U.S. fast food workers went on strike to demand a higher minimum wage, and many people were arrested on both sides of the aisle

U.S. fast food workers went on strike to demand a higher minimum wage, and many people were arrested on both sides of the country. A large number of fast food workers from coast to coast across the U.S. began strike action on Thursday to fight for...

According to a report on the Los Angeles Times website, police arrested 10 protesters who were sitting hand in hand in front of a McDonald's in downtown Los Angeles. Hundreds of fast-food workers staged a sit-in Thursday after marching downtown.

Eleven protesters in San Diego were arrested for blocking traffic at an intersection in the blue-collar City Heights neighborhood. Arrests were also made in Chicago, Las Vegas and Detroit.

According to a report by USA Today, fast food workers in more than 100 cities went on strike on Thursday, which may seriously affect the three major fast food chains McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King. Just after 7 a.m. ET, New York City police arrested 19 striking workers sitting on the street outside a McDonald's near Times Square and refusing to leave. Unconfirmed reports said some striking fast-food workers in Detroit were also arrested.

reported that the striking workers' demands include an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour and the right to organize a union. However, fast food companies face fierce competition and must try to control costs - including labor expenses.

Kendall Fells, director of Fast Food Forward, the group that organized the strike, said, "Because workers don't see any other way to raise the hourly wage to $15 and organize a union, they can only take peaceful disobedient actions." "Fast Food Forward" is funded by the Service Employees International Union.

The National Council of Chain Restaurants, an industry group, disputed the protesters' claims. Rob Green, the council's chief executive, said union strikes to attract media attention often happen, but encouraging restaurant workers and customers to engage in dangerous practices is not only irresponsible but also disturbing. What unions claim to be peaceful disobedience movements often turns into trespassing and illegal actions.

A few days ago, President Obama gave a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee, supporting the so-called movement to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.