Fight for $15: workers across US protest to raise minimum wage – as it happened
SummaryWe’re going to wrap up our live blog coverage for the day. Here’s a summary of where things stand:[list][*]Workers and activists in New York have gathered in Columbus Circle and are preparing to march down to Times Square.[*]In Chicago, they have gathered at the University of Illinois at Chicago campus and are preparing to march downtown.[/list][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588464635860295681][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Chicago police officer just said that it looks to be over 5000 people marching here in Chicago. [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/fightfor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#fightfor15[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588465235255627777][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Protestors abiding by police instruction to stay on north side of Harrison [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/fightfor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#fightfor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/sXLbRSDQgX][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/sXLbRSDQgX[/color][/url]
[/indent][list][*]As[b] Zach[/b] points out, the protesters and the police have been getting along all day long today. When similar protest was held on 4 September of last year, [url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2014/sep/04/us-fast-food-protests-150-cities][color=#005689]about 400 workers had been arrested in 32 US cities[/color][/url] by 5 pm.[*]According to organizers, no arrests have been reported so far today.[*]The atmosphere in New York and Chicago is almost jubilant. It seems that as far as the organizers are concerned today’s day of action has been a success.[/list]Don’t believe me? Eric Hauser, communications director at the AFL-CIO, sent us an email with the subject line ‘It’s days like this ...’
[indent]Workers are seizing, and moving, the agenda. What a day for the Fight for 15! Thousands in the streets, in cities and with people you couldn’t have imagined even five years ago.
[/indent]You can read our wrap of today’s events here:
[img]http://i.guim.co.uk/media/w-460/h--/q-95/f74f213e686b78e6af5919aa1210212dc1926054/0_318_5520_3313/500.jpg[/img]
[url=][color=#005689]Fight for $15 swells into largest protest by low-wage workers in US history[/color][/url]
Workers in more than 200 cities walked out on jobs or joined protests bankrolled by organized labor on Wednesday in latest bid to raise minimum wage
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Students in New York City have gathered at the Columbia campus.
“It’s important for students to be involved because even if we aren’t working for McDonald’s or Walmart, we are still on McDonald’s or Walmart type of wages,” Robert Ascherman, a student activist from NYU, told the Guardian. According to him, some students have to choose between buying food or buying textbooks.
Among the groups joining the Fight for $15 activists was Columbia Divest for Social Justice group.
[indent]— Fast Food Forward (@FastFoodForward) [url=https://twitter.com/FastFoodForward/status/588448831450124288][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]"No $15, no peace! No $15, no lease!" [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/Iss7UNHem8][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/Iss7UNHem8[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Julia (@JuliaCarmel_) [url=https://twitter.com/JuliaCarmel_/status/588461021414625280][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]The beautiful [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] crowd at [url=https://twitter.com/Columbia][color=#005689]@Columbia[/color][/url] right now [url=http://t.co/mLzWNoRDf7][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/mLzWNoRDf7[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Emma Powell (@EmmaPowell84) [url=https://twitter.com/EmmaPowell84/status/588462031705088000][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Columbia University [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] [url=https://twitter.com/PSC_CUNY][color=#005689]@PSC_CUNY[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/g1wM62Ew54][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/g1wM62Ew54[/color][/url]
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Back in Chicago, where the Guardian’s [b][url=http://www.theguardian.com/profile/zach-stafford][color=#005689]Zach Stafford[/color][/url][/b] is reporting from the ground, activists have gathered at the University of Illinois at Chicago and are about to begin their march downtown.
[indent]— Fight For 15 Chicago (@chifightfor15) [url=https://twitter.com/chifightfor15/status/588450976354402304][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]"There are so many out here struggling to survive off of inadequate wages, especially Black mothers" [url=https://twitter.com/BYP_100][color=#005689]@BYP_100[/color][/url] Janae [url=http://t.co/5wlwqhUPwW][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/5wlwqhUPwW[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588452298688303105][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Crowd erupts as the former mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia takes the stage. [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588452924419772417][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]"This campaign is about lifting and improving the quality of life of all people!" - Chuy Garcia [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588453767185453057][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Chicago [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] crowd now swelling into the thousands as the rally continues the middle the of UIC campus.
