MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Alex Bloom | 215-872-8664 | abloom@oneillandassoc.com
On behalf of the #WageAction Coalition: http://www.WageAction.org
Boston area workers to McDonald’s: Where’s our raise?
Fast Food Workers and Allies to Hit Streets on Thursday as Part of Coast-to-Coast Protests Against McDonald’s Weak Pay Announcement
BOSTON (April 2, 2015) – Fast food workers who are part of the growing Fight for $15 movement will protest Thursday following an announcement by McDonald’s that the company is increasing pay slightly for a fraction of its workforce. Gathering at a Boston McDonald’s, the workers will criticize the company’s publicity stunt and demand it raise wages to $15 an hour for all workers and respect their right to form a union without retaliation so hard-working cooks and cashiers can support their families.
WHO: Boston area fast food workers and their allies
WHAT: Boston area fast food workers and their allies will protest at local stores following company’s weak pay announcement. Protesters will demand the right to organize unions and fight for a living wage.
WHEN: 11 a.m., Thursday, April 2, 2015
WHERE: McDonald’s, 870 Massachusetts Ave., Boston
The McDonald’s announcement came a day after fast food workers announced they would stage a strike in 200 cities in mid-April. Boston will kick off the national action, with a coalition of workers across industries leading a rally and march across the city on April 14. The march is scheduled to include stops at a McDonald’s and other low wage employers.
While workers in Massachusetts secured major victories in 2014, including a hike in the minimum wage, earned sick time and a domestic workers bill of rights, much work remains to be done to address the low wage crisis that is threatening this country.
A new Brookings Institution study shows that Boston is the third most inequitable city in the nation, with the top 5 percent of households earning 15 times what the bottom twenty make. In real dollars, that means those in the top 95th percentile took home $239,837 in income, while those at the bottom 20th percentile made just $15,952 in 2013.
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The #WageAction coalition includes a range of Massachusetts community, religious, and labor groups united in support of the Fight for $15 and in the fight against income inequality. More info at http://www.WageAction.org.