Dear John,

Things have been hard for too many of us for too long. That's changing because of workers like us.

Earlier this week I went on strike. We took nearly twice as many of the required worker signatures to Sacramento saying we want a fast-food council to represent us in meetings with bosses from all the major fast-food companies and representatives of government.

It's time we have a say so we can all agree to some fair rules. We fought for and won this right when elected officials passed the Fast-Food Recovery Act in California. Because of our hard work, soon we could be making up to $22/hr and have a workplace where we feel safe.

As hard as CEOs and big corporations may try to stop it, change is bubbling up across the country. Will you help spread the word to keep the momentum going?

In California, CEOs are doing everything they can to lie and manipulate their way out of having to give us a seat at the table. They want to keep the rules as they are – and keep us silent. We're not letting them get away with it. We're ready to tear down every barrier keeping us down.

And we're not the only ones. For years, my friend Jamila and her coworkers have organized as Raise Up – part of the Fight for $15 in the South. Today they took a big step forward and launched the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW). No matter what the laws say, we're building power.

You see, the people who write the rules and the corporations who pay to get them elected don't want to make it easy for us to unite. That's why they have worked so hard, especially in places like the South, to keep us divided and powerless. They know that when we come together – across all races, geographies and backgrounds – we can change things.

We're done following their rules. We're writing our own.

Fight with us and spread the word about what we're building.

In Solidarity,

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