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588454363926032384][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Crowd at UIC Quad now practically filling the entire East side. [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fightfor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#Fightfor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/OY7JTrV5dF][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/OY7JTrV5dF[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588455803700424704][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]"Hey, hey! Ho, Ho! Police violence has got to go!" - activist leads the crowd in chanting [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588457895806775297][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Chicago police having a quick meeting next to their bikes on Harrison before March downtown begins. [url=http://t.co/7tBnYhP2VY][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/7tBnYhP2VY[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588460992352354304][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]'Fire Rahm!' signs everywhere in the crowd. March will start shortly. [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fightfor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#Fightfor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/OGkMso6Y6M][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/OGkMso6Y6M[/color][/url]
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As workers gather in Columbus Circle in New York City the atmosphere is almost jubilant.
[indent]— Abby Gugu Banda (@AbbyGuguBanda) [url=https://twitter.com/AbbyGuguBanda/status/588456088401534976][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url][url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewYork?src=hash][color=#005689]#NewYork[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/ymrTLkc0FD][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/ymrTLkc0FD[/color][/url]
[/indent]Here is a look at some of the signs we saw today:
[img]http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/4/15/1429133965350/0951f319-e38d-4974-8024-734d286069ce-620x372.jpeg[/img] An activist holds a “We See Greed” sign during march along Amsterdam Avenue. Photograph: Andy Katz/Andy Katz/Demotix/Corbis [img]http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/4/15/1429133810989/5c709fab-a97b-4418-8bdf-f5bc74424877-620x372.jpeg[/img] A woman participating in a march along Manhattan’s Upper West Side holds a sign decrying global exploitation. Photograph: Andy Katz/Andy Katz/Demotix/Corbis [img]http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/4/15/1429134214218/5179c845-e968-4574-8f7b-3c69bddcd857-620x372.jpeg[/img] This protester’s sign emphasizes the need for economic justice to ensure survival. Photograph: Andy Katz/Andy Katz/Demotix/Corbis [img]http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/4/15/1429134156055/af364aeb-4e11-4b42-8c33-b1aaf69d9aa4-620x372.jpeg[/img] Pro-labor activists with signs assembled prior to march along Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Photograph: Andy Katz/Andy Katz/Demotix/Corbis
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What would happen to small businesses if the minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour? The Guardian’s [b][url=http://www.theguardian.com/profile/ucilia-wang][color=#005689]Ucilia Wang[/color][/url] [/b]tried to find out:
“Labor is 30% of my overhead. A 50% increase in minimum wage would raise it to 45%. It’s already tough to offer a business to the community and keep my head above water. Honestly [url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/15/what-a-15-minimum-wage-means-for-us-small-businesses][color=#005689]I’d go under with that kind of increase,[/color][/url]” a coffeeshop owner who asked to remain anonymous said.
Some low-wage workers are aware of the danger that a higher minimum wage could pose to their jobs.
“I don’t think I’d like to see minimum wage increase that much because labor cost is such a high expense for so many coffeeshops and restaurants that I think the long-term effect will be more detrimental,” Becka Hare, a barista at Love coffee shop in Santa Monica, California, told Wang.
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[url=][color=#005689]What a $15 minimum wage means for US small businesses[/color][/url]
Small business owners, managers and employees around the country tell us how a $15 wage would affect them
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[url=][color=#005689]The Hand That Feeds: how undocumented workers at a New York bakery chain won higher wages[/color][/url]
As Fight for $15 protests kick off around the US, a new documentary about the workers at Hot and Crusty is serving as a rallying cry. Will the story inspire other small business employees to do the same?
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Meanwhile, back in New York:
[indent]— Colin P. Ashley (@colinpashley) [url=https://twitter.com/colinpashley/status/588439359101140992][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Folks gathering now central park west. 59th and upwards. [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/Ji5zqWnqww][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/Ji5zqWnqww[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Andrew Siff (@andrewsiff4NY) [url=https://twitter.com/andrewsiff4NY/status/588425710102061056][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Central Park West closed to accommodate [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FastFoodGlobal?src=hash][color=#005689]#FastFoodGlobal[/color][/url] protest in [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/columbus?src=hash][color=#005689]#columbus[/color][/url] circle [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/nbc4ny?src=hash][color=#005689]#nbc4ny[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/CK2jWNFV3D][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/CK2jWNFV3D[/color][/url]
[/indent]My colleague [url=https://twitter.com/holpuch][b][color=#005689]Amanda Holpuch[/color][/b][/url], who is on the ground, reports:
[indent]Three blocks on Central Park West have been cleared for the rally, though the pens are about half full. The rally officially started at 4pm, but workers are still trickling in.
