A strike has been organized on Monday, July 29 by thousands of minimum-wage employees, most of them in the quick-service-restaurant (QSR) industry, in seven cities, including New York City; Chicago; St. Louis; Detroit; Milwaukee; Kansas City, Missouri; and Flint, Michigan. The workers are planning to walk off their jobs in a push to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, as well as the right to form a union without retaliation. The minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour and is the standard in 30 states. The last time the minimum wage was raised was in 2009.
The QSR chains involved including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Domino’s, and KFC. Retail workers at stores, including Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret and Dollar Tree are expected to join them. The walkouts are expected to extend through Aug. 1.
The campaigns are being run by local labor-community-clergy alliances that include groups such as New York Communities for Change, Jobs with Justice, Action Now, 99 Pastors, and Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is providing financial and technical support to the campaigns and is lending staff to help train organizers in each city.
Several national labor groups across the country are supporting the campaign. Change to Win is providing research and communications support. Local labor groups are also representing workers in each city.
Despite the mounting pressure from QSR employees, McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson told Bloomberg Television this week that the chain has “always been an above-minimum wage employer” that provides opportunity to rise through the system and “gain greater wealth.”
