Hillary Clinton told a conference of fast food workers Sunday that she supported their push for a $15 minimum wage, saying “I want to be your champion.”
Appearing by phone at a meeting of 1,300 workers, Clinton voiced her most emphatic support yet for the nationwide Fight for $15 movement, which is also seeking to unionize fast food giants like McDonald’s.
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Clinton also expressed broader, support for organized labor union and the right to bargain collectively.
“We need you out there fighting against those who would strip away Americans’ right to organize, to collectively bargain, to fair play,” Clinton told the crowd. “No man or woman who works hard to feed American families should have to be on food stamps to feed their own family.”
“All of you should not have to march in the streets to get a living wage, “ she added. “But thank you for marching….We need you out there.”
Pointing to recent $15 an hour legislation and wage proposals in cities like Los Angeles, St. Louis and New York City, Clinton said, “Every worker in every state and every city deserves a fair wage and a real voice on the job.” The Obama administration, after initially supporting a minimum increase to $9 and then $10.10, more recently upped that to $12.
“I hope that every one of you will continue to raise your voice until we get all working Americans a better deal,” she said. “I want to be your champion. I want to fight with you every day.”
Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry told the crowd that Clinton’s call shows “how powerful people around the world are listening to this movement to change our world.”
The appearance marks the Clinton campaign’s latest attempt to shore up her left flank and de-emphasize the centrist pragmatism that marked her husband’s presidency and her own record as senator and secretary of state.
Sunday’s appearance is also a powerful overture toward labor groups like the SEIU, which backs the Fight for $15 with millions of dollars. SEIU’s Henry said “now is the time” to raise living standards for the American workforce — and also nodded to 2016. “In this presidential election, this is the time for us to put forward an agenda to raise wages and restore prosperity for all,” Henry said.
Clinton has been making efforts recently to shore up union support. Last week she met with the American Federation of Teachers, where she said she believed that “unions are part of the solution” to the country’s education problems.
She has also taken more liberal stances on issue like immigration, saying should would support more legal protections and work permits for undocumented workers.
Clinton previously voiced support for the Fight for $15 movement during the group’s last day of major strikes and rallies on April 15, when she tweeted, “Every American deserves a fair shot at success. Fast food & child care workers shouldn’t have to march in streets for living wages.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/clinton-to-fast-food-workers-i-want-to-be-your-champion-118708.html#ixzz3cOu4j4nb
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