The Big Event

Niek Verlaan "Protest, Protest, Action" October 2014 Via pixabay. Public Domain Dedication

The protest in Los Angeles, California on November 10, 2015 took place because (mostly) fast-food workers were unhappy with the minimum wage situation in the United States and are wanting it to be changed to a minimum of $15.

But what exactly lead up to this specific protest?

A group called the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) began to use this minimum wage controversy as an organizing affect to gain more supporters for their union. This is because many fast-food workers do not partake in unions. Basically, if a union supports higher wages for workers, it makes a union membership seem more attractive to these fast-food employees.

Something I found interesting about this rally is that the protest in Los Angeles was not about Los Angeles fast-food restaurants raising their minimum wage, they have already done that. Sometime in the summer of 2015 a legislature was passed in the Los Angeles city council to increase the minimum wage gradually to $15 by the year 2020.

So what was the purpose of this rally/protest then?

The purpose was to make a stand for workers around the country. The group all of these protesters are part of is called Fight For 15. This Fight For 15 group is located in over 270 cities around the country. The Los Angles protest was to show support for other cities and employees around the country that do not already have a legislature passed for a higher minimum wage.

Fight For 15's common goal is to create a union of workers (that's where the SEIU joined in) that ban together to hopefully achieve their goal of a country-wide minimum wage of at least $15.