‘We make the wheels turn’: Workers find power in Fight for $15 movement
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In the latest worker-led national day of action, low-wage fast food, restaurant, and grocery store workers held day-long strikes across 15 cities Tuesday, demanding $15 an hour and the ability to unionize at large corporations like McDonald’s, Burger King,‘We make the wheels turn’: Workers find power in Fight for $15 movement
In the latest worker-led national day of action, low-wage fast food, restaurant, and grocery store workers held day-long strikes across 15 cities Tuesday, demanding $15 an hour and the ability to unionize at large corporations like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Cracker Barrel. These actions, held during Black History Month, emphasized how low wages and insufficient job protections have disproportionately affected Black workers, making them more vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis. Increasingly, those who oppose increasing the federal minimum wage argue that mandating $15 an hour would lead to widespread layoffs disproportionately affecting Black workers. There is no basis for this myth. In fact, raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour would lift wages for nearly 40% of Black workers, making significant steps toward reducing the racial income gap. Black workers also report that raising the federal minimum wage could help alleviate the mental health issues directly linked to living below the poverty line. The early days of the Biden administration have presented a moment of opportunity for the Fight for $15 and a Union, a movement that began in 2012 when 200 fast food workers walked off the job to demand $15 an hour and union rights in New York City. Legislation to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour is currently moving through Congress as part of the Biden administration’s first COVID-19 relief package. Ieisha Franceis, a Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers worker, told Prism that it’s not that the Biden administration is “receptive” to increasing the federal minimum wage; it’s that elected officials have been “worn down” by workers like her. Read more