KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dozens of fast food workers have walked off their jobs on Tuesday. They say they’re protesting for better pay.
Protests began on Monday as fast food workers walked off their jobs to rally for higher wages and a union to represent them.
Customers at restaurants near 63rd & Troost had to wait a little longer to get their lunch orders because fewer workers were on the job.
“I walked out on my job for my kids,” said Carmen Iverson, who works at McDonald’s. “We work hard at McDonald’s for what we do, so we deserve $15 an hour.”
Iverson said she currently makes $7.35 an hour — an income that is not enough for her to pay her bills or feed her children, she said.
“I’m way behind on rent, utilities and I’m barely putting food on my kids’ plates,” she said in a live interview with FOX 4’s John Pepitone.
Iverson said she doesn’t think that fast food restaurants would need to raise the price of food if they raised minimum age because food chains like McDonald’s are billion-dollar companies.
Fast food workers like Iverson said by walking out on their jobs on Tuesday they’re putting pressure on their employers to reconsider raising wages. They said they believe $15 an hour should be the minimum wage. Fast food chains say their pay is competitive with the rest of the food service industry.
These workers are being assisted by local churches in their efforts to get better pay.
A minister told FOX 4 News anyone who works hard should expect to be able to meet their basic needs. And that isn’t happening with some of the people who work at two or more fast food jobs.
