Activists with the Fight for $15 movement have said they will not back down despite the discouragement of a Trump victory and what they see as his choice of racist, xenophobic, anti-worker and all-around draconian figures for his cabinet thus far.
Earlier this week, members of the group announced plans for a massive, "disruptive" protest, including strikes at 20 major airports and acts of civil disobedience, set for November 29 (airport workers had previously planned strikes over the holiday weekend but have since changed plans). Actions are set to take place all day, and in Tampa a major protest rally is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Lykes Gaslight Park.
Speakers on Monday's call included workers from several low-wage fields, from a Duke University Graduate Assistant to a childcare worker in Tampa; part of the group's aim is to show how diverse poverty wage-earners are despite different levels of education and experience.
“I have to go without healthy food, I am constantly moving and I have never been able to own a vehicle. It's not right […]” said LiAnne Flakes, the Tampa childcare worker. “We are coming together to fight for our children's future, and fighting harder than ever before.”
The other events are very much a reaction to the election and its aftermath, which includes the hiring of known racists. For labor secretary, Trump is said to be considering Andrew Puzner, CEO of a collection of fast-food chains that includes Hardee's and Carl's Jr., which Fight for $15 organizing director Ken Fells said was "putting Bernie Madoff in control of the treasury.”
Terrence Wise, a McDonald's employee who moderated the call, rhetorically asked how he and others survive on nine dollars an hour without having to work other jobs in order to cover basic living expenses.
“The short answer is, you don't,” he said.
Another protest is scheduled earlier that day
This article appears in Nov 24 – Dec 1, 2016.