Below I have cut and pasted two t pieces, first a trailer from an important and powerful award winning film, "The Hand that Feeds" about undocumented workers in the fast food industry, today the center of the national movement for a 15$ minimum wage, their struggle and their remarkable courage in a society that makes them invisible. The film is currently playing at Cinema Village in New York City, located at 22 East 12th Street. It deserves to be shown through the country as a complement to the national campaign for a $15 minimum. Below that I have posted a statement by longtime labor militant and peoples poet, Stewart Acuff, on the campaign itself.
Just as workers chanted "Black and White, Unite and Fight," when they won their greatest victories, today we should sing out, Undocumented and Documented Workers Unite and Fight"
Norman Markowitz
1199 President Henry Nicholas led hundreds of low wage workers and their allies in chanting:"We're In It To Win It!" In Philly City Center on April 15, the National Day of Action for a $15 minimum wage.
About 50,000 low wage workers, their union and clergy and other allies across America rallied, marched, walked out on strike and demonstrated for doubling the minimum wage.
In Philly the iconic 1199 flags flapped in the soft spring breeze beneath a sun just warm enough to make union and community organization t-shirts comfortable. Besides President Nicholas, most of the speakers were low wage workers including healthcare workers recruited by 1199, graduate university workers and, of course, the courageous fast food workers who started it all.
The Fight for $15 Campaign started with fast food workers going on short wildcat strikes in a few cities for raises and other local issues. As the campaign spread to more cities, more fast food workers from more chains joined the campaign with lightning lunchtime strikes and rallies. The Service Employees International Union stepped up to offer technical support and organizing.
Now the mini campaign threatens to become a real social movement with more and more workers and unions and clergy and community organizations getting involved.
The workers and their allies reject President Obama and the Congressional Democrats call for a $10 an hour minimum wage for being too low.
With support for an increase in the minimum wage polling at almost 80 percent across both parties and all demographics, in part because of the actions of the workers and radical rightwing Republicans determined to stop any increase in the minimum wage, the Fight for $15 is sure to create an election issue.
One huge question is whether Democrats will opt to make a significant dent in wage and income inequality by pushing for the $15 minimum wage in place of a $10 minimum wage.
The second unanswered question is whether this growing movement will take on a global dimension delivering much more power to the workers' demand.
Sent from my iPad
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