Hundreds Of Fast-Food Workers In The US Protest Against Low Wages, Arrested, Including Gwen Moore
Top Facts On U.S. Fast-Food Workers Protest
U.S. fast-food workers protested inside a Taco Bell restaurant in Kansas City against low wages, demanding a $15 per hour minimum wage. Hundreds of fast-food workers demonstrated in the nation by blocking traffic and creating panic, all with the support of Labor activists.
New York City Police Department said that they arrested 19 protesters who targeted the McDonald's Corp. and some other big chains. Protesters were sitting in the middle of the road, creating obstacles for vehicles. Meanwhile, the Detroit Police Department arrested 24 people for disorderly conduct but later released them. Protesters were also arrested in Chicago, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Las Vegas; the demonstrations were conducted with the support of Fast-Food Forward and Service Employees International Union.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25, and recently, the protesters were able to catch the attention of President Barak Obama to address their concerns on the low minimum wage. Obama responded by recommendeding that employers raise the minimum wage; however, major branders did not take any action, Wall Street Journal reports.
U.S. fast-food workers demonstrated in more than 150 cities, and around 450 were arrested in Manhattan's Times Square to Los Angeles, and nearly 400 were blocked at the Times Square during morning rush, Reuters reports. Protesters carried placards that said "Stick together for $15 and union rights," and some of them decided to hold a sit-in at a McDonald's restaurant, which ultimtely led to the arrest of 19 protesters for disorderly conduct. The organizers reported that 465 protesters were arrested from the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Little Rock, Arkansas, Kansas City, Houston and Nashville.
The protesters blocked two managers inside of two McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles and Milwaukee. Gwen Moore, a U.S. Representative, was one of the prominent persons who came forward with the support of protesters and was also arrested by the police.
Dana Wittman, 38, a protester from Kansas City said that her $9 hour wage at Pizza Hut is insufficient for her family. "I have to choose between paying my rent and putting food on the table," she said.