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Fast Food Workers Walk Out To Fight For $15/Hour Wages, Right To Unionize
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 29, 2013
Modified Aug 29, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 29, 2013
Modified Aug 29, 2013
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Fast food workers are walking out on their jobs today to once again protest low wages, demand the right to unionize and fight for better working conditions. The strikes are occurring in 50 cities including New York City, where there are multiple walk-outs plus a rally planned.
The first walkout was at the McDonald's at 341 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. City Council Speaker and mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn was there, as was City Council Member and Public Advocate hopeful Letitia James. James invoked Martin Luther King Jr., quoting the civil rights leader, "It is a crime for people to live in this rich nation and receive starvation wages."
Here's today's schedule:
- 6:30 am McDonald’s, 341 5th Ave
- 11:15 am Wendy's, 85 Nassau St.
- 12:00 pm March to Burger King at 106 Fulton
- 12:15 Burger King, 106 Fulton
- 3:00 Rally at Union Square
- 3:30 March to Wendy's, 20 E 14th
Workers participating in the walk-out complained about the $200 billion fast food industry. Shaniqua Davis, 20-year-old Bronx resident with a child, said that her schedule keeps changing and she never gets 40 hours of work a week. She told the AP her checks are $150 or lower, "One of my paychecks, I only got $71 on there. So I wasn't able to do much with that. My daughter needs stuff, I need to get stuff for my apartment."
In statements, Burger King said, "As a corporation, we respect the rights of all workers; however, Burger King Corp. does not make hiring, firing or other employment-related decisions for our franchisees," and McDonald's said, "McDonald’s aims to offer competitive pay and benefits to our employees. Our history is full of examples of individuals who worked their first job with McDonald’s and went on to successful careers." McDonald's also said that raising wages would mean things would get expensive for customers, "That would potentially have a negative impact on employment and business growth in our restaurants, as well as value for our customers."
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burger king
fast food
fast food rally
fast food walk out
mcdonald's
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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