nationwide organizing campaign could join together all those locations under one broad election. And that has implications for other large employers who try to establish a fake "arm's length" relationship with its individual outlets.
It got a bit easier--of course, we'll have to see how this evolves because the employers will appeal the case and, lord knows, it could end up at the Supreme Court.