Fast-Food Workers Strike for $15-an-Hour Wages

If you're grabbing breakfast at your favorite fast food location in Connecticut this morning, you might find a picket line because workers who want a raise are going on strike.

Fast-food workers in Hartford and New Haven are walking off the job on Thursday as part of a nationwide strikes in more than 150 cities across the United States. They are looking for $15 per hour wages and the right to form a union without retaliation.

Workers are going on strike at Hartford and New Haven major fast-food restaurants, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Dunkin’ Donuts.

The workers have support from clergy, elected officials and members of their communities, but the fast food chains have said they can't afford this and would have to fire fewer people.

McDonald’s has a statement on its Web site about minimum wage.

"At McDonald’s, we offer part-time and full-time employment, benefits and competitive pay based on the local marketplace and job level. McDonald’s and our owner-operators are committed to providing our respective employees with opportunities to succeed, and we have a long, proven history of providing advancement opportunities for those who want it. We invest in training and professional development that helps them learn practical and transferable business skills whether at McDonald’s or elsewhere. It’s important to know approximately 80% of our global restaurants are independently owned and operated by small business owners, who are independent employers that comply with  local and federal laws.
 
This is an important discussion that needs to take into account the highly competitive nature of the industries that employ minimum wage workers, as well as consumers and the thousands of small businesses which own and operate the vast majority of McDonald’s restaurants."


 

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