Oakland workers continue the “Fight for $15”
on November 11, 2015
Hundreds of fast food and other low-wage workers gathered outside Oakland City Hall Tuesday evening demanding a higher minimum wage of $15 per hour. The demonstrations were part of a wider national campaign, Fight For 15, which has seen over 270 cities participating in similar protests.
Oakland’s demonstration was attended by members of over 15 organizations that advocate for the rights of low-wage workers. These include the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Just Cause, Fight for $15, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and UNITE HERE.
According to Shonda Roberts, a representative from the East Bay Organizing Committee who was present yesterday, many of the fast food workers at the protest did not go to work to attend the protest.
Arnuflo De La Cruz, SEIU’s provisional officer, said the goal of the demonstrations to close the income gap go beyond raising the minimum wage. “$15 is really not the ultimate solution,” he said. “We have filed a ballot initiative to be put on the November 2016 ballot, and what this will do is not just raise the California minimum wage, but also provide all workers with six paid sick days.” His union represents over 70,000 workers in the Bay Area.
Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland’s vice mayor, said Tuesday’s demonstrations are also aimed at supporting workers’ right to join unions. “There have been many cases where workers have been harassed and fired or punished for unionizing,” she said. “We need to support card check neutrality, which gives workers the right to join a union without harassment, and we need all of the rights of workers to be respected.”
The minimum wage in Oakland is currently $12.25 and is the highest in the country right now.
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- Fast food workers, union representatives and their allies converged on Frank Ogawa Plaza yesterday afternoon to call for a rise in the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos.
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- The demonstration was one in a national wave of protests organized by the Fight for $15, a campaign affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) which advocates for living wages for low-income workers. Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos.
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- An SEIU press release distributed at the event said that Oakland fast food workers walked off their jobs in protest Tuesday morning. Walk-outs were also organized in 270 other cities. Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos.
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- Oakland’s demonstration was attended by members of over 15 organizations that advocate for the rights of low-wage workers. Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos.
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- In addition to representatives from Fight for $15 and SEIU, activists from Black Lives Matters and UNITE HERE—a national union for hotel, restaurant and textile workers—were in attendance. Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos.
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- Protesters also advocated for an increase in paid sick leave and the right to unionize, which they say is embattled in many industries. Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos.
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- On November 4th, Fight for $15 representatives filed the Raise California’s Wage and Paid Sick Days Act of 2016, a ballot initiative that would increase the state’s minimum wage and alter its sick leave policies by 2020. Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos.
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- “I’m making $9.25 an hour,” said McDonald’s worker Christopher Haines, “and it’s just not enough.” Photo by Teresa Cotsirilos.
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