Thursday, September 4, 2014

Dozens Arrested At Fast Food Protests In NYC, Detroit (PHOTOS)

Dozens of people participating in fast food strikes were arrested on Thursday morning, according to police and organizers.



Nineteen people were arrested outside of a McDonald's in Times Square at about 7:45 a.m. and charged with disorderly conduct for obstructing traffic, a NYPD spokesman told The Huffington Post.
























In Detroit, 30 protesters were detained after they blocked Mack Ave. on the city's east side, a police spokeswoman said. Six were detained on warrants and 24 were arrested and released, she said.
















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In Chicago, workers and activists were also arrested, according to tweets. A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said 19 people were temporarily detained and issued citations; they're expected to be released today.

















Protesters were also arrested in San Diego this morning. A local ABC affiliate is reporting that 11 people were arrested. A police spokesman confirmed that arrests were made, but could not confirm the number.








In Indianapolis, 10 protesters were cited for obstructing traffic, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Police Department said.



"They were cited in the parking lot with a ticket and then walked away, no one was handcuffed," Lt. Christopher Bailey said.



In Hartford, Connecticut, 13 protesters were cited for disorderly conduct, according to police.








In Las Vegas, 10 people were cited after they blocked the north- and south-bound lanes of Las Vegas Boulevard this morning, a police spokesman told HuffPost.



In Miami, seven protesters were arrested after they refused to comply with an order from police to disperse from the middle of the road where they were sitting, a Miami-Dade County Police Department spokesman told HuffPost.



"They were taken into custody without incident," the spokesman said.










Fast-food workers and activists are protesting in more than 100 cities across the country Thursday, demanding higher wages and better working conditions. The protests are the latest in a series of actions over the past few years aimed at calling attention to the plight of fast-food workers, who typically earn near the minimum wage and are subject to erratic schedules.



Industry groups argue that raising wages would squeeze the franchisees who own most of the restaurants. They also say fast-food jobs are meant to be entry level, and therefore workers should get entry-level pay. But the economic downturn and slow recovery has meant that low-paying jobs in fast food, retail and other sectors are growing much faster than middle-income work. That dynamic has forced many breadwinners to rely on multiple fast-food jobs to get by, activists argue.



On Thursday, home-care workers -- another low-paying, fast-growing sector -- joined the fast food protests for the first time.



This is a developing story. Check back for updates.



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