Fast-food workers to launch intensified protests across U.S.

[September 02, 2014]  (Reuters) - McDonald's line cooks, Burger King cashiers and other fast-food restaurant workers across the U.S. plan to walk off the job on Thursday in an ongoing battle with their employers to gain a $15 hourly wage, organizers said on Monday.

The protests, announced on Twitter by organizer Fight For 15, come as cities across the nation propose minimum wage increases while Democrats seek to raise the federal minimum wage ahead of this year's mid-term congressional elections.

Fast food workers have launched a series of protests over the last nearly two years to bring awareness to their demands, which include the right to unionize without retaliation.

In one of the last major actions, restaurant workers launched rallies in 150 cities, including Boston, Chicago, New York and Miami in May.

This time, organizers are staging walkouts in more than 100 cities and plan to use nonviolent civil disobedience tactics such as sit-ins, The New York Times reported.

Unlike the protest in May, thousands of home care workers are expected to join in solidarity, the Times reported.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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