Fast-food workers to stage massive strike demanding $15 hourly wage

The nation's fast-food workers are preparing to stage their largest strike yet on Thursday, with walk-outs and sit-ins planned for around 150 cities nationwide.

Organized by Fast Food Forward and Fight for 15, the protests are calling, as the latter group's name suggests, for a $15 hourly wage for fast-food workers. But unlike past protests, organizers are inviting home-care workers to join, and planning for nonviolent protests outside chains nationwide.

Though he did not explicitly endorse the protest nor its $15 goal, President Obama on Monday offered the movement some tacit support, saying in a Labor Day speech, "There is no denying a simple truth: America deserves a raise."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up