IBEW 1245 members rallied at events across the state on April 15 to support the Fight for $15 movement. 1245 Organizer Fred Ross spoke at an event Wednesday morning in Berkeley, where he inspired the crowd with a bilingual address and introduced Robert Reich, the former United States Secretary of Labor under President Clinton. 1245 Organizing Steward Logan Jonas joined the rally just after finishing his night shift at PG&E.
In Fresno, 1245 members and Organizing Stewards stood shoulder to shoulder with other protesters outside a McDonald’s to call attention to the company’s low wages and unfair scheduling practices. After more than two years of pressure from the labor movement, McDonald’s recently raised its pay by one dollar an hour at some of its non-franchised stores – a move that workers there say is too small to make a real impact on their lives.
Meaningful progress has been made in other areas, however. Seattle will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour – the highest in the country – this month.
In Sacramento 1245 members joined with hundreds of others for a march on the Capitol. 1245 Organizing Stewards Rene Cruz-Martinez and Nilda Garcia reflect on the day:
Rene Cruz-Martinez:
“The day for me started at 4:30 am. I had a great experience picking up and meeting some of the workers. One of the organizers with me was Esteban, he used to work at the McDonald’s at the Pocket store. He was fired for speaking up. I was amazed on how willing and ready these young workers were. We picked up a total of 4 workers on our route and all of them were ready to go when we arrived. We began our first action at 8 am at the Pocket McDonald’s. The store was closed for maintenance per a sign posted at the door, but rive thru remained open. At this point we were notified at least 4 stores closed for maintenance. These were all stores where actions had been done in the past. Two of the workers were brave and walked out of work to join the strike. Both of these young girls whom are students and one of them has to work two jobs to afford school and also help her parents with money.
“I was amazed at both marches here in Sacramento and in Berkeley. The turn out was huge. We had at least 400 people here in Sacramento and in the thousands in Berkeley. The thing that stood out for me the most here in Sacramento was the unity of all the workers and affiliated unions. This is definitely what a union is about: working people standing together, supporting all brothers and sisters in their time of need. There were so many different unions out here and in Berkeley. To name a few SEIU, UFCW, CWA, IBEW, Teamsters and affiliated groups like OUR Walmart. This has been one of the most exciting actions I have been to. It was well organized and to see how many people were at city hall in Sacramento was amazing. We shut down McDonald’s and took over Sacramento City Hall.”
Nilda Garcia:
“Our Fight for $15 began at the notorious McDonalds on Pocket Rd in Sacramento. This store has illegally fired employees for exercising their right to strike.
“At 8am we began assembling fast food workers, passing out t-shirts and getting everyone ready to march and protest around the McDonalds. The restaurant was quick to close their doors to dining area but they kept drive-thru open. (A note on door said ‘Closed for Maintenance’.) However, it was shut down real quick when fast food workers began the protest. We did a few laps around the restaurant causing the shut down of drive-thru. We protested for about 2 hours. We did have 2 employees walk out of the McDonalds and join the protest. They appreciated the support and encouraged the fight!
“We parted then to join the 11:30am protest at Crocker Park in downtown Sacramento. We marched along to Sacramento City Hall where we all chanted for $15 an hour and a Union. Assemblymember McCarty did speak and joined the cause. He fully supports raising the wage! This hour long protest got us prepared for the bus ride to City of Berkeley.
“A few hundred of us gathered together and loaded about 7 buses and took the ride to Berkeley. There we joined A LOT more people! Berkeley was alive and high spirited, ready to protest. We had the pleasure to take photos with newly elected California Labor Federation President Kathryn Lybarger. She said it was great to be back in Berkeley where she use to work as a landscaper and enjoyed the work she did.
“The crowd was huge! It was such a great success. I am so proud to be part of this movement. And I am confident that we will WIN!”