At 27, Mike Gonzalez should be in the prime of his life.
Instead, he’s working at McDonald’s for $8 an hour, constantly worried about his next meal, if he can afford a MetroCard and if he’s going to end up homeless.
When I heard Mike’s story, I asked him to share it with the congregation at Harlem’s First Corinthian Baptist Church. Some of the 1,500 men and women in attendance were moved to tears.
His struggle isn’t unique, of course. There are 50,000 fast food workers in New York City, and 90% of them are people of color.
They’re making roughly what Mike makes — $155 each week. They have difficulty getting to and from work, paying for groceries and keeping roofs over their heads, much less saving for a brighter future.
That’s why when they strike Thursday in New York, and in more than 150 other U.S. cities, they’ll have the full support of many of the city’s faith leaders.
And this is why at their first nationwide convention earlier this summer in Chicago, 1,300 McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s workers voted unanimously to do “whatever it takes,” including participating in civil disobedience, to win $15 an hour and union rights.
Their fight is about opportunity, equality and justice.
It is wrong when a $5.5 billion corporation like McDonald’s would rather push its employees to food stamps than pay a few extra dollars, so workers can afford to buy their own groceries.
It is wrong when a $200 billion industry refuses to reward hardworking mothers and fathers with decent pay, so their children might have a stable home.
Today, fast food workers are standing up against injustice. In refusing to be mistreated and remain silent, they are our heroes and our moral compasses.
First Corinthian Baptist Church is proud to join forces with upper Manhattan’s historic Riverside Church, Brooklyn synagogue Kolot Chayeinu, downtown Manhattan’s Collegiate Churches, the Bronx’s Christian Fellowship and many more faith-based institutions throughout the city to pledge our support for fast food workers.
This is not the first time religious leaders of different faiths have stood united against inequality. It was a coalition of faith leaders that helped propel the Civil Rights Movement to victory. Through their efforts, they effected real and positive change.
It is in that same spirit that workers organize against economic injustice today — and why we as a city and nation must stand with them.
Michael Walrond Jr. is the senior pastor of the historic First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem.