On the streets near the rally, some demonstrators are canvassing building workers with fliers about the movement.
[/indent][img]http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/4/15/1429131807130/cd7643de-f757-48dc-a0ed-e95054ce2ac1-620x372.jpeg[/img] Fight for $15 protesters gather on Central Park West. Photograph: Amanda Holpuch for the Guardian
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[url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2015/apr/15/fight-for-15-protest-workers-minimum-wage-live#block-552eca79e4b08eb0ae68cfe9][color=#005689]3d ago[/color][color=#005689]21:58[/color][/url]
When we spoke with her earlier today, SEIU international president Mary Kay Henry said that she was going to be at the University of California campus in Berkeley later this afternoon.
“It’s - for me – the representation of how the student movement is infusing this economic movement,” she said, pointing out that students from about 170 US campuses were expected to participate. “That’s a new dimension to the Fight for $15 and the union that we haven’t seen before.”
Henry has just completed a tour of six colleges, which took her through St Louis, Boston, Los Angeles and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
“I saw students everywhere on fire to fight for their future and link arms with these workers who were being underpaid to change this low-wage economy,” she said.
[indent]— Mary Kay Henry (@MaryKayHenry) [url=https://twitter.com/MaryKayHenry/status/588346846143246336][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Zharia Harper, working at McDonald's while in community college! Read her story at [url=http://t.co/rGtMeCu9Mv][color=#005689]http://t.co/rGtMeCu9Mv[/color][/url] [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/yDQE2lL0y2][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/yDQE2lL0y2[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— California Nurses (@CalNurses) [url=https://twitter.com/CalNurses/status/588432763016978432][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Folks gathering at Oscar Grant Plaza to start the [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fightfor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#Fightfor15[/color][/url] march from [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oakland?src=hash][color=#005689]#Oakland[/color][/url] to [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/Berkeley?src=hash][color=#005689]#Berkeley[/color][/url]. [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/RaiseTheWage?src=hash][color=#005689]#RaiseTheWage[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/q9zXgDYUNJ][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/q9zXgDYUNJ[/color][/url]
[/indent]The Guardian’s [b][url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford][color=#005689]Zach Stafford[/color][/url][/b] is reporting live from Chicago, where students at the University of Illinois are holding their own protest for Fight for $15.
[indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588431577371279361][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Protestors are beginning to arrive outside of UIC Student Center East [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/3KOZoQSQLU][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/3KOZoQSQLU[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588435667098570753][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]"Get up, get down! Chicago is a union town!" students chant before march into the UIC Chancellor's office [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fightfor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#Fightfor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/LjXfN3crwj][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/LjXfN3crwj[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588443444407902208][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]March has swelled to hundreds of people chanting, "What do we want? 15! If we don't get it shut it down. [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fightfor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#Fightfor15[/color][/url] [url=http://t.co/Du8lJPr766][color=#005689]pic.twitter.com/Du8lJPr766[/color][/url]
[/indent][indent]— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) [url=https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/588443870268010497][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Protestors are now heading towards UIC Chancellor's Office with 2000 signatures demanding $15 minimum wage on-campus [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightFor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#FightFor15[/color][/url]
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Here is another dispatch from the Guardian’s [url=https://twitter.com/holpuch][b][color=#005689]Amanda Holpuch[/color][/b][/url], who is reporting live from Columbus Circle in New York.
[indent]The rally has begun under the shadow of Trump Tower. Workers have been marching all over New York City and are pouring into Columbus Circle.
The airline workers walked from 42nd Street to Columbus circle on 59th Street, carrying large purple balloons past tourists and other union members who were on the job but who cheered in support.
Juan Chapman, an airport worker, began his address to the crowd in Spanish. “Cuando luchamos, ganamos” (“When we fight, we win”).
[/indent][indent]— Amanda Holpuch (@holpuch) [url=https://twitter.com/holpuch/status/588437031136591872][color=#005689]April 15, 2015[/color][/url]Homecare and healthcare workers, hotel workers and 32BJ [url=https://twitter.com/hashtag/fightfor15?src=hash][color=#005689]#fightfor15[/color][/url] [url=https://t.co/tyayGudjhV][color=#005689]https://t.co/tyayGudjhV[/color][/url]
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[url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2015/apr/15/fight-for-15-protest-workers-minimum-wage-live#block-552ec7c0e4b08eb0ae68cfe1][color=#005689]3d ago[/color][color=#005689]21:39[/color][/url]
Among the first-time protesters out on the streets today was Tashayla Harper, 19, who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and works for McDonald’s.
