In Philadelphia and Elsewhere, Demonstrations For a Higher Minimum Wage
By Marcy Norton
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Several hundred protesters joined together in center city Philadelphia today to rally for a higher minimum wage.
It was part of a nationwide mobilization of low-wage workers who want to see the national minimum wage raised to $15 an hour.
The racially diverse crowd was peaceful but insistent that $7.25 an hour isn't nearly enough for people to live on.
Dawn Hawkins, with Action United, which helped to organize the rally, said she struggles with minimum-wage work, with one child in college and another in high school.
"We're working 40 hours a week," she said. "Every two weeks our paycheck is barely 200 dollars. We have rent, we have bills, we have food to put on the table, we have responsibilities. It's not enough."
Workers from fast food restaurants -- including Burger King, Popeye's, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, and McDonald's -- were among the protesters who tried to march across Broad Street and down Arch but were stopped by police.