Fast food pay protests spread across US
Demands for higher wages sees demonstrators target outlets in major cities across the country
A crowd of chanting workers gathered yesterday at a McDonald's in midtown Manhattan to call for higher wages and the chance to join a union.
It marked the start of a day of protests that organisers said would spread to 50 cities and 1,000 outlets across the United States.
About 500 people, including workers, activists, religious leaders, news crews and local politicians, gathered outside the McDonald's on Fifth Avenue. The protesters chanted "Si Se Puede" ("Yes, We Can") and "Hey, hey, ho, ho US$7.25 has got to go," and held signs saying "On Strike: Can't Survive on US$7.25", referring to the federal minimum hourly wage.
The protesters planned to spread out to other stores throughout New York during the day. Protests were also expected in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, North Carolina and elsewhere, with organisers expecting the biggest national walkouts yet in a demand for higher wages.
Meanwhile, the Employment Policies Institute, a Washington-based think tank, has placed a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal with a picture of a robot making what looks like pancakes. It explained that restaurants have to reduce their costs to keep prices low, which might mean switching to robots if wages get too high.
"Why robots could soon replace fast food workers demanding a higher minimum wage," the ad read.