Convenience Store Employees Join Fast Food Workers in New Strikes

Fast food workers’ campaign for better pay continues to spread.

Workers in hundreds of cities once again walked off the job Thursday, organizing protests advocating for a $15 per hour living wage and the right to unionize.

Fast food workers have gone on similar strikes several times in the past two years, but this time they were joined by convenience store workers from retailers like Big Lots and Dollar Tree in some cities. Organizers said strikes and protests hit 190 cities in total.

The strikes, backed by the Service Employees International Union, began two years ago at a few fast food restaurants in New York and have been growing ever since. So far, fast-food chains themselves haven’t given higher wages to workers in any widespread manner, instead maintaining that they offer competitive pay and benefits.

But the political effect of the strikes seems to be growing. President Barack Obama has acknowledged fast food workers’ plight in his campaign to push the federal minimum wage to $10.10, and dozens of cities and states have boosted their minimum wages. Two cities, Seattle and San Francisco, have even pledged to raise their minimum wages all the way to $15.