UPDATE: The protests continued on Tuesday evening on the Las Vegas Strip. Dozens of people gathered to make their voices heard about their desire for a higher minimum wage. At least 6 people were arrested for blocking traffic.
McDonald's responded to today's protest with the following statement:
We take seriously our role in helping strengthen communities as we and our franchisees separately employ hundreds of thousands of people, providing many with their very first job. In addition we offer McDonald's employees the opportunity to develop the valuable skills necessary to build successful careers even beyond our restaurants. And because so many are just starting out in their careers, we invest in Archways to Opportunity, a set of programs for everyone that provides free high school completion courses and college tuition assistance so they can work toward earning a high school diploma or a college degree. Terri Hickey, a spokesperson for McDonald’s.
ORIGINAL STORY
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- Protesters gathered on the Las Vegas Strip around 6 a.m. Tuesday to fight for a $15 minimum wage.
Fast food, airport, Uber, home care, higher education, and child care workers joined in the protest as part of the Fight for $15 movement. The group is also asking for the right to form a union without retaliation.
BREAKING: dozens of people have gathered on the strip to fight for a higher minimum wage. Large police presence. #fightfor15 pic.twitter.com/UeIYlHKyC0
— Marissa Kynaston (@marissaktnv) November 29, 2016
It's a national effort. Low wage workers from across the country are protesting for a higher minimum wage. Protests are expected to take place in over 300 cities, and nearly 20 different airports.
"People shouldn't have to work full time and still live in poverty," says Laura Martin, with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "Nobody should live in poverty."
Fight for $15 began on Nov. 29, 2012, when 200 fast food workers went on strike across New York City. Since then, New York, California, Seattle, and Washington D.C. have raised the minimum wage to $15.
Home care workers in Massachusetts and Oregon also receive $15/hour minimum compensation, and companies such as Facebook, Aetna, Amalgamated Bank, JP Morgan Chase and Nationwide offer their workers a $15 minimum.
The recent election that gave Republicans control of the White House and both houses of Congress, isn't stopping the grassroots movement. In the recent election, four more states across the country voted to increase minimum wage. Voters also elected Donald Trump. The President-Elect has been opposed to raising the federal minimum wage.
Protesters say it's important to maintain their momentum.
"We're here to say, no matter who is in the White House, we're going to keep fighting for 15," says Martin.
