Fast food workers in eight cities around the country are preparing a massive walkout next week to demand better pay and the right to unionize. Just before Labor Day on August 29th, workers from McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and KFC will leave their posts and take to the streets to call attention to their situation. Similar protests have been unfolding throughout this year as workers fight to receive a living wage.
Most workers at fast food restaurants make around $7.25 per hour; workers are aiming for an increased wage of $15 per hour, a figure actually capable of sort of sustaining a meager existence. “Fifteen an hour I think is more than fair. We should ask for more, but we’re being nice," KFC shift supervisor Shenita Simon explained to the Daily News. "They are building the company on our backs.”
There's no doubt it's impossible to live on a fast food salary—and that's even if your boss isn't robbing you. Workers hope these demonstrations will cause widespread change in a system that doesn't seem to care about its workers.
