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Ahead of MLK Day and Biden Inauguration, Durham Fast Food Workers Strike for $15 Living Wage

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Incoming President Joe Biden made raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour a central promise of his campaign, and today, fast food cooks and cashiers in cities across the country, including here in Durham, demonstrated to keep the president-elect good to his word.

Raising pay from $7.25 to $15 an hour would lift wages for nearly 40 percent of Black workers, workers rights advocates say, and would go a long way to reducing the racial wage gap, boosting pay for more than 23 million Americans who have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Outside the McDonald's on North Roxboro Road, striking workers led a car caravan and a socially distanced speak-out. The strike comes as the nation observes Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on Monday and Wednesday's inauguration.

Here are some scenes from today's strike in Durham. 

Follow Editor-in-Chief Jane Porter on Twitter or send an email to jporter@indyweek.com. Follow Staff Photographer Jade Wilson on Instagram or send an email to jwilson@indyweek.com. 

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