DETROIT – Rashida Tlaib, who is expected to replace John Conyers in the U.S. House, and former Michigan democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed were among those arrested Tuesday during a minimum wage protest against McDonald's in Detroit.
The protest was at the McDonald's in Midtown, at Woodward Avenue and Canfield Avenue on Tuesday afternoon.
Several people were arrested by Detroit police, including Tlaib and El-Sayed. In total, 18 people were arrested. They received misdemeanor tickets for disorderly conduct and were released.
The protest, which coincided with other planned protests in Michigan, including in Flint where several people were injured after a truck accidentally collided with protesters, aims to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Earlier today, Amazon announced it would raise its minimum wage for employees to $15 per hour. The change takes effect November 1 and applies to full-time, part-time and temporary workers. Amazon says the $15 minimum wage will benefit more than 250,000 Amazon employees, plus 100,000 seasonal workers.
McDonald's released this statement in response to the protest:
“Our commitment to the communities we serve includes providing opportunities for restaurant employees to succeed at McDonald’s and beyond with world-class training and education programs to help them build the skills needed for today’s workforce. Recently we announced we are tripling tuition assistance for restaurant employees by allocating $150 million over five years to our Archways to Opportunity education program which provides eligible U.S. employees an opportunity receive upfront college tuition assistance, earn a high school diploma, and access free education advising services and learn English as a second language. We also lowered eligibility requirements, making the program more accessible. These enhancements underscore McDonald’s and its independent franchisees’ commitment to providing jobs that fit around the lives of restaurant employees so they may pursue their education and career ambitions.”