Fast-food workers rallied on Wednesday for higher pay, using the April 15 tax deadline to publicize their claims that they cannot survive on the hourly wages paid by many U.S. corporations.
The protests for pay increases to $15 an hour, planned to spread nationwide, kicked off at dawn outside a McDonald's in New York with several hundred demonstrators. Marching behind a banner reading "Raise wages, Raise the city," protesters carried placards that read "Fight for $15 on 4/15."
Organizers said they chose to mobilize on April 15, the U.S. deadline for filing federal income tax returns, to highlight their complaint that many workers must rely on public assistance. Plans called for rallies to be held in 230 cities across the nation.
The campaign by low-paid workers for a living wage has been building on their position that the U.S. federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is not enough to lift them from poverty. Fast-food and retail chains are starting to respond, but their wage increases are generally less than organizers demand.
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