DETROIT – The battle over the minimum wage heated up Friday.
A Fight for $15 rally took place at a McDonald’s near the intersection of Livernois Avenue and West McNichols Road on Detroit’s west side. The weather was less than ideal for a rally, but it didn’t deter protesters.
Fast-food workers joined protests in more than a dozen cities across the country. They want the minimum wage to increase to $15 an hour.
Workers walked off the job to join the Fight for $15 movement. Demonstrators want the incoming Joe Biden administration to raise the federal minimum wage within Biden’s first 100 days of taking office. It could raise wages for nearly 40% of Black workers and reduce the racial wage gap.
The federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since July 2009.
“We work very hard. Very hard,” said Domoique Jackson. “We’re out here being heard. It’s MLK’s birthday, so we have got to carry on our legacy and his legacy for him.”
Detroit fast-food cooks and cashiers honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday by continuing the fight for economic and racial justice, and calling for a livable wage. They said many colleagues work full-time but still rely on federal aid programs to put food on the table.
Detroit police prevented the caravan from blocking the McDonald’s drive-thru, which has happened at similar rallies across the country.