JUST like the walmart workers who have been striking for better wages and benefits so too are workers at fast food chains in NYC, demanding a working wage and decent benefits. This is a call to action to support these workers not only because it is the right, the moral thing to do. All these corporations are increasing their huge profits at our expense because the workers they keep in poverty receive various forms of government assistance to survive. I do not resent any of these people receiving food stamps, medical care, housing vouchers and other government aid. I DO resent the fast food corporate boards and ceos taking obscene wages while refusing to pay their employees a living wage and providing benefits. This is just another form of corporate welfare. EVERY TIME YOU GO TO ONE OF THESE FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS YOU ARE SUBSIDIZING THE CORPORATE EXECUTIVES LAVISH LIFESTYLE AND INCREASING YOUR FEDERAL TAX BURDEN. This from SumOfUs......
McDonald's wages are so low, some of its workers live in homeless shelters.
Workers like Chyna Scott.
Fast food workers, including Chyna, are fighting for a living wage. Sign here to support them.
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Just days after Walmart workers made history with their Black Friday strike,
hundreds of workers at McDonald's, Burger King, and other fast food chains have walked off the job in New York City, demanding a living wage and union representation.
Like the Walmart workers who went on strike last week, fast food workers in New York are risking everything to
challenge a system that keeps millions in poverty so a few massive
corporations can make huge profits. If this strike shows that low-wage
workers can fight back and win, it would be a huge step towards creating
a more just economy -- and they need all the support they can get.
Click here to sign our petition demanding a living wage for fast food workers.
This strike could change the lives of thousands of workers -- workers like Chyna Scott, who works at a McDonald’s in the Bronx.
Chyna makes $7.25 an hour, and hasn’t been able to find an apartment she can afford
, so for the last year,
she and her three-year-old daughter, Jakiya, have been living in a homeless shelter.
There are
50,000 fast food workers in New York City, making as little as $11,000 a year. And these aren’t just teenagers looking for a little spare cash: The typical fast food worker is 28 years old, and
many of them have children of their own.
Fast food workers are so underpaid that many rely on food stamps,
Medicaid, housing vouchers, and other forms of public assistance to make
ends meet. That means that, like Walmart, fast food giants like
McDonald's and Burger King are costing taxpayers millions every year.
These workers aren’t just taking on one company -- they’re
trying to change a whole industry.
Right now, workers are striking at Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC, Taco
Bell, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and McDonald's. Thirty stores have been shut
down, and organizers are expecting more to follow suit.
If these workers are going to change the fast food industry
, they need all the help they can get, and that’s where the SumOfUs.org community comes in. If enough of us raise our voices in support of these workers,
all
these fast food chains will know that mistreating workers could hurt
their bottom lines. And more workers will be likely to join the strike
if they know their customers are standing with them.
Click here to sign our petition in support of New York fast food workers.
Thank you,
Taren, Rob, and the team at SumOfUs
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Further reading:
"
In drive to unionize, fast-food workers walk off the job." The New York Times, November 2012
"
McJobs should pay, too: It's time for fast food workers to get living wages." The Atlantic, November 2012
