Thousands rally across the U.S. in Fight for 15

Fight for 15 protestors march down Figueroa Street in Los Angeles on their way to USC.

Fight for 15 marchers head to USC, where some professors are trying to unionize.

Fast-food workers and college professors were among the approximately 1,000 people who marched in L.A. for higher wages.

The Fight for 15 march in Los Angeles was one of several protests in cities across the U.S.

Demonstrators gather in front of a McDonald’s restaurant in Chicago on Wednesday to call for an increase in the minimum wage. The demonstration was one of many held nationwide to draw attention to the difficulties low-wage earners face in making ends meet.

Carmen Burley-Rawls chants during a rally calling for the federal minimum wage to be raised to $15 outside a Burger King restaurant in College Park, Ga. Organizers say they chose Wednesday, Tax Day, to demonstrate because they want the public to know that many low-wage workers rely on public assistance to make ends meet.

Protesters calling for a $15 federal minimum wage rally outside a McDonald’s in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Wednesday. McDonald’s earlier this month said it would raise its starting salary to $1 above the local minimum wage, and give workers the ability to accrue paid time off. It marked the first national pay policy by McDonald’s, and indicates the company wants to take control of its image as an employer.

Fast-food worker Qiana Shields chants during a demonstration calling for the federal minimum wage to be raised to $15 outside a Burger King restaurant in College Park, Ga., on Wednesday.

Low-wage workers, many in the fast-food industry, join with supporters for a “die-in” in front of a New York City McDonald’s on Wednesday to demand a minimum wage of $15 an hour. In what organizers are calling the biggest mobilization ever of workers in the United States, thousands of people took to the streets across the country to stage protests in front of businesses.

Burger King employee Kiara Hawkins, right, works at a drive-thru window in College Park, Ga., on Wednesday as fast-food workers and activists march by in a call for the federal minimum wage to be raised to $15 an hour.

Protesters gather Wednesday outside a Burger King restaurant in College Park, Ga., during a demonstration by fast-food workers and activists calling for the federal minimum wage to be raised to $15.

Joshua Collins, right, and Marie Mdamu, talk outside a Burger King restaurant in College Park, Ga., during a protest Wednesday by fast-food workers calling for the federal minimum wage to be raised to $15.