More than 200 protesters, some current or former fast food employees, rallied for a $15-per-hour minimum wage for fast food employees outside a McDonald's restaurant on 7 Mile in Detroit Dec. 5, 2013.

DETROIT, MI -- More than 200 protesters waved signs, bounced and shouted chants passionately in unison outside a McDonald's on and other nearby fast food restaurants on Seven Mile near the Lodge Freeway in Detroit Thursday.

Their demands: A $15 per hour minimum wage for fast food employees.

"Hold the pickles, hold the fries, make our wages super-sized," "We fired up, can't take it no more," and "What do we want? $15. When do we want it? Now," were among the chants.

The protest began beneath the Golden Arches where the sign said "billions and billions served," but moved next door to Subway, across the street to a KFC and Long John Silver and has plans to cross the freeway overpass to Wendy's.

Organizers urged workers, many of whom are paid the current minimum wage of $7.40 per hour, to walk off their jobs.

About eight workers left the McDonald's; two walked out of Subway and two on the schedule for later today also participated in the protest, said

Darci E. McConnell, a public relations specialist working with protest organizers.

A man identifying himself as the Subway manager declined to be interviewed but disputed the claim. The manager, who did not provide his name, said no one walked off the job this morning.

A manager at the McDondald's would not speak to the media.

The protest was organized by

, a conglomeration of multiple organizations, including

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the National Action Network.

Detroit minimum wage protest Dec. 5, 2013 12 Gallery: Detroit minimum wage protest Dec. 5, 2013

By 11 a.m. the drive-thru of McDonald's was barren. Employees could be seen peaking from the drive-thru window and recording the protest outside with cell phones. Many of the protesters lounged inside the McDonald's wearing red and white D15 pins stopped in to place food or coffee orders.

"I want them to get paid," said James Monger, a 54-year-old, $23-per-hour union construction worker entering the restaurant during the protest. "These (owners) make money."

Michael Wordlaw, a three-year McDonald's employee who makes $7.40 per hour, though he wasn't on the schedule Thursday, joined the protest.

"Right now, we're just living in poverty," he said. "No promotions, nothing."

He said he urged coworkers to join, but they declined.

"I think they're scared they might lose they job," he said.

McConnell said organizers deliver letters when the protests begin notifying management they do not have the right to fire employees for protesting. They are then escorted to the restaurants by D15 members the following day to ensure they aren't punished for their participation.

Aisha Hackel, a 34-year-old mother of two, works 15 hours a week -- the most hours she's "allowed" by management, she says -- for minimum wage at another McDonald's in Detroit.

"Me and my kids are homeless right now," she said. "We need more $500 per month to be able to get in a one-bedroom apartment or anything. It's not fair."

More than 200 protesters, some current or former fast food employees, rallied for a $15-per-hour minimum wage for fast food employees outside a McDonald's restaurant on 7 Mile in Detroit Dec. 5, 2013.

Hackel said she's a certified medical assistant attending college to obtain a nursing degree but she can't find work. She and her children are currently moving between various shelters.

Many of the activists arrived in Trinity Transportation buses.

Police arrived after protesters began crossing the street back and forth between the McDonald's and KFC. An officer asked that they remain on one side of the street and not impede traffic.

This was the third protest in Detroit Thursday. More than 100 similar rallies were planned across the country, including in Flint and Lansing.