Rep. Barbara Lee decries 'illegal wage theft' at McDonald's

Rep. Barbara Lee led a group of protesters into an East Oakland McDonald’s Tuesday to protest what she called “illegal wage theft.”

InsideBayArea.com reports that three McDonald’s franchisees in California have been hit with a class action lawsuit, accusing the restaurants of stealing employees’ money by forcing them to work off the clock, shaving hours off their time cards and not paying them overtime.

“It takes a lot of courage to do this … You inspire me,” Lee told the protesters, before police moved the group outside. “You deserve to live the American dream. You deserve fair wages.”

#stopwagetheft Congresswoman Barbara Lee arriving pic.twitter.com/ziaZjULDjM

— Fight For 15 Nor Cal (@NorCalFF15) March 18, 2014

"Closing the income inequality gap starts here." pic.twitter.com/X3kVtiYJef

— Fight For 15 Nor Cal (@NorCalFF15) March 18, 2014

#wagetheft Lucky we have champions like @RepBarbaraLee in photo op here before her speech at our Oakland action. pic.twitter.com/bMH4BaS57q

— Fight For 15 Nor Cal (@NorCalFF15) March 18, 2014