Minimum wage workers continue 'Fight for $15' at River North McDonald's

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Fast food workers rallied Thursday morning at the Rock N Roll McDonald's in Chicago's River North neighborhood to demand the local minimum wage be raised to $15 an hour.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced a resolution to City Council on Wednesday that would raise Chicago's minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2018. But these workers said the nearly 50 percent increase from the current $8.25 an hour is not enough.

The $13 an hour figure supported by the mayor's office was recommended by a commission that studied the local cost of living and investigated what kind of minimum wage increase Chicago businesses could support.

Groups representing the interests of local businesses said labor is a company's greatest expense, and this business climate cannot support such a drastic increase in the cost for labor. The mayor disagrees.

"These are business owners who will tell you raising the minimum wage is a good thing for their bottom line," Mayor Emanuel said. "It's not only good for their bottom line, but also their workers' bottom line. It makes workers productive, and makes them committed to working and showing up."

Emanuel said we have a moral obligation to ensure that hard-working Chicagoans do not live in poverty.

There will be no vote on the minimum wage hike until after the November election, so as not to discourage Springfield from raising the minimum wage state-wide.