Fast Food Workers Plan Another Global Protest April 15

Fast food workers from all over the world are striking once again. According to Time, on April 15 — Tax Day — employees will walk off the job at chains in over 200 cities across the U.S., and protests will be held in up to 40 other countries on the same day. CBS notes that this time rallies and marches will also be held on 170 university campuses including Columbia and USC.

The workers are asking for a $15 per hour wage and the right to unionize, as they have during previous protests held over the past two years. A recent study revealed nearly 40 percent of restaurant industry workers currently live in poverty. Often those employed by the restaurant industry also do not receive benefits such as health insurance. Organizers say that it will be "the largest-ever mobilization of underpaid workers."

While corporations like McDonald's have been fighting tooth-and-nail to avoid paying workers higher hourly wages, a new report says that restaurant workers' wages are on the rise. This is due in part to changes at city and state levels: Many have raised their minimum wage levels, even though the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25. Some cities are even raising the hourly minimum wage to the $15 fast food workers are demanding. Starting April 1, the city of Seattle will increase its minimum wage to $11, and will raise it by a dollar each year until it hits $15 in 2019. San Francisco will also raise its minimum wage to $15 per hour by July 2018.