Charleston fast food workers strike shortly after Labor Day
On Thursday, September 4, the largest fast-food-worker strike in United States history took place in more than 150 cities, including: New York, Detroit, Chicago and even our very own, Charleston, SC. At 8 AM, workers, organizers, and activists, gathered outside of the Taco Bell on James Island, demanding a fair wage of $15 an hour and the right to form a union. Mid-day, they regrouped at Brittlebank Park and marched to the McDonald’s downtown holding banners and signs, chanting: “forward together, not one step back,” as printed on the back of their shirts. Twenty-five brave fast food workers blockaded all four lanes of the high-traffic Spring St. for over an hour. It was the largest civil disobedience event in Charleston since the November 2011 occupation of Marion Square, when 10 Occupy Charleston protesters were arrested.
Cherri Delesline, a mother of four, currently employed at a McDonald’s in North Charleston, was a dynamic ringleader leading chants such as,
“I believe that we will win,” and “we can’t survive on $7.25,” keeping up energy within the group. Earlier that week, Cherri spoke at the CofC Annual Labor Day Celebration as a part of a panel about labor laws and unions. Cherri spoke about her struggles surviving off of a $7.25 minimum wage and remarked, “Everyone should be a part of a union. When I wasn’t, my voice wasn’t being heard.” This and other struggles, resulting from working in a Right to Work state that scorns labor unions are shared among other fast food workers in South Carolina.
http://site.cisternyard.com/2014/09/18/fast-food-workers-strikes-in-charleston-shortly-after-labor-day/