Minimum wage workers demand higher pay in Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Protesters marched through the Loop and River North demanding higher pay and union representation two days after City Council voted to raise the city's minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2019.

Workers at the Rock N Roll McDonald's at 600 North Clark Street walked off the job around 4:30 a.m. Thursday, pushing for a $15 per hour minimum wage.

They took their protest down the street to the BP at LaSalle and Ontario. The only employee manning the gas station, Daryel Eatmonds, shut down all the pumps and locked up the store to join the group. John Cullotta, an operating engineer and union man, was not able to fill up his tank before the morning commute because of the protest.

"Being in a union, I mean, I understand where they're coming from. It's unfortunate this has to happen, especially right when I actually need gas. But there's nothing you can do about it," Cullotta said.

Eatmonds came to work knowing he might walk off the job Thursday morning.

"I could have lost my job today. I could have lost my job tomorrow. But to make this change for my future and my next generation is more important to me. I had been thinking about it for weeks and I realize how much of a change this really meant," he said.

Some of the fast food workers Eatmonds marched with have walked off the job seven times in the last couple of years. Their employers have never retaliated.

"If we just hit $13, it's not that far from $15. We're not going to stop until we get our $15 and our unions," said Nancy Salgado, a McDonald's employee.

Several politicians joined the protesters, supporting their call for $15 an hour wages, days after the City Council vote.

"I mean, we're asking for $15 and a union. We need that protection in the workplace as well. We need someone fighting for the workers. Until then, we're going to fight for ourselves," said Jessica Davis, a McDonald's employee.

The council's decision could be overruled by state legislators. Some said they want to enact a law that would prohibit cities in Illinois from imposing a minimum wage higher than the state's.

Governor Pat Quinn may call a special session before Christmas to vote on a proposal that would raise the minimum wage in Illinois to $11 an hour.

McDonald's released a statement regarding the minimum wage protest on Thursday:

"At McDonald's we respect everyone's right to peacefully protest. The topic of minimum wage goes well beyond McDonald's - it affects our country's entire workforce. McDonald's and our independent franchisees support paying our valued employees fair wages aligned with a competitive marketplace. We believe that any minimum wage increase should be implemented over time so that the impact on owners of small and medium-sized businesses - like the ones who own and operate the majority of our restaurants - is manageable. Additionally, we believe that any increase needs to be considered in a broad context, one that considers, for example, the impact of the Affordable Care Act and its definition of "full time" employment, as well as the treatment, from a tax perspective, of investments made by businesses owners. It's important to know approximately 90 percent of our U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by franchisees who set wages according to job level and local and federal laws. McDonald's does not determine wages set by our more than 3,000 U.S. franchisees."