Colorado culinary school students should take note of the current climate surrounding the fast food industry. Frustrated with what they consider to be overworked and underpaid roles, fast food workers have begun staging protests across the country in an effort to encourage employers to increase compensation and benefits. According to The Denver Post, three individuals were arrested in Colorado’s capital city on Thursday, Sept. 4 while engaging in these demonstrations.
The peaceful protesters, who have sprung up in nearly every state, have taken on a unified title, referring to themselves and their actions as the “Fight for $15.” The name is in reference to their desire for a federal mandate raising the minimum wage for fast food workers to $15 hourly. According to The Denver Channel, the protests began over two years ago in New York City and are backed by multiple professional organizations including the Service Employees International Union.
The arrests in Denver came on a national day of demonstration organized by the aforementioned union, in which protestors organized in over 150 cities nationwide. Among those taken into police custody were a McDonalds worker, a local pastor and a civilian who supported the cause of the demonstrators. The Denver Post has reported that the three individuals had sat down in the middle of Colfax Avenue and refused to move following multiple warnings of arrest from nearby police officers. The scene behind them included over 100 protesters wearing shirts emblazoned with the “Fight for $15” logo chanting “hold the burger, hold the fries, make our wages supersized.”
The other demonstrations around the nation resulted in dozens of arrests being made amidst other instances of civil disobedience. Having already run for more than two years, the campaign shows no sign of stopping.
