SAN DIEGO -- Hundreds of San Diegans upset over a variety of issued joined forces for a multi-issue protest which meandered through the streets of downtown San Diego Tuesday evening.
Earlier in the day, workers demonstrated at a McDonald's restaurant in Barrio Logan, and at Terminal 1 at Lindbergh Field, where many employees are in low-wage jobs like janitors, baggage handlers and cashiers. The demonstrations are part of the Service Employees International Union's Fight for 15 campaign, which seeks a $15 hourly wage for its members.
“I work for door dash,” protester Brianna Kimpton told 10News. “We are a courier company that delivers food to customers. I usually make $40 to $70 a day, which is roughly the equivalent of $4.50 an hour.”
Protesters also walked for other causes, including immigrant rights, racial justice, stopping the North Dakota pipeline and environmental issues.
“So, us coming together is saying, look, we are all the people. There is one race, the human race, and we are all impacted by these issues,” Brisa Johnson said.
Johnson is one of the protesters who took part in a die-in in the middle of a downtown San Diego street. More than a dozen protesters pretended to be dead for several minutes. Protesters said they represented people who are black and Latino and were killed by law enforcement.
Johnson was lending her voice to the other causes as well.
“The point of this is we are actually all more alike than we are actually are different and society has tried to divide us, the racial division, when we are all dealing with the same oppression and the same struggle, just in different color and different aspects,” Johnson said.
Before the march, Richard Olango, the father of Alfred Olango, addressed the crowd, calling for a federal investigation into the deadly police shooting of his son in El Cajon in September.
“We want a federal investigation done as soon as possible if it can be done,” Richard Olango said.
Earlier in the day, protesters marched through the main concourse of the Lindbergh Field terminal, defying orders from police to remain outside. Lindbergh Field was one of 20 airports targeted nationwide.
San Diego airport officials encouraged passengers traveling to Lindbergh Field during the afternoon to plan ahead and expect traffic congestion, but no major delays were noted.
Besides calling for higher pay, the union is protesting "newly elected politicians and newly empowered corporate special interests who threaten an extremist agenda to move the country to the right."
Labor leaders promised to fight what they called efforts to block wage increases, gut workers' rights, obstruct access to health care, deport illegal immigrants, or support homophobic or racist policies.
