Do Fast-Food Workers Need A Pay Raise? [Infographic]

Fast-food workers across the country are demanding $30,000 in annual pay.

Over the past month, fast-food workers have gone on strike in Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis and New York to demand a pay raise from $9.05 an hour, the median pay for fast-food workers, to $15 an hour.

Here’s what the restaurant industry had to say about the strikes, according to a New York Times report:

"Restaurant industry officials say the strikers’ demand for $15 an hour is ludicrous because it amounts to more than twice the federal minimum wage. Industry officials say a $15 wage might drive many restaurants out of business and cause restaurant owners to hire fewer workers and replace some with automation -- perhaps by using more computerized gadgets where customers punch in the orders themselves."

Food corporations have also argued that most employees receiving these near-minimum wages are young and single, a claim that simply isn’t true.

A just-released analysis of government data by the Center for Economic and Policy Research revealed that 40 percent of fast-food workers are 25 or older, and slightly more than one in four is supporting at least one child. More than 30 percent have had at least some college education.

Here’s a snapshot of fast-food workers, by the numbers: