North Carolina’s low wage workers continue their campaign for a living wage and union representation this weekend with a “Worker Power Summit” in Durham. More than 100 workers are expected to participate in the daylong event, which will include educational workshops and strategy sessions.
NC Raise Up/Fight For $15 and a Union will host the event starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at Duke Methodist Church, 501 W Chapel Hill St. in Durham. North Carolina AFL-CIO president MaryBe McMillan will deliver a keynote address to kick off the summit.
In May the Fight for 15 movement held a march in downtown Durham attended by Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro and in July their “Decade Without a Raise” event drew a large crowd, including a number of state lawmakers and local elected officials.
“We need $15 an hour—and we will not stop fighting until we get it—but $15 alone is not a power shift,” said Eshawney Gaston, a member of NC Raise Up and the Worker Power Summit steering committee. “Higher wages won’t change the power balance between workers at my job and the company I work for. Coming together in a union is how we get the political power to make changes in our lives and lift up our communities.”