Low wage earners rally across U.S. in ‘Fight for $15’

Low wage earners rally across U.S. in 'Fight for $15'
UPI

NEW YORK, April 15 (UPI) — Low wage earners in multiple industries on Wednesday gathered to demonstrate from coast to coast against present minimum wage levels — as part of a two-year-old campaign known as the “Fight for $15″ per hour.

Workers in the fast food, health care, retail and other industries organized the rallies in about 200 U.S. cities — such as New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles. The “Tax Day Rallies,” advocated by labor unions, varied in participation from a couple dozen to thousands of marchers.

Wednesday’s rallies were notable particularly for employees in the fast food industry, who have long been spearheading efforts to bump the minimum wage — which is set by each state’s government, as long as it conforms to the federal minimum.

“I worked Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at McDonald’s, and then Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Burger King,” 56-year-old former industry worker and New York resident Elizabeth Owens said. “And I was making $423 a week after taxes … it’s just not enough.”

In New York, the minimum wage is $8.75 per hour.

Recently, several employers like Walmart and McDonald’s have taken steps to boost their minimum wages. McDonald’s said its wage increase will take effect in July and ensure that every employee will earn at least one dollar more than the minimum hourly wage.

However, the chain’s wage hike only applies to workers at McDonald’s-owned locations — which accounts for just 90,000 employees, or about 10 percent of the chain’s U.S. workers. Most McDonald’s restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, who are responsible for their workers’ wages — a point cited by the Oak Brook, Ill., restaurant in its response to the protests Wednesday.

About 1,000 workers participated in the rally in Los Angeles Wednesday — which included students and faculty at the University of Southern California, which was adjacent to the protest location. In California, the minimum wage is $9 per hour.

“I have to get assistance, I have to get food stamps,” former Walmart employee Monique Velasquez, 39, said. “It’s just hard. If they were to raise to $15 and give me full-time, I’d be able to support my family.”

USC wasn’t the only college campus that participated in Wednesday’s rallies. The University of Illinois at Chicago also supported the marchers and hope that the “Fight for $15″ can also apply to the state’s 8,000 part-time professors, who wish to unionize.

“We demand an end to frivolous spending of our tuition dollars, and a living wage,” student and McDonald’s employee Victor Guzman, 23, said, who noted that Illinois’ $8.25 minimum wage is simply not sufficient.

Hundreds took part in Houston, with many more from the Dallas-Fort Worth area joining in for the Tax Day Rallies. One of the Houston protests was scheduled to occur at an area McDonald’s during the dinner hour, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Texas is one of about two dozen states with a minimum wage no higher than the federally-mandated level, which is just $7.25 per hour. Most have a wage higher than the federal minimum, five have no minimum wage at all, and three have a minimum wage lower than the federal level (with certain stipulations).

Dozens gathered at a Burger King in College Park, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, throughout the day, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Georgia is one of the three states with a minimum wage lower than the federal level. For all businesses that do interstate commerce and more than $500,000 in revenue, the federal level of $7.25 applies.

“I think we deserve $15 an hour and a union, and until we get it I will keep fighting for it,” said home care worker LaTonya Allen, 47, who braved rain showers and a very early morning start time to participate. “We’re bringing more people into it.”

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