McDonald's has been the target of a wave of protests over crew members' earnings.
The organization Fight for 15 has strived to push McDonald's to raise its minimum wage up to $15 an hour. Activists argue that the fast-food giant does not pay its employees a living wage.
In 2016, Richard Eiker, a longtime McDonald's employee and Kansas City resident, told the Guardian why he participated in a number of protests against his employer.
"This movement believes that no one who works full time should rely on food stamps or public assistance — just to pay the basic bills," he said.
"If you want to make a career out of it, you won't be able to make a living from it, most likely," former crew member Michael Lebert wrote on Quora.
A former crew member from Virginia told Business Insider that the low pay bolsters the popular opinion that McDonald's jobs are low status.
"People may disagree that people who work fast food deserve a living wage, but the bottom line is, food service workers are people, not servants," the ex-employee told Business Insider. "The amount of callous, malicious treatment of other human beings people think they can get away with just because they're dealing with someone who works a 's----- job' is unreal."