Fast-food workers go on strike
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Fast-food protests were under way yesterday in US cities including New York, Chicago and Detroit, with organizers expecting the biggest national walkouts yet in a demand for higher wages.
The push has brought considerable attention to the so-called “McJobs” that are known for their low pay and limited prospects.
Fast-food workers say they can’t live on what they’re paid. Workers say they want US$15 an hour, which would be about US$31,000 a year for full-time employees. That’s more than double the federal minimum wage, which many fast food workers make, of US$7.25 an hour, or US$15,000 a year.
The move comes amid calls from the White House, some members of Congress and economists to raise the minimum wage, which was last raised in 2009. But most proposals seek a far more modest increase than the one workers want. US President Barack Obama wants to raise the minimum wage to US$9 an hour.
The restaurant industry says raising wages would hurt job creation and make food cost more.
Organizers said the strikes would hit more than 50 cities, though restaurants were expected to remain open. The Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 2 million works in health care, janitorial and other industries, has been providing financial support and training for local organizers around the country.
Mary Kay Henry, president of the SEIU, said the protests in recent months show that fast-food workers can be mobilized, despite the industry’s relatively higher turnover rates and younger age. “The reality has totally blown through the obstacles,” she said.
US Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said the strikes show the need to raise the minimum wage. In New York City, about 300 to 400 protesters flooded inside a McDonald’s near the Empire State Building. Shortly after the demonstration, however, the restaurant seemed to be operating normally.
McDonald’s Corp and Burger King Worldwide Inc say they don’t make decisions about pay for the independent franchisees that operate the majority of their US restaurants.
Wendy’s said in statement to CNBC that it was “proud to provide a place where thousands of people, who come to us asking for a job, can enter the workface at a starting wage, gain skills and advance with us or move on to something else.”
Yum Brands Inc, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, did not respond to a request for comment.
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