Security Officers who work for Brantley Security in Baltimore have been fighting for higher wages, affordable healthcare, and respect on the job. The officers, who have garnered the support of local leaders such as Baltimore City Council President Jack Young and Rev. Witherspoon of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, were called to lend their support to President Obama's crusade for a higher national minimum wage.

Travis Hensen-Rollins and David Carter were invited to the White House to represent the millions of hardworking Americans who are currently forced to work for poverty wages, as all Americans watch the minimum wage slip farther and farther behind the times.

"It's a struggle to pay rent and we can barely pay on time," said Henson-Rollins, a mother of two, who has been working hard to form a union with 32BJ SEIU. Baltimore's Brantley security officers--who earn as little as $9 an hour with no meaningful benefits--aren't the only workers who are taking matters into their own hands. Shortly after fast food workers started making headlines with their "Fight for $15," states and cities around the country have started raising their own minimum wages. On May 1, Seattle became the latest city to announce a plan to move its minimum wage up to $15. Read about the announcement here.

Read or listen to WYPR's coverage of the Brantley security officers' fight. Read about President Obama's press conference here.