ST. PAUL, Minn. - On a day when shoppers across Minnesota are embarking on an annual holiday spending spree, hundreds of low-wage workers gathered to march and call for higher pay.
The group, which includes members of OurWalmart, CTUL, SEIU Local 26, Minnesotans for a Fair Economy, Greater Minnesota Worker Center and TakeAction Minnesota among others, stretched out for blocks while making their way down University Avenue Friday afternoon.
Organizers say the march comes on the heels of a strike by retail workers at the Brooklyn Center Walmart and another by cleaners at Target in downtown Minneapolis.
Protestors believe the week-long series of actions underlines a growing anger among workers on the low-end of the wage scale, and the need for corporations and lawmakers to step up and take action to raise wages for the state's working class.
"Despite the fact that there were over $20 billion in sales over the Black Friday weekend last year, many of the workers who help bring in these profits are forced to survive on poverty wages while taxpayers are left to subsidize the low wages paid by these rich corporations," said organizers in a released statement.
St. Paul Police officers kept an eye on protestors, following on bicycle and in squad cars to make sure things remained peaceful.
