“This is a significant win for fast food workers,” said Ken Jacobs. “They will receive meaningful pay increases and have a venue to address other important issues that workers face in the industry. “

Fast food chains like McDonald’s operate under a franchise model, in which most restaurants are owned by franchisees, not the company. That makes organizing workers difficult because they have to unionize store by store and negotiate with both the corporation and individual franchise owners, Jacobs said.