‘Fight for $15:’ Fast food workers rally in Milwaukee and across the country

MILWAUKEE -- Fast food workers in Milwaukee are walking off the job --  and the strike could be the largest ever for the fast food industry.  It's taking place in hundreds of cities across the country.

Since 2012 there has been a nationwide campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Those who are protesting today hope now is their time -- after recent victories in New York and California for higher pay and expanded benefits.

This is not the first time fast food workers in Milwaukee have gone on strike.

Protesters in Milwaukee gathered at the McDonald's near Capitol and Holton Thursday morning. They plan to gather at the Washington Park Senior Center near 44th and Vliet for another rally and march at 5 p.m.

The minimum wage in Wisconsin is $7.25 an hour -- and the last time it went up was in 2009.

Many of the strikes happening today across the U.S. focus on McDonald's. Strikers say the company avoids paying workers fair wages and their fair share in taxes.

Last year, McDonald's announced it would raise starting wages by one dollar above the local minimum wage at its company owned restaurants, about 10 percent of locations.

The Fight for $15 campaign is organized and funded by the Service Employees International Union.