Hourly workers march in Detroit in Fight for $15

Long before the sun rose on Labor Day, hourly workers were laboring to get their voices heard with signs and megaphones.

Hundreds gathered in Detroit to fight for $15 dollars an hour and union representation. Many times those workers are in the food service industry - but that's not Darius Moore. He works in the medical field.

"People need to pay - they need money to pay their bills, they need to take care of their children and everything. People working hard everyday, waking up at 6 in the morning - they need to make $15 at least," Moore said.

The protest took place outside the McDonald's and Henry Ford Hospital on west Grand Boulevard. Detroit is one of 300 cities where the protests are happening from across the country as part of a nationwide Labor Day strike.

"Today you see Detroit, you see local 1199 out of New York, you see California, you see hospital workers, prison guards -  this shows union and this shows that everyone is coming aboard," Rev. WJ Rideout III said.

RELATED: The 'Fight for $15' begins a day early as local workers prepare to join a nationwide strike

Demonstrators took their voices to the annual Labor Day parade that began in Corktown and eventually ended in Hart Plaza. Its one of the largest parades in the nation that honors the impact of American workers.

"We can highlight what it means to be a union member - you're out in the streets, literally fighting for better wages," AFL-CIO treasurer Liz Shuler said.

While the move to increase minimum wage here in Michigan continues, in recent weeks its already been approved in areas like Cleveland, Atlanta, and Minneapolis.

"At the end of the day if we don't stand for anything, we'll fall for anything we are all out here to support the issue - which is 15 and a union," Antwan Williams said.

Since the Fight for $15 was launched in 2012, wage wikes have increased by $62 billion for 22 million workers