Fast Food Workers Arrested While Protesting For Higher Wages

Fast food workers in New York City and Detroit were arrested on Thursday, September 4 as they engaged in nonviolent demonstrations and sit-ins to protest their low wages, reports The New York Times. The "Fight for Fifteen," which has gained nationwide awareness and even similar demonstrations across the globe, has waged on with increasing intensity since 2012.

In New York City, 21 employees were arrested on Thursday during a sit-in protest outside of a McDonald's in Times Square. In Detroit, more than 50 workers were arrested for similar acts of civil disobedience.

Thursday marks the seventh in a series of single-day strikes, with walkouts planned for more than 100 cities across the US.

So far, fast food companies have denounced the wage protests, maintaining that a $15 wage "would wipe out the profit margins at many fast-food restaurants," the International Franchise Association told The New York Times.

Currently, many fast food workers across the country are limited to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which adds up to about $15,000 a year.

Over the Labor Day weekend, President Obama voiced support for fast food strikers during an appearance in Milwaukee.

"There's a national movement going on made up of fast food workers organizing to lift wages so they can provide for their families with pride and dignity," said Obama. "If I were busting my butt in the service industry and wanted an honest day's pay for an honest day's work, I'd join a union."

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Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.