Fast food workers are looking for a boost in the minimum wage as well as looking to make a political statement as they gear up for a nationwide strike beginning next Tuesday.
Fast food workers in the United States are planning a nationwide strike for next Tuesday. The workers are already a strong and potent political force and they are looking to make their plight and a raise in the minimum wage major issues in the forthcoming presidential elections.
The strike will take place in 270 American cities, according to USA Today. The workers have been on a mission to boost the minimum wages in the United States to $15. They are supported by their organization, Fight For $15, who represents fast food workers nationally and who has coordinated the strike for next week.
It will be a day-long attack in 270 cities as fast food workers will gather and protest at city halls and elsewhere in the hope of forcing politicians everywhere to raise the minimum wage. They also hope to force the hands of the leading candidates for president. Other labor groups and organizations will also rally in over 200 cities next Tuesday in support of the fast food workers. Their most visible protest will be in Milwaukee as many thousands will gather at the presidential debate being held by the Republicans in Milwaukee.
The two major political parties are far apart on the issue. The current federal minimum wage stands at $7.25. The leading Democrat candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, both support a move to the $12-$15 range. The Republican candidates, however, want to keep any raise on hold as they believe it will only hurt job growth and the bottom lines for many small businesses.
Fight For $15 has a national agenda to try and register as many as 64 million Americans who are stuck in low wage and minimum wage jobs. They will be targeting those making less than $15 an hour and urge them to register to vote and to vote for the candidates that will help them to achieve more financial independence.
According to several sources, this could be as many as 70 percent of the unregistered voters which could turn out to be just shy of 50 million people. This, the group, envisions, will be some serious leverage come election time.
