US fast-food workers plan to strike in 100 cities this week

Fast-food workers in about 100 cities will strike on Thursday in a bid to gain leverage for their push for higher wages.

The strike is being organized by a coalition of labor groups including Fast Food Forward, Fight for 15, USAction and United Students against Sweatshops, and is backed by the Service Employees International Union.

Strike organizers have called for companies like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s to pay their workers $15 an hour.

Workers in New York City held the first fast-food strike in US history in Nov. 2012. Since then, there have been several strikes protesting low wages with mixed results, crippling some restaurants but making no difference to others.

More from GlobalPost: New York fast-food workers strike for higher wages

Strike organizers said the upcoming strike would see workers walk off the job for the first time in Charleston, SC, Providence, RI, and Pittsburgh.

The National Restaurant Association has said that increasing pay to $15 an hour would cause restaurants to hire fewer workers.

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