© 2024 Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Ruling Gives Unions Leverage In Negotiations With Franchises

Juan Hernandez, 8, protests with his mother, who works for McDonald's, and other fast food workers and community activists outside a McDonald's restaurant in the Loop on June 22, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The protesters were calling for an increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The demonstration was staged to coincide with the 4th hearing of the Wage Board in New York City as it debates the $15-dollar-per-hour increase for its workers. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Juan Hernandez, 8, protests with his mother, who works for McDonald's, and other fast food workers and community activists outside a McDonald's restaurant in the Loop on June 22, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The protesters were calling for an increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The demonstration was staged to coincide with the 4th hearing of the Wage Board in New York City as it debates the $15-dollar-per-hour increase for its workers. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A ruling yesterday from the National Labor Relations Board gave contract workers and employees of franchises a lot more leverage to unionize.

The NLRB’s decision gives those employees the right to negotiate a union contract not only with a franchise owner, but also with the larger parent company. It has implications in the fast food industry, which is locked in a national debate about worker pay and benefits.

Michael Regan of Bloomberg News discusses this with Here & Now’s Robin Young.

Guest

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.