In another indication restaurant personnel issues will be an issue in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton pledged her support yesterday to fast-food restaurant employees pushing with union support for a $15 hourly wage.
The potential Democratic Party presidential nominee told workers rallying yesterday in Detroit that “I want to be your champion,” according to an account released yesterday by allies of Fight for $15, the union-backed effort to more than double the minimum wage mandated federally.
The account said the former U.S. Secretary of State called a convention hall where 1,300 fast-food workers had gathered to show their solidarity for a $15 wage. “I hope that every one of you will continue to raise your voices until we get all working Americans a better deal,” Clinton was quoted as saying. “I want to be your champion. I want to fight with you every day.”
The statement was issued by the same public relations agency that speaks for the National Employment Law Project, which advocates on issues affecting low-wage workers.
The show of support from the Democrat widely seen as her party’s leading contender for the presidential nomination is the latest indication that a host of employment issues will figure into the 2016 election. Clinton has been championed by supporters of family related personnel policies such as paid sick and parental leave.
Republican hopeful Marco Rubio, currently a senator from Florida, has been critical of union-supported issues such as a redefinition of franchisors as “joint employers” of franchisees’ staffs. Republican contender and current Texas Gov. Rick Perry has called in the past for a “maximum wage” to curb excessive compensation. Ben Carson, the brain-surgeon-turned-political-commentator who is also making a bid for the Republication nomination, has called for an increase in the federal minimum wage, which currently stands at $7.25.
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