Burger King Workers Stay True To Their Multi-Nation Joint Walkout, Will They Get A Wage Increase Now?

Hundreds of Fast Food workers including those working at Burger King, across the United States of America, walked–off their workstations in protest of poor wages.

As The Inquisitr had reported, Burger King Employees were joined by those working at McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC and other popular fast food venues and had threatened to go on a one–day strike to ask for enhancement of their wages. Interestingly, the one–day strike was not just held in America, but workers across 30 nations staged a walk–off. These workers have joined labor and union activists in protests calling for wages of $15 an hour and the right to seek union representation without retaliation, reported Reuters.

According to local sources, the protest was peaceful and no violence was reported. The workers said that this protest was in the works for quite some time and the seeds of the unrest were sown about 18 months back.

It is quite intriguing that the representatives of the fast–food chains repeatedly confirmed that no stores were shut down, but eye–witnesses offered a completely different version. Protester organizers insisted that a Burger King in Atlanta and another in Dorchester, Mass., were at least briefly closed during the strike, but Burger King Spokesman Alix Salyers reassured that no stores were closed. Similarly, McDonald’s officials confirmed that no restaurants were shut down, while protesters said several stores had their shutters downed, reported USA Today.

We barely make it: These fast food restaurants work in ‘multi–billion dollar cities’ said the protesting workers. While these large corporations are making money, we are just managing to get by, lamented Naquasia LeGrand, 22, who has been a cashier at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Park Slope, an affluent neighborhood in Brooklyn for the past three years. She makes just $8 per hour and pays $1300 as rent.

The global protest was organized by Fast Food Forward, a group financed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has more than 2 million members. A restaurant industry-backed group, Center for Union Facts, issued a report on Thursday estimating that SEIU has spent more than $15 million supporting the protests since January 2013.

Are the demands justified? Owing to the intense competition, fast food chains like Burger King have been forced to cut down profit margins and deepen discounts in order to win and retain customers. As The Inquisitr had tried to analyze, there is no way these companies can actually afford to pay $15 as minimum wage. However, the workers seem determined and battle lines have been drawn.

[Images via Bing]