Fast Food Workers Protest For Better Wages Outside North Philly McDonald's
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Fast food workers gathered in North Philadelphia Thursday morning to protest low wages.
Organizers say Philadelphia is one of 150 cities taking part in these demonstrations, demanding minimum wage be raised to $15.
Shymara Jones from South Philadelphia works two jobs to try to make ends meet and she says it's still not enough, and she feels like these rallies are the only way she can make a change:
"They'll try and say 'it's franchise owned,' they don't have anything to do with it, but y'all have something to do with it, y'all can pay us more if y'all want to because y'all get paid thousands of dollars in an hour while we're slaving, getting paid $7.25 an hour, it's not enough."
Randy from North Philadelphia, responding to the argument "get a better job," says where he lives, fast food restaurants, or small shops, are their only choices:
"We can't go out and be lawyers without going to college, and it's hard for us to get to college when our parents can't pay for it because they don't make enough money. $7.25? I can't pay for my son to go to college. It's hard out here, it's too hard out here."
This particular protest was held in front of the McDonald's at Broad and Allegheny, but workers from fast food restaurants across the city took part.