The Fight for $15 and a Union has shown that to effectively challenge the stranglehold of the neoliberal political economy, interventions must come from the bottom up, reflecting the genuine voices of workers and their communities.
Ten years ago, two hundred New York City low-wage workers walked off their jobs at McDonald's, Burger King, and other fast-food restaurants to demand what most observers thought impossible: 15 bucks an hour and a union.
Living costs were soaring then, much as they are today. Rents and healthcare expenses were increasingly out of reach and the federal minimum wage had not budged in three years (spoiler alert: it still hasn't). While taking home a mere $7.25 per hour to sustain some of the richest corporations in the world, these cooks and cashiers said they would have to earn more than double that to support their families without relying on public assistance.
By joining together, speaking up, and going on strike, fast-food workers in the Fight for $15 and a Union rewired the politics of wages in the country.
"I'm protesting for better pay," KFC worker Pamela Waldron told The New York Times after walking off the job. "I have two kids under 6, and I don't earn enough to buy food for them."
The National Restaurant Association dismissed that 2012 strike as a publicity stunt. Elected officials called the proposal a non-starter. Even many folks within the labor movement at the time thought $15 an hour was too bold an ask. Early on, leaders in the...
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