U.S. fast-food workers unite in Chicago, pledge 'whatever it takes' for $15/hour minimum wage

More than 1,000 fast-food workers gathered outside Chicago on Friday for a two-day convention which aimed to celebrate recent successes in the campaign for increased workers’ rights and drum up energy and ideas for the next wave of demonstrations.

Workers pledged to do “whatever it takes” to reach the campaign’s goal of a $15 (£9) per hour minimum wage and the right to form a union without fear of retribution from employers.

"I personally think we need to get more workers involved and shut these businesses down until they listen to us," Cherri Delisline, a McDonald’s employee from Charleston, South Carolina, told the Associated Press.

Delisline, a single mother, said she has worked at the world’s largest fast food chain for 10 years and now made $7.35 hour.

"We make the owners enough money that they have houses and cars and their kids are taken care of,” Delisline said. “Why don't [they] make sure I can be able to do the same for my kids and my family?"

Workers discussed ideas for the next wave of protests, including boycotts, sit-ins and other acts of civil disobedience. The convention in Villa Park, a suburb of Chicago, was believed to be the first of its kind.