LA Workers Join Global Campaign On Tax Day Striking For Higher Pay
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Hundreds of Southland workers marched and rallied on Tax Day Wednesday in a global campaign for higher pay.
Workers in the fast-food, faculty, home care, child care, airport, Walmart and industrial industries marched, rallied and protested for higher wages in 200 cities across the United States.
Events will also be held around the globe, with protests expected in 100 worldwide cities, 40 countries and on six continents.
The Fight for $15 campaign was launched 2.5 years ago in New York when 200 cooks and cashiers walked off their jobs demanding $15 an hour and union rights.
Workers chose Tax Day, April 15, because many rely on public assistance to keep them above the poverty line.
"$15 an hour would help me greatly in school and especially in some of the things I also need like a car, clothes and especially paying for my rent," McDonald's employee Jose Paz said.
Students across the country will hold protests on campuses including both the University of California Los Angeles and Riverside, University of Southern California and LA Trade Tech Community College.
The nationwide strikes and protests, which will be the most widespread mobilization ever of U.S. workers, will come two weeks after McDonald's announced it was increasing salaries for a fraction of its workforce by $1.