By Chris Cunningham
The Scene staff
Protestors marched on the Delmar Loop in University City this spring, carrying signs that read, “I am a Man” and “On Strike: Poverty Wages hold St. Louis Down.”
They were part of a St. Louis campaign known as STL Can’t Survive on $7.35, which is pushing to raise Missouri’s minimum wage from $7.35 to $15 an hour.
“I work over 40 hours a week, and I have to decide what bills I want to pay,” said Kenta Jackson, 21, a manager at Church’s Chicken, who skipped work the morning of the rally.
“I’m doing this for all my employees,” she said. “They deserve way more.”
The campaign is being spearheaded by Missouri Jobs with Justice, a coalition of more than 100 unions, faith-based organizations and other advocacy groups, working in conjunction with the St. Louis Organizing Committee.
“(The committee represents) workers from more than 15 fast food chains in St. Louis who are making tremendous profits but do not pay employees like us enough to survive, enough to support our families and to cover basic needs like food, health care, rent and transportation,” according to its website.
An estimated 700 people showed up for the University City march on May 9. It was followed by a rally with speakers and rappers.
“Over 100 workers were on strike the day of the rally,” said Martin Rafanan, co-chair of the Missouri Jobs with Justice St. Louis Workers Rights Board and community director of STL Can’t Survive on $7.35.
Protesters marched down Delmar Boulevard from Leland to Skinker and back. The crowd then gathered around a small stage near Vintage Vinyl. The Rev. Frederick McCullough was the first to speak.
“Because of what you’ve done today, you’ve joined the ranks of Rosa Parks,” he said, speaking of the Montgomery, Ala., woman who became a civil rights icon after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955.
Next came entertainment by local hip-hop artists, including Tef Poe, Nato Caliph, Michael Franco, D.J. Nune and Theolonius Kryptonite. Kryptonite performed a song called “Rebel with a Cause,” prompting audience members to raise their fists in the air.
Sharon Thomas, 19, who works at Church’s Chicken and Jimmy John’s restaurants, brought her infant son to the rally.
“When he gets older, I don’t want him to work as hard as I have to,” she said.
Retired teacher Caroyln Randazzo, 57, of Ferguson, showed up because she believes decent pay is a basic human right. She also came to support her daughter, who earns minimum wage, despite earning a master’s degree.
“It’s a moral issue, and my faith tells me we are a part of one family,” she said. “People need a living wage so they don’t need shelters.”
Bella Winters, 60, a student at Eden Theological Seminary who is retired from the military, sees a societal benefit to higher wages.
“A lot of people are on food stamps,” she said. “(A reduction) would alleviate pressure on taxpayers.”
The STL Can’t Survive on $7.35 march and rally followed similar protests by fast-food workers in Chicago and New York in April.
Jimmy John’s and McDonald’s workers in St. Louis organized “strikes,” meaning some employees skipped work and picketed outside. The McDonald’s employees traveled to Chicago to protest with other workers from across the nation.
State minimum wages range from $5.15 an hour in Georgia and Wyoming to $9 in Washington. It’s $8.25 in neighboring Illinois. The federal minimum wage is $7.25.