McDonald’s Says It Won’t Lobby Against Minimum Wage Increases in America

But the company isn’t telling franchisees to pay more, either

Politico has revealed that McDonald’s is no longer going to lobby against minimum wage increases at any level of government (federal, state, or local). The giant company also appears to support some kind of increase: a representative for the company wrote to the National Restaurant Association stating that higher wages should be phased in.

The company reportedly already pays an average of $10/hour in its corporate-owned stores, however, it does not dictate wages to its franchisee-run stores, which make up the vast majority of restaurants. Plus, the company doesn’t appear to be pushing its franchisees for voluntary wage increases. Some of those franchisees continue to cause headaches for McDonald’s: the company is involved in a five-year-old National Labor Relations Board case stemming from franchisees that allegedly punished workers for campaigning for wage increases.

And in other news...

• Domino’s is getting a pizza ordering platform pre-loaded onto millions of Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC cars (among others) so you can order from your dash, although it seems like choosing pizza toppings while cruising at 65 mp/h may not be the safest idea. [Mediapost]
• Eric Adjepong, the first Top Chef contestant to truly showcase west African food, cooked what would have been his for-the-win dish (were he not eliminated in third place) for the Washington Post. [WaPo]
• Michelin has unveiled its Bib Gourmand picks for Taipei, with representation for Sichuan, Pekingese, Taiwanese, Yunnanese, Zhejiang and Indian cuisines. [Michelin]
• For the first time in a decade, the number of restaurant jobs in New York declined from 2017 to 2018 — capitalist-types blame wage increases, but could it be that living in NYC on $10/hour is not an easy task? [Crains]
• The Times digs into Bourdain-inspired off-the-beaten-path food tours, which are increasing in popularity to a level where even a major cruise line is trying to get into the game. [NYT]
• If you want to mix your love for sportsball and 17th-century status symbols of the Russian royal family, here’s the perfect product: NBA-branded tins of caviar. [Foodbeast]
• A San Antonio councillor-slash-mayoral candidate wrote an apology letter for Chick-fil-A’s hurt feelings after the city barred the chicken chain from its airport this week. [KTSA]
• It’s March 27, not April 1, yet here come the heavy-handed jokey ploys for attention, with California chain Fatburger “rebranding” as Skinnyburger, complete with a burger that substitutes the bread for lean beef, which seems like it’s been done before. [BusinessWire]
• The latest bizarro corporate pairing to know about is Snapchat and... banana company Chiquita? [Newswire]
• Martha Stewart and Stephen Colbert had a very fun fish fry up and sangria party last night. [YouTube]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]