Where to Begin? Lessons from the Fight for $15 Beyond North America
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1521 .... December 6, 2017
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Where to Begin?
Lessons from the Fight for $15 Beyond North America
Jonathan Rosenblum lives in Seattle, Washington, and is a member of UAW 1981/National Writers Union. He is the author of Beyond $15: Immigrant Workers, Faith Activists, and the Revival of the Labor Movement (Beacon Press, 2017). More about him can be found at jonathanrosenblum.org.
The interview was counducted by Yuri Lobunov, editor-in-chief of socialistalternative.ru, where this interview was published in Russian.
Yuri Lobunov (YL): How was the idea of the "fight for 15" born?
Jonathan Rosenblum (JR): Big ideas sometimes start small. Fast food workers in New York City were the first workers to raise the banner demanding "$15 and a Union." In late November, 2012, 200 fast-food workers in midtown Manhattan... took to the streets for a one-day walkout to demand a $15/hour minimum wage -- more than double the national minimum -- and union recognition.
For a city of 8 million people, it was a small protest, but for low-wage workers around the country, this bold call for $15 and union recognition pressed beyond the limits of their imaginations. Union organizers were used to talking about more incremental gains, like 50 cents. And previous wage demands weren’t typically tied to union rights. Such a big demand seemed absurd -- until the New York workers issued it.
