Have you heard about what's happening on April 15? Because it's not just Tax Day.
The biggest protest ever to raise the wage is happening on April 15. And Upworthy is covering it all day.
On April 15, 2015, fast-food workers, child care workers, airport workers, and even adjunct professors are joining together all across the United States.
Minimum-wage workers will protest in various cities in the U.S. (and the world!).
They started organizing in November 2012 with only 200 workers in New York City. That grew to over 150 cities and thousands of minimum-wage workers in 2013. In 2014, the thing went global, with actions in 33 countries across six continents.
And what happens in 2015 ... that's up to everybody who participates!
What do they want? A livable wage of $15 an hour and a union. When do they want it? As soon as humanly possible. That's what the Fight for $15 is all about!
So, like, yesterday would be nice.
See, these employees want to make enough to live, not just scrape by.
These are actual fast-food strikers who are living on the minimum wage. Note that they aren't just bored teenagers trying to make a little extra money to pay for Pokemon cards or whatever it is that teenagers are into these days. They are adults.
I just checked my watch and it's minimum-wage fact-o'clock, so let's get real:
- At a whopping 75%, adults are the majority of minimum-wage earners.
- At least 70% of those minimum-wage-earning adults have a high school degree or some college under their belts.
- The majority of adults making minimum wage? Adult women, at 48.5%.
Here's some fancy pie charts to illustrate this point further, just in case you're into pie. Or charts.
Just like this, but tastier and full of facts about the minimum wage. Mmm.
McDonald's made some progress here when it announced a raise for employees earlier this year. But it's not enough.
This might sound like cause for celebration. But what you might not have heard is ... that raise? Well, it's only for corporate workers, not the fast-food crew working down at your local McD's.
Only 10% of McDonald's employees will actually see that raise on their paychecks. That means roughly 1.6 million people will see a remarkable increase of zero whole dollars, folks.
Like, whoa, McDonald's, slow it down with your tons and tons of generosity you've got going on right now, am I right?
So on April 15, people are joining together in the biggest protest yet to demand more ... in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and maybe even your town (if you're not from the previously listed ones, of course).
And Upworthy is going to cover the entire thing. On Twitter. And from the ground. All day.
And we want you to be there with us.
Watch the @Upworthy Twitter account on Wednesday, April 15, 2015, to see live updates of the protests as they happen.
We'll be talking to folks on the ground as well as giving you the rundown with a slew of smart, labor-focused partners on why this is so, so important right now. We might even do a little Q&A in the middle of it all, just like a regular ol' #UpChat. You remember those, right? Those are fun.
