Posted on 07/31/2013 6:00:17 AM PDT by IbJensen
More than 100 people were protesting outside a McDonald's in south St. Louis at lunchtime Monday, the first in a series of wildcat strikes and walkouts that are planned to ripple across the region over the next two days.
The protests are part of a national campaign to push for higher wages for fast-food workers and are expected to hit dozens of stores between now and the end of the day Tuesday, culminating in a rally downtown in Kiener Plaza. Workers are advocating for wages of up to $15 per hour, a hike to Missouri's $7.35 per hour minimum wage and the right to form a union without retaliation.
In an interview Monday morning, one of the strikers, 19-year-old Doneshia Babbitt, said she hopes the protests will draw attention to the challenges of making ends meet on jobs that pay less than $8 an hour with no benefits.
"I hope this helps people understand, I hope they get the picture," said Babbitt, who'll be a senior at Jennings High School in the fall, along with her 20-year-old sister, helps support three younger siblings on a job at McDonald's. "A lot of people working these jobs really need the money."
The fast-food protests are being organized by local labor and church groups and are taking place in six other cities this week as well. Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from the Atlanta area, flew in to lend his support as well and said federal legislation is needed to reform an industry that profits handsomely off the backs of low-wage workers.
"It's obscene," he said, pointing to profits and executive pay at big fast-food companies. "And it's not the kind of system that's working for people."
A spokeswoman for McDonald's referred questions to the National Restaurant Association, which had no immediate comment Monday afternoon.
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Activists and fast-food workers are planning more protests for higher wages this week.
Less than two months after workers walked out of dozens of fast-food restaurants in May, a new round of walkouts and street marches are set to start Monday in the St. Louis area. Organizers say there could be walkouts at as many as 50 stores, and have a rally planned for Kiener Plaza downtown Tuesday afternoon.
The push is part of a broader national campaign for higher wages and better working conditions for fast-food workers. Similar protests are planned this week in at least six other cities, including Chicago and Kansas City.
they agreed to that when they took the job, now some of them want to take advantage
ATLAS SHRUGGED, everything the looters did was based on “need”
Making your own at home tastes better too
2.23 Big Macs per hour (Based on the National Average of $3.25 for a single Big Mac.)
“So many don’t realize that those types of success stories occur at McDonalds and other places all over.”
Like you I’ve seen it time and time again. I followed the corporate track and had a very nice career. However I look at my neighbors and most of them started from humble beginnings, worked hard, started businesses and have been very successful economically. It is unfortunate we teach victimization in schools instead of success.
I wish someone would ask Al Sharpton why the groceries in African American neighborhoods are owned by Koreans and the convenience stores are owned by Indians. Also, why present day black skinned African and Caribbean immigrants do quite well economically while American blacks seem trapped in a perpetual cycle of poverty?
Congratulations on your son. I made my daughter work as a youth and she developed a strong work ethic as well as appreciation for the value of a dollar. At age 28, many of her peers are still unemployed. She has a full time job and moonlights on weekends. She is tight as bark with her money.
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