July 10, 2013
By Neal Tepel
Washington, DC – Fast-food workers' are continuing their fight for a $15 living wage and the right to form a union without retaliation. McDonald's and Taco Bell workers from Milwaukee and St. Louis who are campaigning for higher wages were featured in a front-page New York Times story about the rising use of 'pay cards' among the nation's largest low-wage employers. Under the system of pay cards, workers pay hefty fees in order obtain their paltry, minimum wage salaries.
Chris Hayes called the use of payroll cards a "heinous practice" on his All in show on MSNBC. "Everybody is making money off of it except for the low-waged, minimum-wage employee," he said. "It's crazy that I even have to say this. You should not have to pay to get paid."
The New York Times recently reported that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating some of the state's largest employers over their use of pay cards.
Milwaukee workers marched on the local Chamber of Commerce to spread the word about a new report that shows one-third of Milwaukee workers are scraping by on poverty-level wages.
Federally-contracted workers in Washington, D.C., including fast-food workers, walked off their jobs in a one-day strike, calling for higher wages and an end to wage theft. The Department of Labor recently launched an investigation into wage theft among federally-contracted workers at the largest civilian federal facility in the country.
The Economic Policy Institute recently released a report that proves what fast-food workers have been saying for nearly a year: it's impossible to make ends meet on the minimum wage.
