We've created more wealth in the past 30 years than the rest of human of human history combined. But half of Americans make less than $17 an hour.

Fast food also has a uniquely difficult business structure for workers to achieve better wages and working conditions.

Most fast-food workers can't easily join a union, because they don't work directly for their parent company, such as McDonald's or Subway. Instead, they work for individual franchise owners, ensuring that each individual fast-food outlet would have to organize and win union recognition separately. So there's not one central employer to bargain with, as in a traditional union campaign.

Today, the gap between productivity and compensation for the typical worker is larger than at any time since World War II.

The minimum wage isn't earned only by people working at fast food restaurants and in service industry work - the average income for positions like nursing assistants, preschool teachers and paramedics are all under $15.

When workers make more money, they respond by being more productive in their jobs and are less likely to leave, reducing turnover costs. This puts money in business' pockets, and workers also then have more money to spend in the local economy.

The fast-food industry is notorious for employing millions of Americans at poverty wages.