Fast food workers strike in honor of MLK

Fast food workers strike in honor of MLK

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The demonstrations would take place in more than 15 cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles. The strike was organized by supporters of Fight for $ 15 and a Union, the group of workers who are working to raise the federal minimum wage from $ 7.25 to $ 15 an hour and grant collective bargaining rights to fast food workers, who black and brown are out of proportion.
Allynn Umel, organizational director of $ 15, said the organization’s case is one that King would advocate, noting that the civil rights icon stepped up in support of labor rights for sanitary workers in Memphis a day before he was assassinated in 1968. is.

“There are workers in the South who continue the legacy of fighting for racial and economic justice because they know these fights are intertwined,” Umel told CNN Business on Friday.

Nearly 20% of the estimated 3.9 million fast food workers in America are black, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, although black Americans make up only 13% of the U.S. population. Umel said fast food businesses that support King’s legacy and want to continue his fight against institutional racism can start by raising their employees’ wages and leaving them unions.

“Raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour is one of the most powerful tools for uplifting black and colored workers,” she said.

Fight for $ 15 and a Union Protest in Memphis, TN, January 15, 2021.
The striking protesters work at many of the country’s most popular chains, including McDonald’s (MCD), Taco Bell and Burger King.

McDonald’s chef Rita Blalock, 54, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was one of dozens of fast food employees who took part in a caravan rally outside a McDonald’s restaurant in nearby Durham on Friday.

Blalock said her employer cut back on her hours in March when Covid-19 shutdowns caused many fast-food chains to lose business. Since then, Blalock, who says she earns $ 10 an hour, has been struggling to pay her bills. She said McDonald’s could improve her situation by raising their minimum wage nationwide and granting workers like him guaranteed benefits, including medical insurance and paid sick leave.

“I could not pay rent, and could not eat many times,” she told CNN Business. “If you can’t just go to work for so many hours, you do not have enough to cover what you have to cover in the first place.”

Rita Blalock goes on strike with workers in Durham, NC on January 15, 2021.

McDonald’s said it unequivocally supported the need for racial equality and social justice and that Friday’s strike did not reflect how it protected more than 800,000 people during the pandemic and provided jobs. The company stopped driving in 2019 against raising the federal minimum wage, saying elected officials have the responsibility to debate, change and set the standards.

“We strive to ensure that everyone who works under the Arches turns up every day for a safe and inclusive workplace that provides access to ongoing opportunities,” McDonald’s spokeswoman Jesse Lewin said in an email.

Wanda Lavender works as a manager at a Popeyes in Milwaukee. The 39-year-old single of six took part in a caravan protest outside a McDonald’s in Milwaukee on Friday afternoon. She said she earns $ 12 an hour and works more than 50 hours a week at Popeyes. Lavender says she has not been paid for sick leave or holidays since 2019.

“These are the things we fought for more than 50 years ago, and we are fighting for the same things now,” she said.

Popeyes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Umar Benson, a worker who went on strike on January 15, 2021 with Fight for $ 15 and a Union in Durham, NC.

A turning point

Umel said the Fight for $ 15 movement reached a milestone in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced many Americans to investigate the plight of the largely black and brown working poor. Fast food employees make up a large portion of the essential workers who kept working while many other Americans worked from home.
In the beginning, many struggled to find personal protective equipment that they could wear during work, while their employers scrambled to provide them with masks, gloves, and cleaning supplies.
The saga played on the news throughout the year in front of a largely captivated audience of remote workers and the unemployed. As a result, 20 states have agreed to raise their minimum wage, and President-elect Joe Biden is calling for the federal minimum to be raised to $ 15 an hour as part of his proposed $ 1.9 Covid-19 aid package. billion.

“This moment really comes down to a change and a realization of the value of work,” Umel said. “It’s an acknowledgment that it’s far beyond the time to make it happen.”

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