Hundreds of protesters storm McDonald's headquarters

Hundreds of protesters stormed McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois on Wednesday.

The crowds forced law enforcement to close several roads, according to the Chicago Tribune. A nearby McDonald's restaurant also had to temporarily shut down.

The protesters are demanding higher wages and better working conditions for fast-food employees.

They are specifically calling on McDonald's to pay a $15 minimum hourly wage.

The demonstration comes one day before McDonald's annual shareholders meeting. Another protest is planned for the day of the meeting.

Police were expecting at least 5,000 protesters to participate in Wednesday's event, which was organized by the Service Employees International Union's Fight for $15 campaign.

McDonald's workers from as far as New York and Kansas City participated, according to the Tribune.

The company asked some corporate employees not to report to work on Wednesday due to the protests.

Here's what the parking lot of the headquarters looked like before protesters arrived.

McDonald's announced last month that it would be raising wages by more than 10%, but the increase applies to only a fraction of its workers.

The fast food chain said the change would not impact franchisee-owned restaurants, which account for 90% of the more than 14,000 McDonald's locations in the US. That means that just 10% of employees will see a pay bump.

The change will increase the average hourly wage from $9.01 to $9.90 for employees of company-owned restaurants. By the end of 2016, McDonald's expects the average hourly wage for those workers to exceed $10.