Fast-food workers strike across U.S.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Union organizers say the strikes will reach 150 U.S. cities and several countries.

Danny Rosa started striking at 5 a.m. ET at the Burger King (BKW) in Dorchester, Mass., where he works. He and a group of co-workers shouted the slogan, "Fight for $15 and union."

"I am proud that I am striking and I am trying to get a better life," Rosa said. "I am fighting for everyone in fast food."

Related: Fast food workers strikes planned in 150 cities

Rosa plans to travel to Boston later in the morning so he could meet up with other strikers at a Burger King there.

Rosa is 19 years old and lives with his mother and older brother and sister. He wants his hourly wage, now $9 an hour, to go up to $15 so he can eventually move out.

Chad Tall who works at Taco Bell, a unit of Yum! Brands (YUM, Fortune 500), was also striking with other workers outside a McDonald's in New York.

"We're here to get $15 and a union, we're here to strike, we're here to make some noise and we're here to disrupt because that's the only way to get their attention," Tall said.

Related: Faces of May 15 fast-food strikes

Currently, the median pay for fast-food workers across the country is just over $9 an hour, or about $18,500 a year. That's roughly $4,500 lower than the Census Bureau's poverty threshold level of $23,000 for a family of four.

The "Fight for $15" campaign started in New York in November 2012, with 200 fast-food workers walking off their jobs demanding $15 and the right to form a union without retaliation.

Union organizers say the movement is credited with elevating the debate about inequality in the U.S. and helping raise the minimum wage in some states.

Earlier this year, workers in three states filed class-action suits against McDonald's alleging widespread and systematic wage theft.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, McDonald's said worker protests might force it to raise wages this year.

First Published: May 15, 2014: 10:19 AM ET

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