McDonald’s has found itself at the center of growing public scrutiny.
The People’s Union USA, a grassroots advocacy group based in Illinois, has launched a weeklong boycott against the fast-food giant over its quiet rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Kicking off Tuesday (June 25) and running through Monday (June 30), the protest is being billed as “a show of strength, solidarity, people-powered change,” said John Schwarz, founder of The People’s Union, in a post on Instagram.
“Let them feel it,” he added. “Let them hear us. Let this be just the beginning.”
The boycott comes months after McDonald’s announced it was scaling back its DEI programs in January 2025, citing “a shifting legal landscape” following President Donald Trump’s executive orders eliminating federal DEI mandates.
Despite this reasoning, other major corporations, including Costco and Delta, have continued their DEI efforts, with legal experts pointing out that private companies are under no obligation to comply with the president’s directive.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump works behind the counter during a campaign event at McDonald’s restaurant on October 20, 2024 in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania. Trump is campaigning the entire day in the state of Pennsylvania. Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris continue to campaign in battleground swing states ahead of the November 5th election.
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McDonald’s first launched its DEI initiatives in 2021, following mounting public pressure from employee-led sexual harassment lawsuits and a racial discrimination suit filed by Black former franchise owners.
At the time, CEO Chris Kempczinski wrote in a LinkedIn post, “As a world-leading brand that considers inclusion one of our core values, we will accept nothing less than real, measurable progress in our efforts to lead with empathy, treat people with dignity and respect, and seek out diverse points of view to drive better decision-making.”
Pedestrians walk past a pro-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) sign that features pictures of President Donald Trump and University of Michigan President Santa Ono on the Michigan campus on April 3, 2025 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Last week the university announced it was closing its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Office of Healthy Equity and Inclusion, and its DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, all in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on DEI.
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Now, critics argue the company is failing to live up to that pledge. The backlash also comes amid troubling financial news for McDonald’s, which recently reported its weakest U.S. sales quarter since the COVID-19 pandemic began. “People are just visiting less,” executives admitted during a May earnings call.
McDonald’s joins a growing list of corporations facing consumer revolt for backpedaling on DEI commitments. Target, for instance, saw significant financial losses after Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant called for a nationwide boycott in March, underscoring the increasing power of organized economic resistance movements like The People’s Union.
As the boycott gains momentum, Schwarz and his supporters hope the pressure will send a clear message to corporate America: inclusion can’t be optional.
A sign stands outside of a McDonald’s restaurant February 9, 2009 in San Francisco, California. Fast food chain restaurant McDonald’s reported a 7.1 percent increase in same store sales for January as people look towards cheaper food alternatives in the weakening economy.
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