Fast-food wage protests kick o in New York, spread to other

cities
By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela sta
Aug. 30, 2013 4:00 AM
David Atten, right, joins others in demonstrating as he presses a sign to the window of a Churchs Chicken
during a one-day strike coinciding with strikes at other fast-food restaurants across the U.S., Aug. 29, 2013, in
Atlanta. Workers are demanding $15 an hour and the right to form a union.
NEW YORKA crowd of chanting workers gathered on Aug. 29 at a McDonalds in Manhattan
to call for higher wages and the chance to join a union, kicking o a day of protests that organizers
said will spread to 50 cities and 1,000 fast-food restaurants across the country.
About 500 people, including workers, activists, religious leaders, news crews and local politicians,
showed up outside the McDonalds on Fifth Avenue. The protesters chanted Si Se Puede (Yes,
We Can in Spanish) and Hey, hey, ho, ho $7.25 has got to go.
Some held signs saying On Strike: Cant Survive on $7.25, referring to the federal minimum
wage.
The protesters planned to spread out to other stores throughout New York during the day. Protests
are also expected in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., and other cities.
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Think Tank Touts Robot Replacements
Meanwhile, a Washington-based think tank placed a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street
Journal to address the protest. The ad, by the Employment Policies Institute, shows a picture
of a robot making pancakes. It explains that restaurants have to pay workers less to keep prices
low. Otherwise, they might need to switch to robots if wages get too high.
Why Robots Could Soon Replace Fast Food Workers Demanding a Higher Minimum Wage, the
ad reads.
The fast-food protests rst began in New York on Nov. 29. There have been three protests in New
York since then, and they have spread to Chicago and other cities.
Thursdays protest was to be the rst for fast-food workers in Los Angeles and other cities.
This is our fourth strike in New York, and now we have 50 cities striking with us, said Tyeisha
Batts, 27, one of the protesters, who has worked in fast food for six years. Im ready for a
change.
They Dont Respect Us As Human
The protests come as more workers in blue- and white-collar jobs begin to stand up and demand
better working conditions. But the fast-food protests are unique because they are not targeting
one employer or company, but a whole industry. In Chicago, for instance, workers are expected to
strike at Wendys, Subway and McDonalds outlets. In New York, theyre to be at Wendys and
Burger King along with McDonalds.
Derrick Langley, 27, stood in front of the chanting crowd, pointing to scars on his arms that he said
came from cleaning the grill in the KFC restaurant where he works. He also has a second-degree
burn on his right foot, he said.
They dont seem to care, he said about his employers. Its horrible how they manage us, how
they talk to us, how they treat us. They dont respect us as human.
The fast-food industry used to employ mostly younger people just trying to make some extra money
as they went through school. Now, workers are older and depend on the work to feed their families.
Studies by the Economic Policies Institute show that the average age of minimum-wage workers is
now 35, and that 88 percent are 20 and older.
This morning, Im out here taking a stand for all the fast-food workers around the world, Langley
said. If youre not going to stand up for yourselves, we will.
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