The spreading retail and fast food strike has hit Chicago. Hundreds of workers at Chicago’s largest fast food and retail chains walked off their jobs on Wednesday April 24th, calling for $15 an hour and the right to form a union free from retaliation. The unprecedented combined fast-food and retail walkout – hitting major national stores like McDonald’s, Subway, Dunkin Donuts, Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret and Sears – marks the latest in a string of strikes in low-wage industries that began last fall at Walmarts across the country and continued at fast-food restaurants in New York City.
Wednesday’s action follows a nationwide Black Friday strike by Walmart workers and comes just weeks after 400 fast-food workers walked off their jobs in New York City the biggest-ever strike to hit the industry. Low-wage jobs have accounted for the bulk of new jobs added in the recovery, and retail and fast food are among the fastest-growing sectors. Chicago workers, like those around the country, are increasingly joining together to fight for higher wages that will lift the economy. The walkout came the same day that hundreds of Walmart workers and community leaders led delegations into stores calling on managers nationwide to provide more hours and transparent scheduling.
Posted by Paula Votendahl
04/28/13
