After snatching up support from airport workers, fast-food employees fighting for a living wage have gathered support from workers in another industry.
Last week, cooks and cashiers at McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and other major national chains went on strike in more than 190 cities in the United States. Tagging along for the first time were convenience store clerks and dollar store workers in two dozen cities.
“Every day I look my kids in the face and they realize we live in poverty. They are the reason I fight,” said Terrence Wise in a statement. The 35-year-old father of three makes $9.30 an hour at a Burger King in Kansas City, Mo., and was the recent subject of a major New York Times profile published last week. “It’s inspiring to see airport, home care and retail workers fighting for $15, too. This movement is larger than ever, and we are going to keep standing up until we win.”
Dollar store workers want to win as well.
Workers from discount stores such as Dollar Tree and Family Dollar and convenience stores such as Speedway and BP decided to walk off their jobs Thursday in protest, which forced many of the stores to close early.
“It doesn’t matter if you work in a dollar store or a convenience store, in a fast-food restaurant, at the airport or in someone’s home—we are all struggling to survive,” said Andrew Ferguson in a statement. “We can’t support our families on these low wages. We are tired of it, and we’re ready to fight for more.” Ferguson works at a Dollar Tree in Detroit and makes $8.30 an hour.
Dollar store and convenience store workers are the latest to join the movement. Since September, Fight for $15 has picked up baggage handlers, skycaps, wheelchair attendants and aircraft cleaners from 10 major airports and home care workers.
Sue Buckland, a home care worker in Denver, makes an hourly wage of $10 after seven years on the job. “We work hard to care for seniors and people with disabilities, but we aren’t paid enough to cover basic bills for food, clothing and rent for our own families,” she said. “We’re joining with fast-food, airport and retail workers because we can’t wait any longer for higher wages.”
Across the country, cooks and cashiers marched through fast-food establishments and drive-thrus as well. Wearing shirts that read “Lucha Por $15,” workers in Phoenix got their point across. Similar events happened in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Knoxville, Tenn. The Rev. Dr. William Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP, joined workers in Greensboro, N.C., on the picket line and advocated on their behalf.
“This battle for fair wages is as critical as the battle young people waged in the 1960s, when they demanded a right to sit at lunch counters,” said Barber in a statement. “If we invest in living wages and pay $15 to fast-food workers, more money is going to go into the economy, more jobs are going to open up. It is a win for the entire country.”
