Fast food workers from around 150 cities across the United States went on strike early Thursday in an effort to secure higher wages and the right to join a union.
At least 19 demonstrators were arrested Thursday morning in New York City’s Times Square, police told the Daily News, with similar results being reported out of Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Indianapolis and elsewhere as employees at eateries from coast-to-coast rally for an industry minimum wage of $15 and the ability to unionize.
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“The company should pay me more. I am worth more,” Dana Wittman, a 38-year-old Pizza Hut employee in Kansas City, Missouri who makes $9 an hour told the Guardian this week. “They make billions a year and I don’t even get health insurance. The CEO gets health insurance.”
In all instances, protesters have been causing a commotion in hopes of raising awareness of their intent to set a $15 minimum wage for industry workers across the board. Last year, a report from the National Employment Law Project revealed that the median hourly wage for cooks, cashiers and crews at these restaurants is $8.94.