Updated 04/14/16 – 2:03 p.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Thousands of low-wage workers staged protest marches Thursday in Chicago to fight for a $15 minimum wage.

The rallies started around dawn, and were scheduled to continue through Thursday night, with many workers planning to walk off the job.

At 7 a.m., about 100 activists gathered at the McDonald’s at 79th Street and Yates Boulevard to protest the fast food chain’s minimum pay scale for beginning employees.

Protesters were joined by parents, students, and teachers from the Chicago Teachers Union to march from McDonald’s to a nearby school and child care center.

CTU recording secretary Michael Brunson said teachers stand in solidarity with fast food workers and others seeking a higher minimum wage.

“Fifty-one percent of fast food workers must use public assistance. This costs taxpayers $368 million a year,” he said.