Fast food workers strike for higher wages
Bruce Horovitz, Yamiche Alcindor,Calum MacLeod, Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY8:58 a.m. EDT May 15, 2014
NEW YORK — Hundreds of fast food workers walked off their jobs in dozens of U.S. cities on Thursday — reportedly forcing at least a few locations to temporarily close or re-staff while mostly managers filled-in — as sympathetic protesters in several dozen countries joined in a united call for wages of $15 an hour and the right to form a union.
No violence was reported early Thursday. Restaurants such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and KFC are being targeted. The strike, targeting the $200 billion fast-food industry at a time of intense competition, is aimed at directing consumer attention to the low wages of most fast-food workers. The one-day campaign continues protests launched 18 months ago.
Strikers claim that managers opted to close down a Burger King in Dorchester, Mass, where a half dozen workers were striking, but Burger King officials could not immediately confirm that. “During this time, customer service and quality will remain a top priority in Burger King restaurants,” company spokesman Alix Salyers said, in a statement. While McDonald’s officials insist that no McDonald’s restaurants have been closed due to the strike, protesters insist that several have.
In New York City, dozens of workers stood outside a McDonald’s nearby Penn Station demanding higher wages and the right to form a union.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/05/15/fast-food-workers-strike/9114245/
