On this day in Labor History the year was 2012.
That was the day that more than 100 fast food workers in New York City walked off the job.
They held a one-day strike for better wages and the right to form a union.
It was the biggest fast food worker strike up to that time.
The movement soon grew to be much, much bigger.
Their demand was simple and memorable, a fifteen-dollar minimum wage.
The slogan became the Fight for Fifteen and a Union.
The campaign found an ally in the Service Employees International Union.
By August of 2013, the movement held a “National Strike Against Low Pay” day of action.
Fast food workers and their supporters held demonstrations in 60 cities.
Today the movement has spread to 300 cities, and beyond the United States.
While protestors have gathered at many fast food chains, McDonalds has become a focus of the campaign.
Protestors have held annual one-day demonstrations at McDonalds headquarters, just outside of Chicago.
The campaign has seen victories.
Both New York and California have passed a $15 minimum wage.
So has the city of Seattle.
Although it is a national, and even international movement, it is also a grassroots effort.
In each city different local groups are involved.
In Kansas City, fast food women workers have formed the Fannie Lou Hamer Women’s Committee.
They named their group after the Civil Rights champion.
They take inspiration from her famous quote that she was “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
For many involved in Fight for Fifteen, this sums up their involvement.
It is a movement for the respect and dignity of workers, and the right to earn a living wage.
May 4 - UE Beats Back HUAC in Dayton
May 3 - First Workers Compensation Law is Passed
May 2 - Our Thing is DRUM!
May 1 - Mayday Marchers Attacked in Cleveland
April 30 - Refinery Workers Walk Off the Job
April 29 - Allis-Chalmers and the Road to Taft-Hartley
April 28 - OSHA Goes Into Effect
April 27 - Disaster in West Virginia
April 26 - National Guard Ousts Montgomery Ward CEO
April 25 - UAW Mobilizes Against Taft-Hartley
April 24 - The California Spinach Riot
April 23 - Sitting Down for Dignity at Ford
April 22 - The Red Jacket Mine Explosion
April 21 - The Hated Taylor Law Takes Effect
April 20 - Deepwater Horizon Explosion Kills 11
April 19 -The Daughters of Mother Jones
April 18 - We Have Fed You All A thousand Years
April 17 - Fatal Explosion in West, Texas
April 16 - Jacob Coxey is Born
April 15 - Telephone Girls Cripple New England Bell
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