Business groups predict few workers at wage protests

By Sean Higgins, Sean Higgins

Published December 20, 2015

A union-funded activist group called Fight for $15 says thousands of people will participate Tuesday in nationwide protests demanding higher wages at fast-food restaurants, but business associations expect few, if any, actual workers to join in despite the fact that the events are being promoted as a "strike."

Past events staged by the activist group, which is primarily funded by organized labor, almost entirely featured protesters who were bused in, representatives for the business groups argued.

"Organizers claim there will be 'strikes' in 270 locations, although if history is any guide only a few cities will see more than a handful of protesters and virtually no one will actually go on strike," said Glenn Spencer, director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Workforce Freedom Initiative.

Christin Fernandez, spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association, echoed that assessment. "Historically, we have not seen many employees, if any, walk out."