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NEWS

Thousands of workers to walk off the job in Strike for Black Lives

Thousands of essential workers were set to walk off the job Monday to demand corporations raise wages, provide health care and paid sick leave, and grant employees the right to unionize — part of a larger effort to pressure businesses to confront systemic racism.

The walkout, called the Strike for Black Lives, will take place in more than 100 cities in the United States. Protesters include Black and brown fast food workers, home health aides, janitors, and others in industries where Black workers are disproportionately represented.

The Movement for Black Lives is organizing the protest, alongside the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Fight for $15 and a Union, the Poor People's Campaign, and other labor advocacy organizations.

Alongside striking workers, organizers expect thousands more to walk away from their jobs for eight minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time listed in the initial criminal complaint that a Minneapolis police officer suffocated George Floyd in May.

Government leaders are also joining the walkout, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said he would join a rally in front of the Trump International Hotel.

A study in May found that Black Americans — who make up a disproportionate percentage of essential workers — have been more likely to die from Covid-19, representing 60% of deaths and only 13.4% of the population.