USW District 4 Well Represented at AFL-CIO, Next Up Conference

Submitted by Brigitte Womer

Attending the AFL-CIO, Next Up young workers summit in Chicago. United Steelworkers staff members from the Buffalo office, Dave Wasiura and Valerie Thomas, Jeff Partell from Local 135 and Brigitte Womer from Local 1000 represented USW’s District 4 Next Generation participated in the “Fight for 15” campaign to raise the minimum wage to a living wage for low paid workers.

The protest began at a west side Chicago neighborhood McDonalds. After protesting the fast food chain the protesters walked a few blocks to a local grocery store – Food 4 Less owned by Kroger.

The protesters received support of community members cheering on from the streets, honking cars, and the windows in their homes. The protesters are seeking wage increases for low paid workers to earn living wages to enable them to support their families.