San Antonio joins fast-food wage protests

Irasema Cavazos is among the labor activists and fast food workers staging a protest calling for a $15 minimum wage and the right of fast food workers to form a union, outside a McDonald's in the 8600 block of Broadway, early Thursday, May 15, 2014 in San Antonio. less Irasema Cavazos is among the labor activists and fast food workers staging a protest calling for a $15 minimum wage and the right of fast food workers to form a union, outside a McDonald's in the 8600 block of ... more Photo: J. MICHAEL SHORT, FOR THE EXPRESS-NEWS Photo: J. MICHAEL SHORT, FOR THE EXPRESS-NEWS Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close San Antonio joins fast-food wage protests 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

A handful of protesters gathered near the street at a McDonald's on Broadway on Thursday to protest low wages in the fast-food industry and to advocate for the rights of workers to form a union without retaliation.

Calling for an across-the-board wage hike to $15 an hour, protesters held signs with such slogans as, “Low Wages? I'm not lovin' it.”

The protest, outside a McDonald's near the airport, was supported by members of the Texas Organizing Project, the Service Employees International Union, and “Fight for 15.”

It was the first time that San Antonio had been part of the national campaign by unions to bring attention to the plight of low-wage workers and to get the public behind the idea of a $15-an-hour wage. The protests began in New York City in late 2012. Since then, organizers have steadily intensified actions to keep the issue in the spotlight. Thursday's protests were set to spread to more than 30 countries. Businesses say such a wage would hurt their ability to create jobs.

“I'm out here standing in front of my store because I deserve respect,” said Kimberly Marshall, a 22-year-old who worked at the McDonald's that was the site of the morning rush-hour protest.

“I don't live with my mother, I live with my husband, in my apartment — $625 rent,” she said through a megaphone as about 20 supporters cheered her on. “How's that gonna to pay that? I go to school full time. How am I going to make it? How am I going to pay for my books next semester?”

As cars pulled into drive-through lane to order breakfast, the protesters waved signs and shouted, “What do we want? Fair wages!” and “Can't Survive on $7.25!”

“It's time now to start acknowledging that when you make a $200 billion profit that you pay fair wages,” Texas Organizing Project representative Sandra Forrester said of the fast-food industry.

The campaign for higher fast-food wages comes as President Barack Obama works to raise the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which translates to about $15,000 a year for a full-time job.

lbrezosky@express-news.net

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.