Fast-food and other low-wage workers will be joined by union activists Tuesday for a series of protests in the Bay Area and across the country as part of a continuing campaign for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. On its Twitter page, the group “Fight for $15” describes itself as an “International movement of underpaid workers taking a stand against poverty wages”.
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This comes amid the announcement Tuesday from Governor Cuomo’s office that state workers would see an increase to a $15 hourly wage. Ohio’s minimum wage is $8.10 an hour and is tied to the to the federal Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
Though critics state that the direction of the campaign is unclear without a sustainable model for labor activism, the growth of the movement has drawn political attention and prompted a response with its symbolic date exactly one year before the 2016 presidential election.
Bobby Parnell watched the protest across the street.
“A lot of us work hard and still have nothing to show for it”, home healthcare worker Jasmine Almodovar told newsnet5.com. McDonald’s Corp., based in Oak Brook, Illinois, said in a statement Tuesday that wages at US restaurants it owns increased $1 over the local minimum wage in July, affecting about 90,000 employees.
Her rival for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who backs a $15 federal minimum wage, also rallied with protesters in Washington. He said people were having to choose between buying food, paying rent and other bills.
Following the strike, home care, retail, restaurant workers and more will rally at Boston’s Faneuil Hall before marching on the State House.
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“These are choices we should not have to make living in a country as rich as America”, he said. Restaurants also could cut staff, harming service and driving away customers, he said.
