Fast food workers strike across US calling for $15-an-hour minimum wage

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Workers and supporters in large numbers were taking part in rallies planned for 1,000 cities across the nation on Tuesday
They protested for higher wages and union rights in rallies reportedly planned for 1,000 cities
Organizers hope protests and strikes will catch the attention of candidates in 2016 elections
On Tuesday, mayor of Pittsburgh announced a $15 minimum wage for all city workers
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to raise minimum wage for about 10,000 state workers to $15 an hour over next six years

By Associated Press and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 15:28 EST, 10 November 2015 | Updated: 21:33 EST, 10 November 2015

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Thousands of fast-food workers and supporters went on a nationwide strike demanding a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

On Tuesday across 270 cities, workers protested for higher wages and union rights in rallies - which they hope will catch the attention of candidates in 2016 elections, organizers said.

In what has been hailed as the largest rally to date, the walkouts come three years after the advocacy group Fight for $15 started its campaign calling for higher wages, USA Today reported.

Workers from McDonald's, Taco Bell and other chain restaurants protested in cities around the country on Tuesday to push fast food companies to pay them at least $15 an hour.

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Workers from McDonald's, Taco Bell and other chain restaurants protested in cities around the country on Tuesday to push fast food companies to pay them at least $15 an hour. Workers in Los Angeles pictured above

Low wage workers and supporters protest for a $15 an hour minimum wage on Tuesday in New York

A supporter of a $15 minimum wage carries a sign while walking through a Dunkin' Donuts store during a rally at the Capitol on Tuesday

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders also rallied for an increase in pay for low-wage workers at his day-job workplace — the Senate. He delivered remarks during a rally on Tuesday in Washington, DC

The protesters also had a message for presidential candidates - support the cause or lose their vote next year.

Janitors, nursing home workers and package delivery workers also joined some protests, organizers said.

The advocacy group, which began in late 2012 in New York City, is backed by the Service Employees International Union, which represents low-wage workers.

The rallies began early Tuesday across McDonald's outlets in cities including Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Boston, while other protests were occurring for low-paid home care, nursing home, farm, retail and childcare workers, according to CBS.

In New York City, rallies were held in areas including the Financial District, Harlem and Brooklyn.

'Is this the America we believe in? When someone works all day long and they still can't get by,' New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a rally in Downtown Brooklyn.

'Does anyone believe that it's easy to get by in New York City on less than $15 an hour?'

He told protesters that what they have done has 'already changed the city, change the state and change this nation.'

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders also rallied for an increase in pay for low-wage workers at his day-job workplace — the Senate.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio makes an appearance in support of low wage workers, many in the fast-food industry, as they join with supporters to demand a minimum wage of $15 an hour on Tuesday

In what organizers are calling a National Day of Action for $15 and hour minimum wage, thousands of people took to the streets across the country to stage protests in front of businesses that are paying some of their workers the minimum wage

Strikers shown above in New York. A New York state wage board recently agreed to increase the minimum wage for chain fast-food workers in annual increments to $15 by the end of 2018 in New York City and for others by July 1, 2021

Speaking in the rain in a park outside the Senate in Washington, DC on Tuesday, Sanders urged a group of a hundred or more striking and protesting workers to keep up their fight.

Sanders, the Vermont independent, said the workers should make at least $15 an hour and have the right to unionize.

Outside of a McDonald's upstate in Rochester, protesters were seen shouting 'Hold the burgers, hold the fries, we want our wages supersized.'

A New York state wage board recently agreed to increase the minimum wage for chain fast-food workers in annual increments to $15 by the end of 2018 in New York City and for others by July 1, 2021.

On Tuesday, New York's governor announced plans to raise the minimum wage for about 10,000 state workers to $15 an hour over the next six years.

Andrew Cuomo's office said that will initially affect about 1,000 office assistants, custodial workers and lifeguards in New York City, whose hourly wage will reach $15 by the end of 2018.

Another 9,000 employees upstate will see wages rise to that level three years later.

New York's basic minimum wage is now $8.75 and is set to rise to $9 at year's end.

Cuomo has called for a $15 basic minimum, which state Senate Republicans oppose.

In Los Angeles, fast-food workers were joined by home care and childcare workers in strikes on Tuesday, while around 200 workers went on strike in Detroit during the early hours outside of a McDonald's as it rained.

