Employees from McDonalds, Burger King and other Las Vegas fast food locations were arrested today while protesting for a $15-an-hour wage. According to KSNV-TV, 10 protesters were cited for failure to walk on the sidewalk, then were released.
The arrests are happening around the country as fast food workers take to the streets to lobby for better working conditions. Fast food employees in New York, Detroit and Chicago were also handcuffed.
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From the Associated Press:
The movement, which is backed financially by the Service Employees International Union and others, has gained national attention at a time when the wage gap between the poor and the rich has become a hot political issue. Many fast-food workers do not make much more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which adds up to about $15,000 a year for 40 hours a week. President Barack Obama mentioned the campaign earlier this week at a Labor Day appearance in Milwaukee. "There's a national movement going on made up of fast food workers organizing to lift wages so they can provide for their families with pride and dignity," Obama said, as he pushed Congress to raise the minimum wage. "If I were busting my butt in the service industry and wanted an honest day's pay for an honest day's work, I'd join a union."
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