This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Protests are planned for at least two Utah McDonald's restaurants Thursday as part of a national campaign to raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 per hour.
A "Fight For Fifteen Flash Mob" will be held at the Salt Lake City McDonald's at 2100 S. 300 West at noon. A similar protest that is part of LowPayIsNotOK.org will be held at 12:30 p.m. at 1225 S. University Ave. in Provo.
Fast-food workers around the country are organizing similar one-day strikes against restaurants in a battle to raise the current minimum wage from $7.25 per hour.
According to a report by economists at the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Illinois, 52 percent of fast-food workers rely on public assistance such as Medicaid and food stamps, costing taxpayers $7 billion annually. On average, the fast-food industry pays its workers $8.69 per hour, according to the report.