Low-Wage Worker Protests Swarm US Cities

Fast food workers from America’s largest cities, including Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis and Kansas City, are out to demand a $15 an hour wage, calling their movement "Fight for 15."

Walmart employees, home care assistants and childcare workers are also hitting the streets, to join the fight for a higher minimum wage.

In Washington DC, protesters have blocked traffic to get to the National Restaurant Association, while university adjunct faculty takes to the streets to demand a "pathway to the middle class."

In New York City, workers, students, construction workers and activists occupied an intersection and stopped early-morning traffic at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, stopping commuters from getting to work in Manhattan.

Across the globe, workers in Europe as well as New Zealand, have gone on strikes in solidarity with Americans.

The crowd has gotten so large that politicians couldn’t ignore it.

The International Labor Movement, coordinating with 35 countries, has chosen April 15, the day US tax filings are due, to draw attention to the low-wage workers who are dependent on government handouts.

According to a new National Employment Law Project report, 42% of US workers earn less than $15 an hour. The report also cites that occupations like retail salespeople, food preparation, service workers, freight and stock workers, janitors, nursing assistants and home care workers, whose hourly wage is less than $15, are expected to add the most jobs in the coming years.