SEIU fast-food Thursday protests will target 300 cities

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which is behind the push for a $15 minimum wage, is preparing for its biggest round of fast-food protests yet.

Tens of thousands of low-wage workers will walk off their jobs and protest on Thursday in more than 300 cities around the world, according to labor organizers.

The “Fight for $15” protests will sweep through New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, St. Louis and hundreds of other cities. The workers will target McDonald’s, even though many of the protesters work in home care or at schools, hospitals and airports. 

Business groups, meanwhile, are scoffing at its efforts.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday questioned how effective the protests will be, considering that some local branches of the SEIU have settled for contracts below $10 an hour.

“It’s ironic to see SEIU-sponsored activists calling for $15 an hour and organizing rights when the SEIU fails to negotiate that wage in some of its own contracts,” said Glenn Spencer, vice president of the Chamber’s Workforce Freedom Initiative.

According to Spencer, SEIU Locals 503 and 1199 negotiated wages as low as $9.10, while Local 775 negotiated a wage of $9.75 for its members.

“No more than a handful of protestors appear in most of the targeted locations, and few, if any, workers actually walk out on strike,” Spencer said.

— This post was updated at 3:05 p.m.