Fast Food Workers to Strike and Protest in 200 Cities
The battle over fast food worker wages continues, as walkouts and protests are scheduled to take place in at least 100 cities on Thursday, December 4.
According to the New York Times, “fast-food workers say they will sponsor one-day strikes in 100 cities on Thursday and protest activities in 100 additional cities.” Restaurant chains including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and KFC will all be targeted in demands for a minimum wage of $15-an-hour.
Fast food workers, claiming they simply don’t make enough money to live on, began protesting in November 2012. The movement has picked up significant steam since then with major walkouts happening in cities including New York and Chicago. Groups including Fast Food Forward and Fight for 15 are union-backed efforts supporting the protests that seek to “focus attention on what the groups say are inadequate wages,” reports the Times. The movement is also backed the Service Employees International Union “and is also demanding that restaurants allow workers to unionize without the threat of retaliation.”
Current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and the demands, which would more than double the current minimum, has the National Restaurant Association saying the wage increases would cause fast food chains to fire workers. The restaurant industry also claims that only a small percentage of fast food workers make the minimum and many are paid more.
The protests and strikes on December 4 are expected to bring out thousands across the nation with support from various community, faith and student groups.
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