Economy

Compare This McDonald's Worker's Pay to the CEO's

April 15th 2015

It takes seven months for a McDonald's worker to earn what the company's CEO makes in one hour, according to a 2013 study from Nerdwallet.

Bartolomé Perez, a McDonald's worker in Los Angeles, proves this point. He's worked at McDonald's for 22 years, and his wages have only increased from $4.25 an hour to $10.75 an hour, which means he's had an average pay increase of 29 cents per year. Still, $10.75 an hour is almost 20 percent more than the wages of the average McDonald's employee (and it will still be 10 percent more even after McDonald's increases its wages this year).

"Ten years ago, this was the perfect job," Perez told ATTN:, discussing how his wages have failed to keep pace with his cost of living.

To hear Perez tell it himself, check out this video:

Contrast Perez' story with what's happened at the executive level of McDonald's. Its last CEO, Don Thompson, was pushed out of McDonald's this year after profits slid during his three years as chief executive. Thompson made $13.8 million as CEO -- triple what he was making before, according to the Associated Press. By most accounts, Thompson, who saw McDonald's net income fall by almost 15 percent last year, was not an effective CEO:

"Thompson is being blamed for almost all of the fast-food chain’s troubles: confusing the menu; not letting customers customize enough; not riding the healthy food trend; undermining children’s well-being; flip-flopping on America’s minimum wage debate; adding products that extended wait times; food safety scares abroad, declines in same-store sales." -- Edward G. Brown, Forbes.

Yet, despite poor performance, he received an additional $3 million consulting fee on his way out of the company.

The new CEO, Steve Easterbook, received a 69.2 percent pay raise when he became CEO, bringing his base salary to $1.1 million and his incentive package potential to 160 percent of his base salary.

Perez' story also shows that your idea of the minimum wage worker could be wrong.

While many people might think that minimum wage workers are mostly high school students working after-school jobs, saving up for an iPhone, the fact is that 88 percent of minimum wage workers are over 20-years-old and more than half are working full-time, the Department of Labor says.

And it's not only the workers themselves depending on minimum wage pay -- but also their family members. Minimum wage workers were responsible for 46 percent of their household's income in 2011, according to the Department of Labor.

Perez illustrates this point as well. His family has depended on his McDonald's salary over the 22 years he's worked there.

"I have to work so my wife feels a special support from me," Perez said.