US Fast Food Workers Protest Low Wages

Fast-food workers in the United States, US on September 4, staged another day of protests in more than 150 US cities as they seek a doubling in hourly pay to $15 and the right to form a union.

Organizers of the protest say it is the biggest protest to date, with fast-food workers from McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and KFC restaurants participating, Home-care workers will also be joining them.

Protesters, many of whom are adults working 40 hours or more per week say they cannot survive on such a pay and are clamoring for $15 per hour that is slightly above the $11 hourly wage.

Dana Wittman, 38, who works for Pizza Hut in Kansas City, Missouri said the Company should pay more. “I am worth more. They make billions a year and I don’t even get health insurance. The CEO gets health insurance. I intend to do whatever it takes to make this company pay a wage that lets me pay my bills without having to go to the government. I don’t think that right now these corporations are listening. They think we will just shut up eventually and go away, but they are wrong,” lamented Wittman.

McDonald’s Corp, Burger King and other major fast-food chains do not own most of their U.S. restaurants and leave pay decisions to their franchisees, who generally say that paying their employees more will be damaging to their firms.

The International Franchise Association, IFA, in a statement said, “Unions, led by the Service Employees International Union, SEIU are hiding behind an altruistic plea for higher wages when what they really want is a shortcut to refill their steadily dwindling membership ranks and coffers.”