San Diegans stopping at fast-food restaurants for coffee and a bite Tuesday morning may be met by protesters.
A national day of action was scheduled in 270 cities across the U.S. as part of “Fight for $15”, a movement calling for minimum wage to rise to $15 per hour.
Organized labor says 6 million workers in California and 64 million workers nationwide make less than $15 an hour.
In San Diego, demonstrators gathered just after sunrise at the McDonald’s on Park Boulevard.
Ramon Johnson works at Burger King and has been employed in the fast-food industry for 20 years. He was among those planning on participating in the walkout and the rally outside San Diego City Hall later in the day.
“It was very difficult because the rent in San Diego, Ca is average $1,200 a month for a studio apartment or a bedroom, that doesn't include gas and phone bills and things like that,” Johnson said.
As of 10 a.m., McDonald's reported only three workers in the U.S. had walked off their jobs.
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A company spokesperson told NBC 7 employees "can both earn and learn, which we know is vital to attract and retain talented people."
Lisa McComb, Director, McDonald’s Media Relations, said the company-owned locations increased wages to a dollar over locally-mandated minimum wage earlier this year.
"We also expanded our education program to help 750,000 employees who work at both company and franchised McDonald’s restaurants receive high school and college tuition assistance," McComb said.
A recent poll conducted in New York City found voters support a plan to phase in a $15-an-hour minimum wage for fast-food workers but they're opposed to the idea of replacing restaurant tips with higher menu prices.
Some corporations recently announced wage increase including the UC system, IKEA and WalMart offering their employees higher wages.
The City of San Diego will raise the minimum wage to $10.50 in 2016 and $11.50 in 2017. However, some local leaders say that's still not enough. Critics calculate that after taxes and housing expenses, minimum wage workers would have $51 each week for food, transportation and everything else.
McComb said McDonald's supports the idea that any minimum wage increase take effect over time.
"So that the impact on owners of small and medium-sized businesses – like the ones who own and operate the majority of our restaurants – is manageable," McComb said.
Jerry Sanders, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce said any increase in wages needs to be done so it doesn’t negatively impact jobs.
“There are additional means, besides increasing the minimum wage, to put more money back into the hands of working families such as the California earned income tax credit which was recently passed by the State and will go into effect in January,” Sanders added.
California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and other state legislators were going to join workers as they march on City Hall on Front Street after 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
