The fight for higher fast-food wages is coming to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Just a few days before Labor Day, restaurant workers plan to walk off the job at big-name chains around Southern California to demand $15-an-hour pay, according to organizers.<\/p>\n
The protests, part of a nationwide day of strikes called for Aug. 29, would be the latest in a series of one-day, rolling walkouts that have occurred in major cities in recent weeks. Workers have picketed McDonald’s, KFC and Taco Bell and other restaurants during peak mealtimes to demand better pay and the right to organize.<\/p>\n
Bankrolled by the Service Employees International Union in concert with community groups, the protests are focusing attention on a group of low-income workers whose numbers are growing fast. They are also part of a drive to pressure Congress to raise the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which has not increased in four years. President Obama has supported an effort to raise the minimum wage to $9.<\/p>\n