McDonald’s becomes latest target in growing wave of economic boycotts

California – McDonald’s is the next major corporation in the crosshairs of a coordinated national boycott, as grassroots organizers escalate their campaign of “economic resistance” against what they describe as entrenched corporate misconduct and inequality.

The boycott, scheduled from June 24 through June 30, is being led by The People’s Union USA, a self-described working-class movement that has spent 2025 urging Americans to shift their spending away from corporate giants and toward local businesses. Branded as part of the group’s “Economic Blackout Tour,” the week-long campaign against McDonald’s builds on similar efforts aimed at Amazon, Target, and Walmart earlier this year.

At the center of the campaign is a broad critique of what organizers call systemic abuses: tax avoidance, underpaid workers, and monopolistic control over key segments of the economy. “Economic resistance is working,” said John Schwarz, the group’s founder, in a recent video posted to Instagram. “These companies are feeling it. They’re talking about it. The conversation is happening.”

While McDonald’s has previously responded to wage concerns — notably pledging in a 2019 letter to cease lobbying against minimum wage increases — critics remain skeptical. The People’s Union points to the chain’s global tax strategies and profit margins as evidence that it continues to benefit from a system stacked against working people. The group has called for a cap on corporate profit margins and a commitment to equitable treatment of labor, both domestic and abroad.

The McDonald’s boycott is not the first to affect the fast-food giant. Since late 2023, McDonald’s has faced pressure from the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which alleges corporate complicity with Israeli military actions in Gaza. But while the BDS campaign is internationally focused, The People’s Union situates its grievances firmly within the context of American labor and economic justice.

“This isn’t just about one company,” Schwarz said. “It’s about an entire structure where workers do the lifting and corporations cash the checks.”

The group’s strategy isn’t limited to short-term boycotts. In July, it plans to launch a month-long economic strike against Starbucks, Amazon, and Home Depot. August will bring a renewed push against McDonald’s, Walmart, and Lowe’s.

Although McDonald’s has not publicly addressed the latest boycott call, the broader movement reflects a growing appetite for grassroots action — not just protest, but a consumer strategy aimed at recalibrating the power dynamics between workers and the multinational firms that dominate everyday life.