As part of national push for $15 minimum wage, Philly demonstrators assail Comcast

Listen
 Philadelphia police block  demonstrators rallying for a minimum-wage hike from entering the food court at the Comcast building Tuesday. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Philadelphia police block demonstrators rallying for a minimum-wage hike from entering the food court at the Comcast building Tuesday. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Activists calling for a national minimum wage of $15 an hour demonstrated throughout Philadelphia and the country Tuesday.

 

 

About two dozen demonstrators tried to get into Comcast Inc. headquarters in Center City by coming through Suburban Station, but security forces kept them outside.  They regrouped and called on the  cable giant — and all employers — to make $15 an hour the standard wage and not the exception.  

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

Candice Carter spoke about the need for a raise during the rally.

“I currently work two jobs to be able to provide for my son.  I also have to work really hard to fight injustice and poor resources in Philly schools,” she said. “I believe that children are our future, and we have to fight for them to have good futures and good jobs.”

The demonstrators chose Comcast because they want better cable rates — and $15 an hour for all its workers, even subcontractors.

In response, Comcast representatives said they are doing their best to help the poor through the company’s Internet Essentials program with 70,000 people connected to the Internet. Comcast also pays more than $130 million a year to the city in direct and indirect taxes and another $100 million to the school district.

The city’s pending 15-year franchise agreement with Comcast will be the subject of a City Council hearing on Thursday.

The Philadelphia demonstrations were among 500 planned across the country Tuesday to draw attention to the issue.

 

 

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal