Fast Food Workers Strike Thursday – Dozens Arrested in Various Cities

It's part of the ongoing effort to either unionize fast-food workers,  or at least get a $15 minimum wage put in place.

It's too early to tell how many workers across America actually walked off the job, but very early Thursday morning,  in some cities, the numbers were in the hundreds.

Most of the activity occurred in pockets in larger cities such as New York.  According to USA Today,  the largest gathering was about 400 people at a popular McDonalds near Times Square.    But the accumulation of a hundred here, or a few dozen there, did affect the fast-food giant nationally, and also spilled over to Wendy's and Burger King.

Nationally, experts estimate the numbers to be in the thousands.

  But the walk offs were not without incident.  Near Times Square, at least 14 protestors were arrested for blocking traffic by sitting in the street, and several were also charged with allegedly intimidating motorists. According to USA Today, these tactics were apparently part of the plan:

"There has to be civil disobedience because workers don't see any other way to get $15 an hour and a union," says Kendall Fells, organizing director of the organizing group Fast Food Forward, which is financially backed by the Service Employees International Union. "There's a long history of this, from the civil rights movement to the farm workers movement."

Organizers disputed claims by numerous fast-food officials that many of the workers were actually receiving money from labor unions to picket.   Officials report arrests in other cities such as Chicago and St. Louis.   Again, according to USA Today:

"...But the National Council of Chain Restaurants, an industry trade group, took issue with the protesters. "While it is common for labor unions to stage events in order to grab media attention, encouraging activities that put both restaurant workers and their customers in danger of physical harm is not only irresponsible, it's disturbing," said executive director Rob Green, in a statement. "Unions are calling it 'civil disobedience' when in reality, this choreographed activity is trespassing and it's illegal." (bold lettering added for emphasis) .