McDonald's workers in Connecticut joined thousands of others across the country in a protest for $15-per-hour wages.
Breaunna Jones, who works at a Manchester franchise, joined the demonstration at a McDonald's Restaurant on Washington Street in Hartford on Thursday.
She said $15 per hour could change her life.
"It would make me live comfortably and I wouldn’t be struggling like I am now," Jones said.
Yesterday, McDonald's announced plans to increase benefits and wages to employees of all corporate-held stores around the country. The wage increases would amount to at least $1 above the locally-set minimum wage at those locations.
However, those increases are not bound to locally-owned franchises, which comprise most McDonald's stores.
“In general, everyone should be getting $15 an hour," Jones said from the sidewalk. "It should be recognized that it doesn’t matter if it’s fast food; it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. You should be getting paid a decent amount for any type of work you’re doing.”
In a statement from a spokesman for McDonald's wrote:
"McDonald's is a franchisor and as such does not control the policies of our independent owner/operators. The independent franchisees set wages for their own employees based on the local marketplace."
Jones, who makes $9 per hour, said she wants to see those local owners make a change that will be better for their employees.
“Everyone should be getting paid a decent amount, period," she said.
