Ithaca ‘Fight for $15’ Protesters Squirt Ketchup and Mustard on Each Other
About 60 protesters organized by the Tompkins County Workers Center gathered in downtown Ithaca Tuesday evening to rally for a “living wage,” according to a report by the Ithaca Journal.
“We want our wages, supersized. Hold the burger, hold the fries,” many of the protesters shouted, according to the Ithaca Journal.
The Ithaca protest was part of a national campaign organized by Fight for $15. On the same day, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a $15 minimum wage for all state employees.
The Ithaca Journal reported that several members of the Ithaca College Macabre Theater Ensemble participated in the protest by by allowing others to squirt ketchup and mustard on them in return for a donation. Ithaca College student Cat Proulx told the Ithaca Journal the performance symbolized the humiliations low-wage workers endure in order to keep their jobs. A picture of this incident is available at the Ithaca Journal page linked above.
The ensemble’s Facebook page lists Matt Porter, Alistair Bennie-Underwood, Hannah Paquette, Sarah Chaneles, and Cat Proulx as the students behind their performance-protest.
The Living Wage Study by the Alternatives Federal Credit Union found that the living wage for a single worker without employer-provided health insurance in Tompkins County, where Ithaca is located, is $14.34.
According to the Ithaca Journal, the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation is funding the Tompkins County Workers Center’s campaign for a living wage with a $20,000 grant.
