Dozens were arrested as fast food workers in 150 cities hit the streets in front of various McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s locations Thursday morning to demand a $15 minimum wage and the right to unionize as part of a union-funded campaign.
Thursday’s protests were designed to be an escalation from the group’s previous tactics.
“There has to be civil disobedience because workers don’t see any other way to get $15 an hour and a union,” Kendall Fells, organizing director of the union-funded organizing group Fast Food Forward, told USA Today. “There’s a long history of this, from the civil rights movement to the farm workers movement.”
MSNBC heard similar comments from demonstrators.
“We are going to break the law,” Nancy Salgado, a McDonald’s employee in Illinois, told MSNBC. “We’ve got to do whatever it takes to win, and we’ve got to do civil disobedience. We’ve got to do it.”
The escalation appears to be working. The group is getting more media attention than previous efforts attracted.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that the “Fight for $15” movement had some high-profile support this week.
President Obama appeared to throw his support behind the movement at a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee. “All across the country right now, there’s a national movement going on made up of fast-food workers organizing to life wages so they can provide for their families with pride and dignity,” Obama said.
New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman also issued a statement in support of the workers: “Nobody who works 40 hours a week should have to live in poverty, and this starts with raising the minimum wage. I applaud the fast food workers across New York State who are standing up for their rights and fighting for a living wage.”
A $15 minimum wage is more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 and would be a major jump for the industry, leading to high levels of unemployment or significant increases in prices. This demand seems to be no more than a political stunt designed to further the member pool of the unions.
McDonald’s is the only party to have mentioned a reasonable solution.
In a statement, McDonald’s said, “We believe that any minimum wage increase should be implemented over time so that the impact on owners and small and medium-sized businesses — like the ones who own and operate the majority of our restaurants — is manageable.”
