S.C. Fast-Food Workers Walk off the Job Ahead of Primary

South Carolina fast-food cooks and cashiers walked off the job  on Saturday, calling for $15 an hour and union rights, and were joined for the first time by fast-food workers in Greenville.

The strike kicks off a daylong series of protests that will culminate in a massive march on the GOP debate, with underpaid workers from across the state challenging candidates to come get their votes.

Richard Baxter, a Subway employee in Greenville, told the crowd this afternoon he was out on strike because he can’t support his son on $8.50 an hour.

Tamariah Meritt, a local child care worker who joined in the protest, told CNNMoney “No one works in child care for big bucks, but when I’m paid $8.00 an hour, I can’t afford essentials for myself such as rent. Too many of us can’t afford the basics and too many parents can’t afford quality care. Politicians have the power to change that.”

As reported in the Greenville News, in South Carolina 53 percent of workers make less than $15 an hour. In an interview,  National Organizing director Kendall Fells told the paper, “All these politicians are chasing these votes across South Carolina and we’ll be right outside with more than 1,000 votes saying ‘If you want our vote, come get our vote.’ We don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican, whether you want to be dog catcher or president, you have to promise two things: $15 and a union. I don’t think that any candidate that is running for president of the United States can make it to that seat without talking about $15 and a union.”

The workers’ strike in Greenville comes just two days after Milwaukee workers stormed the Democratic debate at the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, and follows a wave of other walkouts coinciding with presidential primary debates in Manchester, Charleston, and Des Moines.