(Image source from: McDonald's)

If fast food giants like McDonald's, KFC, Burger King and Wendy don't open up their coffers to meet the demands of their workers soon, then it would be only a matter of time before fast food joints disappear from the States.

Ahead of the Labor Day in U.S., low-wage workers rallied the streets to protest against their petty pay.

In what is being hailed as the largest day of action by fast food workers in the history of industry, the protesting labors raided the city streets, demanding a  minimum wage of $15 against the current wage of $6.55 an hour, a union to protect their rights and increased full-time job opportunities. They were  joined by other low-wage workers from retail giants like Macy's.

“So far, 15 separate branches of restaurant chains -- including Burger King, Taco Bell and Wendy's -- have been forced to close for the day as a result of their workers walking off their jobs. The protests are being organized by local alliances of labor, clergy and community groups with support from the Service Employees International Union. No arrests have yet been made, according to organizers, but protests earlier this year (such as one in Seattle) did result in arrests,” reported AOL jobs.

"Today, our call for $15 an hour and a union was heard across the country," Devonte Yates, a McDonald's worker from Milwaukee, said in a press release. "If the fast-food industry doesn't want our movement to spread any further, it should pay us enough so that we can support ourselves and our families."

The nationwide protest was intentionally scheduled to fall on the day after the 50th anniversary of the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. The historic 1963 march also called for an increase of the minimum wage. Back then demonstrators called for the minimum wage to increase to $2 an hour, the equivalent of $15.26 today.

(With inputs from AOL Jobs)

AW: Suchorita Dutta