Workers Worldwide Fight for $15 and a Union

Verizon strikers join the Fight for $15 and a union. In New York City and many locations, protesters march past Verizon Wireless stores.

CWA activists joined thousands of workers today in the biggest Fight for $15 day of action of all time. In 300 U.S. cities and 40 countries, workers flooded the streets in solidarity for what they rightly deserve – $15 an hour and a union.

On the eve of Tax Day, workers put a spotlight on the wealthy corporations that are ripping off working families. Big corporations are manipulating the rules to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. And because they pay such meager wages, many of their employees are eligible for government benefits, meaning that taxpayers and communities end up footing the bill.

Today's protests show that this is a growing, expanding movement. It isn't just about fast food any more. In every industry – retail, manufacturing, customer service, academia and more – workers and communities face impossible choices over how to care for their children and elderly parents and how to meet their basic expenses.

Striking Verizon workers marched with protesters on McDonald's, one of the country's largest employers of low-wage workers. Envoy Airlines customer service agents joined the demonstration in New York City. T-Mobile customer service representatives, who just started voting for chief stewards this week, participated in actions in Nashville and Wichita, KS.

Workers building buses at a New Flyer plant in Anniston, AL, wore Fight for $15 stickers to work as they continue their organizing drive. These assembly line workers and welders are currently earning significantly less than IUE-CWA-represented employees building the exact same New Flyer buses in Minnesota.

We know we can win. We're holding corporations accountable and workers are lifting themselves out of poverty. Today's protests come hot on the heels of the biggest week in this campaign's history. New York State won $15. California won $15. And Pennsylvania nursing home workers and hospital workers won $15, too.