© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Fight for 15 Now Includes Child Care, Home Care Workers

Fast food workers picketed while on strike last summer at State House Square in Hartford.
Harriet Jones
/
Connecticut Public Radio
Fast food workers rally in Hartford during a previous one-day strike

Hundreds of workers in Hartford are expected to go on strike Thursday in the long-running campaign to raise the minimum wage. The one-day stoppage once again calls for $15.00 an hour.

The Fight for 15, as the movement has styled itself, began with fast food workers, and once again they’ll be leading the day of action.

Evelyn Lopez works at Burger King at downtown Hartford. She gets paid Connecticut’s minimum wage, $9.60 an hour.

"I am a mother of six children, and I am currently living under my parents' roof, because I had to move out of my place because my income isn't enough," Lopez told WNPR. "So I really need this Fight for 15. We need to win this."

But this time, the unions backing the action have also involved other industries, like home care and child care workers.

Crystal Williams works at Mount Olive Child Development Center in Hartford. She gets paid $12.50 an hour, but she said it’s still hard to make ends meet. She said she’s joined the movement for herself and others.

"I'm doing the Fight for 15 not just for myself, but the parents that I provide care for," Williams said. "I talk to parents, and I see that they have similar struggles with making ends meet, paying the bills that they have to pay."

The prominent debate about income inequality is helping draw attention to the minimum wage fight, and California and New York recently became the first states to pass laws that will raise their minimums to $15.00 over several years.

Williams said that’s encouraging.

"It empowers me more to continue to fight, to keep going, to keep sharing my story," she said.

Workers in Hartford plan to rally at the Capitol on Thursday afternoon. They’re joining workers in cities across the country in what the organizers project will be the biggest day of protest so far in the campaign.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.