Fast food employees fight for higher wages Thursday the Associated Press reported Thursday.
"Too many hardworking families are being forced to depend on poverty-level wages," 53 members of Congress said in a letter mailed to restaurant executives, such as McDonald's Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson Bloomberg reported. "Paying fair wages and putting more spending money in the hands of consumers will strengthen our economy."
Employees are striking in 100 cities throughout the United States. Service at some of the restaurants could be full of protestors, while others could have very few disruptions.
Thursday's protests are the second demonstrations since fast food workers last stood up for higher wages in August. Participants will be fighting for higher wages of up to $15 an hour rather than their current hourly rate of $7.25 an hour or $15,000 a year. This comes after the Service Employees International Union's continued efforts to raise awareness about low wages, and fight for more. Over two million members work in the healthcare, and janitorial fields among others.
The average pay for fast food workers across the United States is a little more than $9 an hour which amounts to $18,500 a year CNN Money reported. The number is less than the Census Bureau's poverty income threshold level of $23,000 for a family with four people.
New Jersey has already approved legislation to increase its wages to $8.25 an hour. California, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have already increased their wages.
According to the AP, protestors went into a McDonald's at 6:30 a.m. New York City with signs, whistles, and drums stating their case. "We can't survive on $7.25!" the group said.
Officials spoke about the issue, until police told those involved to vacate the premise.
Workers in New York City who did not report to work on time would be told they cannot work for the day.
