Valley works stage “Fight for 15” protest

College of the Desert student Mitchell Strand recalls the struggle of working for McDonald’s at $8 an hour.

“I was on food stamps, we were on all sorts of public assistance,” Strand said of his living situation with his girlfriend, who he supported financially. “All labor should be valued at how much it makes our bosses.”

Strand and other protesters at the valley’s “Fight for 15” rally at an Indio McDonald’s restaurant say those bosses make too much.

“I’m sick of it, we’re sick of it,” shouted one protestor.

“The corporations make huge amounts of profits, billions of dollars, and it’s not really coming down to the worker,” said Amalia Deaztlan, president of Democratic Women of the Desert.

California’s minimum wage is $9 an hour, set to increase to $10 in January 2016. But protesters say that won’t cut it. They’re demanding $15.

“$10 is still not enough,” said Lorraine Salas, who organized the local protest. “Because parents are forced to work two jobs in order to make ends meet.”

Indio’s Fight for 15 was one of hundreds of protests in cities across the country Wednesday.

Rallies from New York to Illinois to Georgia, hoped to get the attention of corporate giants like Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Dunkin Donuts to name a few.

“It’s not just a higher wage but better scheduling, full-time scheduling so they don’t change your hours everyday,” said Chuck Parker, a retired postal worker who also helped organize the protest.

Valley workers say the extra six bucks an hour would be life-changing.

“It can make a big difference in terms of when you’re buying food or accumulating those wages at the end of the week,” Deaztlan said.

“I wouldn’t have to be on food stamps, at the time I would have not had to live in a studio,” Strand said.