(WWJ) Fast food workers shut down the drive-thru at a Detroit McDonald's Monday afternoon, demanding higher pay.
The protesters drove in a caravan down Van Dyke Ave. near east Outer Drive, with horns hooking.
David Williams, 19, said their message is simple: "Respect us, protect us, and pay us," he told WWJ Newsradio 950's Vickie Thomas.
Williams, who has worked at McDonald's for three years now makes $10.15 an-hour. He and his fellow demonstrators are calling on President-elect Joe Biden to fulfill his campaign promise to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an-hour.
"He did, you know, promise us and he did tell us that he believed in it, and in his first 100 days he was gonna try to push it and everything," Williams said. "So we're just waiting on him to fulfill his word."
To be clear, Biden would not be able to take action on that front until after his inauguration, which is set for Jan. 20, 2021.
Regardless, Patricia Mosely, who's worked at McDonald's for 38 years, said she hopes the President-elect is listening.
"I make $11 (an hour), and I still make less than $15. And I feel like since we have a new president he should be able to hear us today," she told Thomas. "We need hazard pay, co-pay and we need medical pay. I'm here on medical now, and I'm dependent on Medicaid."
Along with more cash, the protesters are also demanding that McDonald's and other fast food companies take steps to better protect their employees from COVID-19.
