A union-funded activist group called Fight for $15 says thousands of people will participate Tuesday in nationwide protests demanding higher wages at fast-food restaurants, but business associations expect few, if any, actual workers to join in despite the fact that the events are being promoted as a “strike.”
Past events staged by the activist group, which is primarily funded by organized labor, almost entirely featured protesters who were bused in, representatives for the business groups argued.
“Organizers claim there will be ‘strikes’ in 270 locations, although if history is any guide only a few cities will see more than a handful of protesters and virtually no one will actually go on strike,” said Glenn Spencer, director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Workforce Freedom Initiative.
Christin Fernandez, spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association, echoed that assessment. “Historically, we have not seen many employees, if any, walk out.”
Even Fight for $15’s own announcements for the event sidestep the question of who will show up. An email sent out Monday stated, “Tens of thousands are protesting for $15” but notably does not say they will be restaurant workers. The email was blasted out on lists for progressive activists and encourages anyone to join in.
A spokesman for Fight for $15 did not respond to a request for comment. The group is financed by the Service Employees International Union, which has long sought to organize fast-food workers. SEIU spent at least $23 million on the campaign in 2014 alone, according to financial disclosures filed with the Labor Department. Fight for $15’s website does not disclose its link to SEIU.
“The simple truth is, these protests won’t be about workers or wages at all, but about the labor leaders who are pinning their own professional hopes on unionizing fast-food workers. Selling union memberships to this sector would be a huge revenue boost, worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually, for the struggling union industry,” Spencer said.
Fernandez dismissed the announcements as little more than a PR campaign, adding that most fast-food restaurants are private businesses that merely rent out the corporate brand. “SEIU thinks that by protesting outside of a larger brand they are ‘sending a message to corporate’ when in reality, they are causing disturbances to the hardworking men and women that may own only one or two restaurants and all of their patrons.”
Previous events staged by the group have failed to live up to the hype. In March, it announced that thousands would participate in events at more than 230 cities nationally on April 15. That day, rallies compromising of a few hundred people were reported in major cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and most of the demonstrators did not work at the restaurants, and even those included some people from outside the area.
