Seattle Fast Food Workers' Strike the 7th Of Its Kind

In late May, workers in Seattle locations of Taco Bell, Burger King, Arby's, McDonald's, Subway, and more struck for a living wage and the right to organize. At least two restaurants shut down for the day without workers, who held a rally afternoon in Denny Park to bring attention to their cause.

This is the seventh in a two-month wave of strikes in major cities. New York City, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, and Washington DC preceded Seattle with strikes and demonstrations among low-wage workers.

The majority of these strikes have been organized by fast food workers, with some retail workers and, in the case of Washington, public sector employees, all of whom earn wages below the federal poverty line. Accounts of workers being forced to rely on public assistance while working full-time have unfortunately long been a national standard.

The national consciousness-raising has already had some tangible results, according to the Huffington Post:

"Conditions, hours, positions and pay have improved for a number of workers who participated in strikes in the last two months, organizers say. They point to Krystal Collins in Chicago, who got a 0.25 cent hourly raise and was switched from part-time to full-time after walking off her job at Macy's in April, and to Claudette Wilson, Romell Frazier and Khalil Dorris in Detroit, who forced their Burger King to close for the day in early May and subsequently saw their hours increase."

To support fast food workers in Seattle, and maybe help them see some of the same success as workers in Chicago and Detroit, sign the petition with Good Jobs Seattle!