KC McDonald's worker who almost bled to death at work strikes for '$15 and a Union'

For McDonald’s employee Kenya Banks, the “Fight for $15 and a Union” movement isn’t about being paid a living wage — it is about life and death.

Her life.

How her brush with death back in April — collapsing to the floor and bleeding behind the counter at the midtown restaurant in Kansas City — spurred her Monday morning to join more than 300 rallying protestors at 33rd Street and Southwest Boulevard to call for better pay and treatment of low-wage workers.

The protestors, many scheduled to work but nonetheless striking on Labor Day from fast-food and other jobs, waved American flags and carried placards reading “Unionize,” “Rigged Economy,” “Broken Politics.”

Banks, who spoke privately before taking the stage for the 9 a.m. rally and planned march, told how she has worked at various fast-food restaurants for more than 20 years and yet gets no benefits and earns $8.75 an hour, a bit more than a dollar over the state $7.70 minimum wage. Age 43, she has three adults children and two grandchildren.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article171209202.html