#FightFor$15 Overwhelms Republican Debate In Miami

All photos from Fight for $15.

An enormous group of underpaid Floridians busted through police lines in Miami Thursday evening on their way to GOP debate, where they’re calling on the candidates to stand with the nearly four million Floridians who make less than $15. Chanting “we work, we sweat, put $15 in our checks,” the group stormed through the University of Miami campus and up to the front gate of the BankUnited Center–as stunned Republican debate goers looked on.

The crowd of hundreds forced police to shut down Ponce de Leon Avenue, the main street in front of the debate venue. Here’s a video of one of the marchers telling the crowd why she’s there tonight:

The #Fightfor15 is at the #GOPDebate right now because 64 M Americans make less than $15 and we will be heard! pic.twitter.com/I3K7I45qs3 — Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) March 11, 2016

Earlier today, fast-food workers across Miami walked off the job, calling for $15 and union rights. Striker Westley Williams, a 40-year-old McDonald’s worker who is marching outside the debate, told the Miami Herald:

“We’re changing the politics of the country because we are a powerful voting bloc that cannot be ignored. Candidates for president, if you stand for $15 and union rights, the nearly four million of us in Florida will stand with you. Come get our vote.”