Fast-Food Workers to Unionize

At the quadrennial meeting of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), organizers of the “Fight for $15” campaign announced that fast-food workers plan to join the union following a vote by cooks and cashiers across the U.S. set for this summer. The SEIU represents about 2 million service workers in the U.S.

The SEIU has supported the fast-food workers efforts to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour since the movement began in 2012 with a walkout of about 200 workers in New York City. Workers have protested outside stores owned by McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), The Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN), and Burger King.

According to a press release from Berlin Rosen PR, the idea to join the SEIU is the result of discussions between the union and the workers regarding the best way to continue building the efforts to win a $15 an hour wage.

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said:

SEIU members have stood arm-in-arm with fast food workers and together they have penetrated the national consciousness and changed the conversation around wages in this country. SEIU is ready to double down on our commitment to fast-food workers to help them win their demand for union rights. Our members are in this for the long haul, and we’re committed to partnering with fast-food workers so they can win a self-sustaining organization that will forge a new path for the 70 million underpaid workers across North America.

A McDonald’s employee from Oakland, California, Guadalupe Salazar, presented the workers’ petition to join the union:

Our decision to ask to join SEIU underscores the fact that we want not just $15/hr, but union rights too. We’re sending a powerful message to companies like McDonald’s that we’re going to keep fighting until we win an organization that helps lift up not just fast-food workers, but all underpaid workers.

The states of California and New York recently passed legislation lifting the minimum wage in the states to $15 in increments over several years.