Restaurant Industry Alert – Fast Food Strikes Announced for Global Workforce

Executive Summary: In an attempt to draw attention to their ongoing efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, union organizers have announced another walkout/strike for May 15th. The latest push, an international effort headed by the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), was announced last week at a press conference in New York City. Walkouts are currently slated for Oakland, Raleigh, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Miami and Orlando, with workers in other cities potentially joining in. Globally, there will be strikes and protests in cities like Rabat; Morocco; Hong Kong; Seoul; Bangkok; Auckland; Brussels; Dublin; Rome; and Buenos Aires, among many others. With thousands of fast-food workers in the U.S. expected to take part in the one-day strike, employers in the fast food industry would be wise to make sure they are prepared to respond appropriately to these efforts.