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McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNBC he hopes President-elect Joe Biden will tackle some of the country’s biggest problems, including the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We need stimulus, I think it’s very clear,” he told CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla in an interview that aired Tuesday on “Squawk on the Street.”
Democrats and Republicans have failed to achieve another stimulus package, leaving millions of unemployed and struggling businesses in dire straits. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he wants a deal passed this year, but his proposal is far below what Democrats are looking for, and it is not clear whether a deal will come through. will actually produce.
Stimulus checks of $ 1,200 sent to Americans in April helped boost sales at struggling restaurants and retailers, and the Paycheck Protection Program sent funds to nearly 700,000 businesses, including McDonald’s franchisees.
Kempczinski also said he hopes the next administration will seek solutions to some long-term problems, like climate change, and make sure jobs and education provide opportunities for all.
McDonald’s is open to discussing minimum wage, he said. The national minimum wage has remained stable at $ 7.25 an hour for more than a decade. The fight for $ 15 and a union, which is made up of fast food workers, has been pushing for a minimum wage of $ 15 for years, with dispersed success.
Most recently, Florida voted to raise its wage floor over the next six years until it hits $ 15 an hour. It is the eighth state to approve a minimum wage of $ 15 an hour and the second most populous state to do so.
Kempczinski also acknowledged that some of the Trump administration’s proposals had helped McDonald’s and aligned with his beliefs. For example, the company benefited from its corporate tax cuts.
But Kempczinski doesn’t expect the Biden administration to change everything. He predicts that the joint employer rule will remain unchanged. Under the rule, a person who works for one company can also be considered to be employed by another company. But the National Labor Review Board said last year that the rule does not apply to McDonald’s for its employees at franchise restaurants. The decision was a big victory for McDonald’s, which argued that it should not be held responsible for the labor violations of its franchisees.
McDonald’s shares edged down on Tuesday. The stock, which has a market value of around $ 165 billion, has climbed 8% this year.
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