McDonald's Triples Tuition Assistance Amid Ongoing Wage Battle

OAK BROOK, IL — McDonald's recently announced that it plans to increase tuition assistance for its crew members by tripling the current amount available annually. The announcement came just days before employees staged protests in cities throughout the U.S. demanding the company keep its 2015 pledge to pay workers at its corporate-owned stores $1 more than minimum wage.

The fast food giant says it will allocate $150 million to its Archways for Education program, which helps provide tuition assistance, education advising, high school diploma assistance, and English as a second language classes for employees.

Eligible crew members currently receive $700 in tuition assistance annually. That amount will increase to $2500, according to a press release from McDonald's. The change, which goes into effect May 1, is retroactive to January 1, 2018.

McDonald's executives say there will be no lifetime cap on tuition and that employees can use the funds for tuition at a "community college, four-year university, or trade school."

The tuition assistance will bill available to crew members who work a minimum of 15 hours a week after 90 days of employment, according to McDonald's.

“Our commitment to education reinforces our ongoing support of the people who play a crucial
role in our journey to build a better McDonald’s,” CEO and President Steve Easterbrook said in a statement.

The company's Archways for Education program was established in 2015, the same year officials announced that they "raised wages for all employees at our company-owned restaurants to $1 dollar above the local minimum wage," according to a 2016 statement.

On April 3, hundreds of McDonald's employees participated in protests asserting that the company has not kept that promise.

Image credit: Getty Images/Matt Cardy / Stringer