Arrests cap day of Seattle fast food wage protests

Police arrested eight people Thursday near Westlake Park in downtown Seattle after a day of protests in support of fast food workers.

More than a hundred people gathered at 4th Avenue and Pine Street for a rally against wage theft and in support of higher wages. The demonstration was the culmination of smaller protests at several fast food restaurants earlier in the day.

Around 2:00 p.m., a small group gathered at a Taco Bell in Ballard. Among them were two former employees, both of whom claim they were forced to work without pay for up to an hour after each shift. Similar protests took place at a Subway and a Burger King restaurant.

At 4:30 p.m., protesters gathered at Westlake and blocked rush-hour traffic. A group of eight demonstrators sat in a circle in the middle of the street in front of a McDonald’s restaurant at 3rd Avenue and Pine Streets.

Seattle police officers gave the group two dispersal orders before making arrests.

The protests were just the latest in a series of demonstrations nationwide by service workers demanding an increase in the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour.