Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) — Protesters clamoring for higher wages at fast food restaurants were arrested outside a McDonald's Corp. restaurant in New York's Times Square, part of a nationwide demonstration planned for 150 cities.
The New York Police Department said there had been at least 19 arrests at the event this morning, including 14 men and five women. The protesters were taken into custody for disorderly conduct when they blocked vehicle traffic in front of the 42nd Street McDonald's, Officer Arlene Muniz said.
Rallies demanding a $15-an-hour wage for fast food workers are planned across the country today in what may be the largest labor action since the movement started in 2012. The arrests were part of strategy to draw more attention to the effort, said Kendall Fells, an organizing director with Fast Food Forward in New York.
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The Times Square McDonald's was chosen for the protest because of its prominent location, said Fells, 34. After the arrests, about a dozen police officers looked on as protesters mingled at the scene and talked with reporters.
Christopher Espinosa, 19, works at a McDonald's a few blocks north of Times Square and said he took an unpaid day off to be at the protest. Espinosa, a freshman at Berkeley College who lives in the Bronx, has worked for McDonald's for over a year, with his salary increasing to $8 from $7.25 in that time.
"I'm out here trying to have a better salary to pay for college," Espinosa said. "These companies are making a lot of money — they can afford it."
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