“On Strike for Our Survival”
Fast food employees in the United States once again got together on Thursday to agitate for an increase in their hourly salary, while the debate on the minimum wage resurfaced in the country.
“I’m struggling and I’m still dependent on government assistance to help take care of me and my family,” said Shementia Butler, 33, an employee at McDonald’s in Washington, D.C., and mother of two children.
The equation for her is insoluble: She earns about $800 per month and must pay $1,000 in rent. “My managers say to me: ‘If you don’t like it, quit,’” said the young woman.
Employees like her marched Thursday in several major U.S. cities to agitate for an hourly wage of $15; the minimum wage applied in many fast food restaurants is $7.25. After the first mobilizations at the end of 2012 and in August, strikes were held Thursday in 100 cities, according to the organizers.
In New York, the starting point of the mobilization, demonstrators briefly occupied a McDonald’s restaurant before marching loudly near the tourist area of Times Square by calling to “stay together.”
Gathered in the museum district, within walking distance of Congress, the demonstrators in Washington have been wiser, by merely chanting “Obama, hear us, we are in a fight,” while brandishing posters on which the slogan “Hope,” from the last presidential campaign, has been replaced by “Help!”
“We are the backbone of this country. We are the ones who enable firms to operate every day,” said Anthony Watkins, a lanky 23-year-old African-American employee of the Wendy’s chain.*
By his side, Delano Wingfield explains his problem. Even as a part-time employee in two restaurants, this 22-year-old must still ask his parents for money to pay his rent. “I shouldn’t have to do that,” he says.
Wages at the Same Level as Under Truman
According to a recent study from the University of Illinois, more than half of the families living on wages from the fast food industry must call on public aid to survive.
“We work hard, but they don’t pay us enough to survive,” says Yaya Badji, who collects approximately $800 per month working in an Au Bon Pain sandwich shop in the capital. Arriving from Senegal a year ago, the young man does not hide having been “surprised” by the level of wages.
Infrequent in the United States, these mobilizations have found a certain echo from the Obama administration, which wants to increase the federal minimum wage to $9, but is confronted with categorical opposition from Republicans in Congress.
On Wednesday, the American president has again affirmed that it is “high time” to increase the minimum wage, noting that it is currently, taking into account the rate of inflation, at the same level as when President Harry Truman was in the White House, in the aftermath of World War II.
The demonstrators are demanding more than $9, however, while assuring that American public finance, in very bad shape, will benefit. “At $15, we will no longer need assistance from the state. If the administration does not want to have to deal with us, we must earn enough money to survive,” said Shementia Butler.*
The fast food industry continues to defend its practices. Contacted by the AFP, McDonald’s stated that it “offer[s] salaries and competitive benefits” to its employees and declines to call this mobilization a “strike,” emphasizing that its restaurants remain open.
The National Association of the Restaurant Industry goes further, describing the mobilization as an “operation of communication” mounted by the unions.
“The restaurant industry has been one of the few industries that continued to create jobs during the recession and economic recovery … Dramatic increases in a starting wage such as those called for in these rallies will challenge that job growth history … and lead to fewer jobs created,” stated Scott DeFife, vice president of the professional organization.
*Editor’s Note: This quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.
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