Catherwood LibraryILR School

McDonald's Corp. agreed on Monday to pay a penny per pound more to field hands who pick the restaurant chain's tomatoes -- a minuscule-sounding raise that still won plaudits for bringing attention to long-suffering agricultural workers. The high-profile deal, brokered by former President Jimmy Carter, will put more money in the pockets of underpaid migrants, who toil in the Florida sun to fill 32-pound buckets with the tomatoes McDonald's uses in its salads and chicken sandwiches. But of potential greater significance is the way the deal is being characterized: as a template for future negotiations between worker groups and other restaurant and grocery chains to push for improved working conditions in agricultural fields across the country.