http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-29/fast-food-workers-strike-for-higher-wages-in-u-s-cities.html

Fast-Food Workers Strike for Higher Wages in U.S. Cities

Thousands of fast-food workers from restaurants such as McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) andWendy’s Co. (WEN) walked off the job beginning today to protest for higher pay.

Employees of fast-food eateries are striking in New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Missouri, and Flint, Michigan, this week, organizers said in an e-mailed statement. The workers, who also are demanding the right to form a union without retaliation, are organized by groups such as New York Communities for Change, Jobs with Justice and Action Now. The Service Employees International Union is providing money to the campaigns and helping to organize the strikes.

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Workers from restaurants such as Wendy’s Co. and McDonald’s Corp. will strike in several U.S. cities this week, calling for higher pay and the right to form a union without retaliation. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

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July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Donald Thompson, chief executive officer of McDonald’s Corp., talks about the company's growth strategy, new menu items and business in China. Thompson, speaking with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop," also talks about the U.S. economy and hiring plans. (Source: Bloomberg)

American fast-food and retail workers have been striking this year for higher wages, and the protest starting today seeks wages of $15 an hour, 66 percent higher than the $9.02 that U.S. fast-food cooks earn, on average. In April, employees from McDonald’s and Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM), which owns the KFC and Taco Bell chains, joined workers from Macy’s Inc. (M) and L Brands Inc. (LTD)’s Victoria’s Secret chain in walking off the job in Chicago and New York for higher pay.

“With the Occupy movement and discussion about the 1 percent, people are much more aware about the increase in inequality,” Janet Currie, an economics and policy affairs professor at Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, said during an interview. “There are a lot of people right at the top of the distribution who are doing better than that segment of the population has since the 1920s, and that’s driving a lot of the income inequality.”

Occupy Movement

Occupy Wall Street, which began in 2011 in Manhattan, is a movement against multinational corporations, large banks and the richest 1 percent of people, according to the group’s website. The group has helped to make Americans more aware of income inequality as legislators debate laws about wages and benefits for low-paid workers.

Congress last voted to raise the federal minimum wage in 2007 and President Barack Obama’s call to raise it to $9 an hour from $7.25 has recently gone nowhere with lawmakers. Certain states set minimum wage above the federal standard; minimum hourly pay in Illinois, for example, is $8.25.

McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson said last week that McDonald’s is an “above minimum-wage employer” during an interview on Bloomberg TV. The world’s largest restaurant chain, with more than 14,100 U.S. locations, will continue to provide entry-level jobs, he said.

“The majority of McDonald’s restaurants across the country are owned and operated by independent business men and women where employees are paid competitive wages, and have access to flexible schedules and quality, affordable benefits,” Ofelia Casillas, a spokeswoman for Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s, said in an e-mail.

Adding Jobs

The leisure and hospitality industry, which includes restaurants, is adding jobs faster than any other sector in the U.S. In June, the sector added 75,000 jobs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fast-food cooks make $9.02 an hour, or about $18,760 a year, on average, according to 2012 data from the Washington-based agency.

Workers from Burger King Worldwide Inc. (BKW), Domino’s Pizza Inc. (DPZ) and Subway restaurants are also striking this week.

To contact the reporter on this story: Leslie Patton in Chicago at lpatton5@bloomberg.net

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I expect millions of deaths in the US

Won't affect me! I'll be down here in Florida enjoying my Wendy's. (Even though I haven't been to Wendy's in months...)

Also, we have plenty other Fast Food Chains we could go to. Trust me... there are a lot.

Edit: $15? Who are they kidding?

$15 an hour? Haha. Well, on the bright side, that might raise fast food prices enough to the point where Americans decide it's not worth it anymore and start eating healthy.

Yeah, who am I kidding?

We are all going to starve!

It's a negotiating position. They'll accept $10 most likely.

I think this is a great thing. The state should not have to subsidise fast food restaurants with income support.

On their current pay, they currently don't earn enough to live (house, utilities, transport, food) without working a second job or getting handouts from the state.

You would think though a place like Mcdonalds which brings in well over $30 billion a year could stand to pay out abit more to their employees. Same goes for Walmart which is the 2nd or 3rd grossing company in the world! Yet their employees still make minimum wage.

On a side note i do not agree with the $15 an hour though because lets face it they have some people that just do nothing but drop fries into the grease... Yeah no way you should be making $15 an hour to do that.... Id agree more along the lines of $10 an hour would be a great starting pay.

$10 seems a lot more reasonable. Currently, it is too low. But, a 66% increase just sounded overboard.

100% increase in the minumum wage! impressive, why not 1000%, why not $200/hr. why stop at $15

I expect a 3% increase plus a free happy meal a month.. Like there aren't millions of people wanting a job at Mcdonalds..