Fast-food workers strike in US for pay, union rights

Fast-food workers in Miami and New York went on strike today to demand pay hikes and the right to unionize in a protest also observed in other cities around the world.
An organizer in Miami, Muhammed Malik, said protests were called in 130 cities in more than 33 countries, although in some places they appeared sparsely attended.
In the United States, dozens of workers went on strike for several hours in fast-food restaurants in Miami, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston, organizers said.
In New York, where the protest movement began in November 2012, about 100 demonstrators gathered in the rain outside a pizza chain after similar demonstrations outside McDonald's outlets in the city.

They wore T-shirts with the slogan "McStrike" or "stick together for 15 USD." They also carried signs saying, "Fair pay, respect for our rights."
They are demanding that pay be doubled to 15 USD an hour and that they be allowed to join unions.

"My American dream is a dream of slavery," said Selmira Wilson, a 33-year-old Nicaraguan who arrived in the United States three years ago.
She said the 7.99 USD an hour she makes at McDonald's isn't enough to support her three children.
"My son works as a cashier at McDonald's. My son is 16 years old. We make a pittance. I have to work another job at night cleaning offices to be able to support my home," said Wilson, who didn't go to work today at a McDonald's in downtown Miami.