Charleston, SC - Today, low wage workers and communities across the country will be gathering for strikes, actions, and vigils to continue the fight for fair wages and dignity at work for all workers. 

In Charleston, workers, immigrants, and community members are coming together for a demonstration and worker “speak out” to share stories, cultural pieces, and build relationships as they continue the fight for a living wage of $15/hour, full union rights, an end to police discrimination and brutality, and fight back against harmful immigration policies that criminalize immigrant communities and tear families apart.

The Trump Administration's dangerous attacks against workers, particularly low wage food and hospitality workers, and all marginalized people continue a centuries-long history of oppression. Families are being torn apart by immigration raids and deportation, Native sovereignty is violated, Muslims are banned, Black and Brown communities face even more criminalization, trans people excluded, and corporate interest drive down wages, safety protections, organizing rights, and rapidly destroy the environment. 

More than half of Black workers are paid less than $15, and sixty percent of Latinos are paid less than $15.  Black and Brown families are hurt the most when profitable companies like McDonald’s continue to pay people as little as they possibly can.

What: Demonstration and Community Gathering

When: May 1, 5:30-8:00pm

Where: 2810 Ashley Phosphate Rd. Suite B10

Who: Fight for 15, Latino Association of Charleston, Indivisible Charleston , ACLU, and other community allies and organizations

Background on May 1: Working people around the world began celebrating May 1 as a holiday to honor work after a group of immigrant workers in Chicago were killed at a demonstration in 1886. They had gone on strike to keep work hours to eight hours a day so they could spend more time with family. Since 2001, immigrants in the United States have organized marches, demonstrations, and strikes to call for a roadmap to citizenship for new Americans.