Harper earns $7.25 an hour. Since she works for a corporate store, she is eligible for the $1 raise that McDonald’s announced two weeks ago. Despite her eligibility, Harper and her family joined today’s Fight for $15 protest: “We went to a Mayfair Road McDonald’s to strike in front of their store and let them know that we are not going to stop until we get $15,” she said.
Harper said her one-year old daughter Ky’lah, who came along, inspired her to join the campaign.
“I work and I only make $7.25 and that little money goes on my daughter, I never have enough for myself. My daughter inspired me to join the movement,” said Harper, who relies on food stamps to supplement her income.
“It’s at the point where I can’t even afford my own house, because I don’t make enough. I rely on those food stamps every month.”
Right now, Harper, her daughter and her boyfriend live with her boyfriend’s grandparents.
[img]http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/4/15/1429129151164/e43ed3a2-57a1-4d13-9df1-17ddc01c90b5-620x413.jpeg[/img] Tashayla Harper and her family joined the Fight for $15 protest for the first time. Photograph: Courtesy of Wisconsin Jobs Now
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[url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2015/apr/15/fight-for-15-protest-workers-minimum-wage-live#block-552ebc36e4b06995f8c99ffb][color=#005689]3d ago[/color][color=#005689]21:23[/color][/url]
The question of the day is whether workers from McDonald’s franchise stores have or have not joined the protest.
As my colleague [b]Steven Greenhouse [/b]reported, employees at 12,500 franchisee-operated restaurants who were passed over by the company’s wage increase plan were infuriated. As a result,[url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/13/mcdonalds-franchise-workers-denied-raise-protest][color=#005689] many planned to join the Fight for $15 protests for the first time[/color][/url].
“I felt like it was unfair – I didn’t understand why we weren’t treated the same. At every McDonald’s, workers do the same work and wear the same uniform. So I didn’t understand why I wasn’t getting a raise like everybody else,” [url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/13/mcdonalds-franchise-workers-denied-raise-protest][color=#005689]said Brandy Lucas[/color][/url], a $7.30-an-hour worker at a franchisee-run McDonald’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, who was planning to strike for the first time.
“There is clearly no widespread, organic evidence that employees of any fast food franchises are walking out of their jobs on their own volition and these planned protests are the last thing business owners and the US economy need during this still fragile, uneven economic recovery,” Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association, said in a statement.
“Franchised businesses, particularly quick service restaurants, provide good, entry level jobs and career opportunities for millions of Americans.”
There are about 12,500 franchisee-operated McDonald’s restaurants in the US, accounting for about 90% of total stores. McDonald’s has said that it does not determine wages set by its more than 3,000 US franchisees.
Kathryn Slater-Carter, who previously owned a McDonald’s franchise store, [url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/14/mcdonalds-franchise-owners-minimum-wage-restaurants][color=#005689]told the Guardian[/color][/url] that even if franchisees wanted to raise their employees wages, many of them can’t afford to. Why? Because of the high costs of running a business. In addition to the regular overhead costs, franchisees pay a 3-5% royalty fee to McDonald’s, another 5% for advertising, and some also pay rent to McDonald’s. For Slater-Cater, that rent was about 12.5%.
“We tried to move [our employees] along wage-wise as well as we could,” said Slater-Carter. “Obviously when McDonald’s controls most of your pricing, we were left with less than 20 items on our menu – out of 100 – that we were able to set prices on. Everything else was mandated either through nationwide dollar menu or through local advertising co-op mandates. Your hands are pretty well tied.”
A recent poll of McDonald’s franchisees conducted by Janney Capital Markets revealed that the franchisees’ six-month outlook for McDonald’s US business was more negative than at any time in Janney’s 11-year survey history.
“McDonald’s system is broken,” one franchisee wrote, [url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/102588429][color=#005689]according to CNBC[/color][/url]. “They talk menu reduction to help our people, simplify our menu for customers – but add products to help sales and it does not work. We will continue to fall and fail.”
[url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/102588429][color=#005689]McDonald’s told CNBC[/color][/url] that less than 1% of its franchisees were surveyed for that report.
“We value the feedback from our franchisees and have a solid working relationship with them,” said its spokesperson.
[url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2015/apr/15/fight-for-15-protest-workers-minimum-wage-live]http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2015/apr/15/fight-for-15-protest-workers-minimum-wage-live[/url]
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