Page 14 - 5-1-15 Friday's Edition

Feature
Local Rainbow/PUSH Coordinator Seeks Others To Join National Movement
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Florida Coordinator for the Rainbow/PUSH Organi- zation, Rev. Charles McKenzie, said he was proud to be a part of a move- ment that really began in New York City.
“On March 15th, I was on the campus of the University of South Florida to be a part of “Fight For 15,” a move- ment by fast food workers demanding a $15-an-hour minimum wage increase.
“I was surprised to see homecare workers, Wal- Mart employees, Graduate Assistants Untied and ad- junct professors also joining in on the protest.”
Rev. McKenzie said what started out in New York with a group of fast food workers walking out, has now become a burgeoning movement, pulling together more sectors of low-wage workers into a force de- manding higher per-hour wages. Their leadership has provided the spark for a na- tionwide movement.
“I think the coming out of the grads and adjuncts is of particular importance, not just their numbers, but what
REV. CHARLES MCKENZIE
they represent. They are not the traditional poor.
“They are shining exam- ples of pursuit of the Ameri- can Dream.”
Rev. McKenzie said on March 15, 2015, 90 fast food workers and their supporters marched from a Taco Bell on Busch Boulevard to a Mc- Donald’s Restaurant a few blocks away.
“The primary focus was on the restaurant chains’ brutal health and safety con- ditions. A research report re- vealed 79% of fast food workers have suffered burns in the past year, and some of them said they were told to smear mustard on the burns and keep working.
“Also, 67% of them were cut, 34% were hurt from heavy lifting, and 23% were injured in falls on wet or oily floors.”
Rev. McKenzie said while the police in Temple
PATRICIA WALKER .....among a group of protesters.
survival in the richest nation where we are receiving star- vation wages.”
Rev. McKenzie said those who participate in the protest activities are respon- sible for transforming the movement into a national endeavor.
“Although I’m not an or- ganizer, I’m in constant con- tact with those who are, and that all happens in New York, because that’s where the movement began.”
Home Health Care worker Patricia Walker said she joined the move- ment four years ago.
“I’ve worked in the health care industry since I was a teenager. When I started it didn’t take me long to realize you got no raises, no bene- fits, and it’s hard to make a living that way. Right now, I don’t earn enough money to live by myself. I believe the government is at fault for all of this
“For the volume of work I do, I feel I could be compen- sated better.”
Ms. Walker said she feels support is growing for the movement and even peo- ple not in the industry agree they should be earning more money.
“The movement started out with just the people in the fast food industry at first. Because we all have the same problems, others have joined in on the movement
“When you evaluate the volume of work we do, the money just isn’t there. I work 70 hours-a-week between my home care job and a sec- ond job. I’d love to take a va- cation to see my grandchildren, but I can’t af- ford it.”
Terrace have tried to keep things cool, this demonstra- tion was more tense, and the police were more aggressive and intimidating, using crime scene tape to restrict the movements of the marchers. They responded by briefly surging into the parking lot.
“That spirit was carried a few hours later into the USF- Tampa ISA Building, where Adjunct Professor Cole Bellamy talked of how in higher education, there is an idea that they are a bunch of
people wearing stuffy tweed jackets who walk around clearing their throats all the time.
“The reality is that most of the academic labor in this country is being done by ad- junct, a contingent labor. This labor is guaranteed a one-year contract at best.
“I believe now more than ever that this is a watershed movement in our history. This issue goes beyond color, it goes beyond gender, and it goes beyond all the isms. Ul- timately, it is a question of
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PAGE 2-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015