Fast-Food Workers Protest
There were nationwide protests on Thursday in more than 50 cities by low-paid workers at fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s. Many of the protesters are paid only the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. That amounts to about $15,000 a year for full-time employees, but many of the restaurant workers hold only part-time jobs. Sen. Bernie Sanders is a cosponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, about what it would be if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the past 50 years. The minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009. After one-day strikes were staged earlier this summer, Sanders praised the workers “who are standing up for justice, who are putting a spotlight on one of the major economic crises facing this country.” While fast-food chains pay what Sanders called “starvation wages,” he noted that the top executives for the same firms are paid millions of dollars a year.
