Demanding their pay jump to $15 an hour, fast food workers in the city and around the country are walking off the job Wednesday, the latest day of action organized by the Fight for $15 movement. NY1's Rocco Vertuccio filed the following report.

Fast food workers say life under the golden arches and at other fast food restaurants is anything but golden.

"It's tough. It's hard," said one worker. "People got families to feed, help with rent. It's hard."

About 1,000 fast food workers joined a global protest in Downtown Brooklyn Wednesday morning called Fight for 15. They want $15 an hour and the right to join a union.

"It's real difficult because I got to support a wife and four kids, and $8.75 just can't make it," said one protester. "We need $15, and we need a union to back us up in case if cost of living keep going up, transit going up, food going up, everything going up." 

They marched in the streets past two McDonald's, even blocking traffic at Fulton and Flatbush.

Union and some construction workers who do earn more than $15 an hour showed their support.

Most of the fast food workers who protested make $8.75 or $9 an hour. Some say they work two jobs and still can't support their families.

"It's just unfair that these billion-dollar companies just continue making all this money and we still live in poverty," said one worker.

"Every month, I make two-thirds of my rent, and that's the only thing I can do, is pay my rent. I can't buy food, I can't buy toiletries, I can't treat my grandchildren to a day out," said another. "It's very difficult."

Governor Andrew Cuomo supports raising the city's minimum wage to $11.50 and $10.50 for the rest of the state, but organizers of this protest say that is still not good enough, especially in an expensive city like New York.

"We believe $15 an hour is a living wage," said Jonathan Westin of NY Communities for Change. "These corporations like McDonald's and Burger King can afford it. They are making billions in profits. They can afford to pay people $15 an hour."

McDonald's points out that 90 percent of its restaurants are actually owned by individual franchise owners, not the corporation. The company did recently agree to a $1 an hour pay increase for about 90,000 employees at corporate locations. The National Restaurant Association says a dramatic wage hike will only stifle these business owners.