Fwd: Starting at 5:30AM: Fast Food/Retail Strikes Hit Chicago
We The Immigrants
Date: Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 11:48 PM
Subject: Starting at 5:30AM: Fast Food/Retail Strikes Hit Chicago
To:
Contact: CATHERINE MURRELL, 312.523.3882
STRIKES TO HIT CHICAGO’S LARGEST FAST FOOD AND RETAIL CHAINS
Inspired by Walmart and New York City Fast Food Walkouts, Hundreds of Chicago Workers to Strike Dozens of Major National Fast Food and Retail Stores
Fight for 15 Campaign takes to the Magnificent Mile and Loop. Unprecedented Walkout for $15 and the Right to Form a Union Without Interference Aims to Get Chicago’s Economy Moving Again
CHICAGO—Hundreds of workers will walk off their jobs Wednesday in Chicago’s first-ever combined fast food and retail strike. Workers at major national brands like McDonald’s, Subway, Dunkin Donuts, Macy’s, Sears and Victoria’s Secret will strike, calling for wages that support their families and the right to form a union without interference.The Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago campaign, Fight for 15, seeks to put money back in the pockets of the 275,000 men and women who work hard in the city’s fast food and retail outlets, but still can’t afford basic necessities like food, clothing, and rent. A single adult Chicagoan with a child actually needs to make nearly $21 an hour to get by, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. If workers were paid more, they’d spend more, helping to get Chicago’s economy moving again.
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.
Fast food and retail workers bring more than $4 billion a year into the cash registers of the Magnificent Mile and the Loop, yet most of these workers earn Illinois’ minimum wage of $8.25, or just above it, and are forced to rely on public assistance programs to provide for their families and get healthcare for their children. They’re coming together to fight for $15 per hour and the right to form a union so they can support their families, and put money back into the economy.
What:
Strike wave at fast food and retail outlets in the Magnificent Mile and Loop, plus a mass march and rally
Where & When:
Wednesday, April 24
5:30 a.m.
McDonald’s, 225 S. Canal St. (Union Station), Strike Line
McDonald’s, 10 E. Chicago Ave., Strike LineDunkin’ Donuts, 27 W. Lake St., Strike Line
8:00 a.m.
Subway, 37 S. LaSalle St., Strike Line
8:30 a.m.
Sears and Land’s End, 2 N. State St., Strike Line
9:30 a.m.
Macy’s, 111 N. State St., Strike Line and March
Note: Strikes to continue throughout the day. Late morning, afternoon and evening strike and march/rally times and locations to be announced.
Founded in November of 2012, the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago is a union of downtown fast food and retail workers. The workers’ Fight for 15 campaign seeks a $15 an hour wage and the right to
form a union without interference. The Fight for 15 campaign is supported by a coalition of dozens of community, labor and faith-based groups including:
Action Now; Albany Park Neighborhood Council; Arise Chicago; Brighton Park Neighborhood Council; Chicago Coalition for the Homeless; Chicago Jobswith Justice; Chicago Teachers Union; Gressroots
Collaborative; Illinois Hunger Coalition; Jane Addams Senior Caucus; Lakeview Action Coalition; Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP); SEIU Local 1; SEIU Local 73; SEIU Healthcare Illinois; Indiana, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation;
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Western Region; and Workers United.
Catherine Murrell