RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Service Employees International Union president Mary Kay Henry told participants at a Virginia convention that they were heroes and heroines for not being afraid to take to the streets to protest for higher wages.

Henry spoke Friday at the first-ever “Fight for $15 Convention” in Richmond. Workers from around the country were gathering at the union-backed convention to press for a $15 minimum wage nationwide.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2aKbTZc ) reports Henry told participants: “We have your back, and we will have your back until we win.”

The convention continued Saturday with a march down Richmond’s Monument Avenue.

The Rev. William Barber II, the head of the North Carolina NAACP, was scheduled to give the keynote address to the group Saturday.

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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com