McDonald’s Corp. has hired former White House spokesman Robert Gibbs to be its new top public relations official. The move comes as the fast food giant is fighting an effort by organized labor to unionize its restaurants that is being boosted by administration appointees.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook called Gibbs a “highly respected, talented [leader] who will bring a wealth of experience and outside perspective to McDonald’s as we build a more modern, progressive burger company.
“In his new role, Gibbs will lead McDonald’s corporate relations group, which manages internal and external communications and government and public affairs. He will lead McDonald’s in communicating clear, coordinated messages to internal and external constituencies, enhancing the brand and supporting corporate strategies,” the company said in its announcement.
McDonald’s hire will boost its efforts to counter the bad PR it is getting from liberal groups. A liberal activist leader who requested anonymity scorned Gibbs for accepting the job.
“Well, this completes Robert Gibbs’ fall from grace. He went from being a ham-handed mouthpiece defending Larry Summers, Goldman Sachs and Wall Street criminals in the White House to being a mouthpiece for the Hamburglar,” the liberal leader said.
Besides lagging sales, the fast-food giant is facing a PR pressure campaign from the two million-member Service Employees International Union, which is backing activist groups such as Fast Food Forward and Fight for $15 that hold protests at restaurants demanding higher wages for workers. SEIU poured $23 million into the effort last year, up from $17 million in 2013, according to financial disclosure filings with the Labor Department. The union did not respond to a request for comment.
McDonald’s is also fighting labor rights violation charges related to the protests by the National Labor Relations Board. The case is being closely watched by business groups, since the board has said the franchiser company is a “joint employer” with the individual, privately owned franchisee restaurants where the violations allegedly occurred — a potentially major shift in federal labor law.
The board is the federal agency that enforces labor law. It has an Obama-appointed majority and its general counsel is Richard Griffin, a former top lawyer with the International Union of Operating Engineers. Griffin initiated the “joint employer” charge last year.
An estimated 80 percent of McDonald’s restaurants are privately owned, according to the company. A declaration that the parent corporation is a joint employer with them would make organizing McDonald’s workers much easier since it would allow the unions to target a single entity rather than going restaurant-by-restaurant.
The bad PR and focus on healthy eating have taken a toll on the company’s brand. Sales were down 2.2 percent in May from the previous year.
“Returning excitement to our business proposition and brand is foundational to our turnaround plan, and Robert … will play [a] critical [role] in bringing this strategy to life,” Easterbrook said. In April, he announced that McDonald’s would raise wages at all corporate-owned restaurants by $1 above local minimum wage starting July 1.
An industry source who requested anonymity said Gibbs was a smart choice to help the company tell its story to people who may not have been listening before.
“Just as Gibbs helped convey the hopes and dreams of President Obama to Americans, he can help McDonald’s specifically, and the franchise industry generally, convey the positive franchise story amid the unfounded and unprecedented attacks coming at them,” the source said.
Gibbs was Obama’s first press secretary, assuming the role after the inauguration and remaining there through February 2011. He had served as the president’s spokesman during his 2004 Illinois Senate race and his 2008 presidential race. Prior to that, Gibbs had served as spokesman for John Kerry during his 2004 presidential bid and for South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings, among other Democratic lawmakers.
After he left the White House, Gibbs founded the Incite Agency, a PR firm, with another White House alumni, Ben LaBolt. Last year, the firm was hired by the Partnership for Educational Justice, a group promoting educational reforms, including ending teacher tenure, that are fiercely opposed by teachers’ unions.
