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often also means the loss of good secure jobs with benefits for many workers includingthe library workers. Despite these radical changes to the labour force, the TPLWU wenton strike and challenged the inequality being imposed on women and men workers, andthey made some valuable gains.As Maureen O’Reilly (2013) has said, “…we must pressure our associations to be moreemployee-centered; we must embrace, not fear, unionization; we must find and supportleaders who challenge us to fight back; we must participate in the political arena; andabove all, we must respect our own work and improve our own status, salaries and workingconditions” (p.37).5.2 A new horizon in labour organizing — US fast food workers take to the streetsThe year 2013 was an inspirational year in the organizing of low-wage retail and serviceworkers in the US. Fast food workers from many popular fast food outlets such as McDonalds,Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Subway, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, DQ, Burger King and others beganorganizing and took to the streets to build popular support for their demands for a livingwage — The Fight for 15 Campaign — for a $15/hour living wage.A large majority of these workers are female and racialized women and men who havebeen in this precarious work for many years.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for fast food workers in theUS in 2010 was US$18,130 a year — meaning that the average fast food worker in 2010was at exactly the federal poverty line for a family of three. 12 The median wage comes toabout US$8.90/hour. The federal minimum wage is US$7.25/hour. However, many workersare hired part-time and not able to get enough work to make an annual income of $18,130.At this poverty level, most workers cannot afford basics such as rent, food, clothes andpublic transit let alone have a decent standard of living in the world’s richest nation.There is an enduring mis-conception about the labour force of fast food outlets, i.e.that the majority of them are young women and men living at home; and thus should notreceive a living wage as they are only looking to make some extra cash. There is no logicto this argument, as if you do the same work as others; you should be paid equal wages. Thereality in the US is that nearly 40 percent of fast food workers are 25 or older, more thanone-quarter are raising a child and 31 percent have at least some college education. 13 Strikesupporters say the average age is 29 and a third of them are raising children. 14 Furthermore,since many of them do not make enough money to live on, they are also supported bypublic subsidies in the form of food stamps and social security.Fast food workers as other workers have the right to a living wage, the right to not bepoor, and the right to organize. After patient organizing in their communities and workplaces,the spark that ignited the fire began with a strike of about 200 fast food workers in NewYork in November of 2012. Pamela Waldron, who had worked at the KFC in PennsylvaniaStation for eight years, complained that she earned just US$7.75 an hour and was assignedjust 20 hours a week, meaning an income of about US$8,000 a year. She said, “I’m protestingfor better pay. I have two kids under 6, and I don’t earn enough to buy food for them.” 15With support from their families, communities, SEIU and other community-basedorganizations and unions the workers spent much of 2013 organizing themselves intostrikes and walk outs in most of America’s major cities. By the end of August this impressivemovement of low-wage and marginalized workers was joined by other labour, communityand student organizations and 1-day strikes were held in over 50 cities in the US. ByDecember 5th, workers in over 100 cities in the US went on a one day strike for respect, aliving wage, control over their working conditions and benefits. They point to the grossinequality between their wages, the salaries of CEOs in this sector and the profits of the fastfood companies. According to the Huffington Post, the CEO of McDonald’s made US$13.8M32 WORKING WOMEN, WORKING POOR