News / Economy

Fast-food workers protest in 236 US cities

Wednesday, 15 April 2015 11:41 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 16 April 2015 12:57 AM ]

People participate in rally in front of a McDonald’s in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2015.

Low-income fast-food employees and their supporters have held rallies in hundreds of US cities against McDonald’s and other major fast-food restaurants, demanding better working conditions.

In their biggest protest yet for higher pay and union rights, tens of thousands of American fast-food workers staged demonstrations on Wednesday in 236 cities across the United States, including New York, Chicago, Miami and Washington.

Hundreds of protesters were arrested across the country, reports said.

American fast-food workers have been pushing for living wages of around $15 an hour for more than two years.

Earlier this month, McDonald’s announced that it would raise wages and offer paid vacation to employees at US company-owned stores.

The McDonald’s announcement has energized the protesters, said Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, the labor organization supporting the demonstrations.

“It showed that if we come together, things can change,” Henry said. “There’s momentum behind working people joining together to improve their lives. That’s what this movement is about.”

The efforts began with 200 workers in New York City in November 2012 and have since become a regular occurrence across the US every three or four months.

US President Barack Obama has been calling for a raise in the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10, in an attempt to reduce the country’s increasing income inequality. The US minimum wage has not been increased since 2009.

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