Sanders (pictured speaking with a demonstrator), the Vermont independent, said the workers should make at least $15 an hour and have the right to unionize

Two men hold a sign that says 'Low Wages = Violence #BlackWorkMatters' in Harlem, New York on Tuesday

Supporters of a $15 minimum wage hold signs during a rally on the Great Western Staircase at the Capitol on Tuesday

In Los Angeles, hundreds of low wage and minimum wage workers and activists protested outside of a McDonald's restaurant

Dominique McCrae, who serves fried chicken and biscuits at a Bojangles' restaurant for $7.55 an hour, joined a protest outside a McDonald's in Durham, North Carolina.

Her pay is not enough to cover rent or diapers for her child, the 23-year-old said. She dropped out of college to care for her grandfather, making finances tight.

'We just want to be able to support our families,' said McCrae, who has worked at Bojangles' for two months.

Bojangles' Inc., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, said in a statement that it offers employees 'competitive compensation.'

In Pittsburgh, a McDonald's had a sign out front that said it was closed due to the strike.

On Fight for 15's Twitter it congratulated the city of Pittsburgh and shared news that the city's mayor had announced a $15 minimum wage for all city workers.

Economists have long debated the impact of raising the minimum wage, and some recent research has found that modest increases seldom cost many jobs.

But a jump to $15 an hour would be more than double the federal minimum of $7.25 — a much higher increase than what economists have studied.

It would also be far above the minimum wage's previous peak of just under $11, adjusted for inflation, in 1968.

On Tuesday, the Mayor of Pittsburgh announced a $15 minimum wage for all city workers

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton showed her support of the group's efforts through a tweet on Tuesday

Sanders also wrote on Twitter in support of Fight for $15 writing in the year 2015, 'a job has got to lift workers out of poverty, not keep them in it'

Critics of raising the minimum wage said it would force employers to cut workers in exchange for technology and that it would bring in higher taxes, according to CBS.

DeBlasio disagreed and argued that it actually strengthens the economy and increases employment because 'you need money in the economy for it to be strong.'

A number of Republican candidates reportedly are against raising the federal minimum wage to $15 from $7.25 an hour because they believe it will hurt job growth, USA Today reported.

The protesters are pledging not to vote for presidential candidates that do not support the campaign.

McDonald's worker Adriana Alvarez said she plans to vote for the first time next year, but only for a candidate who wants to raise wages to $15 an hour.

Alvarez, who is 23 and lives in Chicago, said she makes $10.50 an hour, and higher pay can help her move out of the moldy basement apartment she shares with her 3-year-old son.

'I can find a better place,' she said.

Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both showed their support through tweets on Tuesday.

The National Restaurant Association said that with 90 per cent of restaurants being small businesses, they do not have funds to pay workers a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

Vladimir Lopez (right) and his mother Anna Lopez (left) eat their meal as hundreds of low wage and minimum wage workers and activists demonstrate inside of a McDonalds fast food in downtown Los Angeles

The protestors are pledging not to vote for presidential candidates that do not support the campaign

Above a protester marches with other minimum wage workers along Third Avenue in Spokane, Washington

'We can't afford it, obviously we can't afford it,' restaurant owner Jay Wise told CBS. 'Look at how many places are closed right now.'

Following the rallies on Tuesday, a protest was also planned near the Republican debates in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, organizers said.

The protests are occurring against a backdrop of weak wage growth nationwide.

Average hourly pay has increased at roughly a 2.2 per cent annual rate since the recession ended more than six years ago.

In the retail, hotel and restaurant industries, average hourly pay for front-line workers — the roughly 80 percent who aren't managers or supervisors — is below $15.

It was $14.90 in the retail industry in October, the Labor Department said last week, and $13.82 for hotel employees. Restaurant workers, on average, earned $11.51 an hour.

McDonald's Corp., based in Oak Brook, Illinois, said in a statement on Tuesday that wages at U.S. restaurants it owns increased $1 over the local minimum wage in July, affecting about 90,000 employees. But the vast majority of U.S. McDonald's locations are franchised.

Yum Brands Inc., the Louisville, Kentucky-based company behind Taco Bell and KFC, said its employees are paid above minimum wage at its 2,000 company-owned stores.