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'Fifteen Bucks and a Union': Bernie Sanders Marches With Striking Workers
'Thank you all for coming out and standing up for justice, standing up for dignity, and for saying loudly and clearly that people in this country that work 40 hours a week deserve a living wage.'
Nov 10, 2015
As thousands of low-paid workers staged demonstrations across the U.S. on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke to a Fight for $15 rally in Washington, D.C. to credit their movement with recent victories and reiterate his support for a $15 federal minimum wage.
"Thank you all for coming out and standing up for justice, standing up for dignity, and for saying loudly and clearly that people in this country that work 40 hours a week deserve a living wage," Sanders, who is running for president as a Democrat, told the crowd as they marched in the rain on Capitol Hill.
Among those who walked off the job on Tuesday to demand a livable wage and the right to unionize were U.S. Senate cafeteria workers, who are employed as federal contractors--which means they get few benefits and no bargaining rights.
"What you are doing and workers all over the United States are doing, you are having a profound impact," Sanders said. "People are raising the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. And you know who started it? You did. You started the movement."
"Now we've got to finish the job," he said. "Fifteen bucks and a union."
Watch video of Sanders' speech below:
Organized under the banner Come Get My Vote, the day of action saw workers in at least 270 cities nationwide walk off the job, while nearly 500 cities hosted strikes and rallies outside their respective city halls, to mark the official year-long countdown to next year's presidential elections.
"We can't wait," Latifah Trezvant, a McDonald's employee from Kansas City, Missouri, told the news website Attn. "We've got one message for anyone running for office in 2016, whether it's for dogcatcher or president: Come get our vote."
Sanders has previously introduced a bill into Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, up from its current $7.25. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also supports higher pay, but has been hesitant to embrace $15 an hour, instead pushing for $12.
Showing her support for struggling low-wage workers on Tuesday, Clinton sent a tweet.
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This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
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Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
As thousands of low-paid workers staged demonstrations across the U.S. on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke to a Fight for $15 rally in Washington, D.C. to credit their movement with recent victories and reiterate his support for a $15 federal minimum wage.
"Thank you all for coming out and standing up for justice, standing up for dignity, and for saying loudly and clearly that people in this country that work 40 hours a week deserve a living wage," Sanders, who is running for president as a Democrat, told the crowd as they marched in the rain on Capitol Hill.
Among those who walked off the job on Tuesday to demand a livable wage and the right to unionize were U.S. Senate cafeteria workers, who are employed as federal contractors--which means they get few benefits and no bargaining rights.
"What you are doing and workers all over the United States are doing, you are having a profound impact," Sanders said. "People are raising the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. And you know who started it? You did. You started the movement."
"Now we've got to finish the job," he said. "Fifteen bucks and a union."
Watch video of Sanders' speech below:
Organized under the banner Come Get My Vote, the day of action saw workers in at least 270 cities nationwide walk off the job, while nearly 500 cities hosted strikes and rallies outside their respective city halls, to mark the official year-long countdown to next year's presidential elections.
"We can't wait," Latifah Trezvant, a McDonald's employee from Kansas City, Missouri, told the news website Attn. "We've got one message for anyone running for office in 2016, whether it's for dogcatcher or president: Come get our vote."
Sanders has previously introduced a bill into Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, up from its current $7.25. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also supports higher pay, but has been hesitant to embrace $15 an hour, instead pushing for $12.
Showing her support for struggling low-wage workers on Tuesday, Clinton sent a tweet.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
As thousands of low-paid workers staged demonstrations across the U.S. on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke to a Fight for $15 rally in Washington, D.C. to credit their movement with recent victories and reiterate his support for a $15 federal minimum wage.
"Thank you all for coming out and standing up for justice, standing up for dignity, and for saying loudly and clearly that people in this country that work 40 hours a week deserve a living wage," Sanders, who is running for president as a Democrat, told the crowd as they marched in the rain on Capitol Hill.
Among those who walked off the job on Tuesday to demand a livable wage and the right to unionize were U.S. Senate cafeteria workers, who are employed as federal contractors--which means they get few benefits and no bargaining rights.
"What you are doing and workers all over the United States are doing, you are having a profound impact," Sanders said. "People are raising the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. And you know who started it? You did. You started the movement."
"Now we've got to finish the job," he said. "Fifteen bucks and a union."
Watch video of Sanders' speech below:
Organized under the banner Come Get My Vote, the day of action saw workers in at least 270 cities nationwide walk off the job, while nearly 500 cities hosted strikes and rallies outside their respective city halls, to mark the official year-long countdown to next year's presidential elections.
"We can't wait," Latifah Trezvant, a McDonald's employee from Kansas City, Missouri, told the news website Attn. "We've got one message for anyone running for office in 2016, whether it's for dogcatcher or president: Come get our vote."
Sanders has previously introduced a bill into Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, up from its current $7.25. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also supports higher pay, but has been hesitant to embrace $15 an hour, instead pushing for $12.
Showing her support for struggling low-wage workers on Tuesday, Clinton sent a tweet.
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