Keya Vakil |
Striking workers aim to link the decades of systemic racism, police brutality, and economic repression with the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on Black communities.
Tens of thousands of frontline workers across the country are going on strike Monday to protest systemic racism and police brutality and to demand that corporations and the government take action to address white supremacy, end economic exploitation of Black workers, and allow all workers to unionize.
The “Strike for Black Lives” will include fast food, ride-share, nursing home, and airport workers in more than 25 cities who plan to walk off the job for the full day. Those who can’t strike for the full day will walk out for eight minutes and 46 seconds—the amount of time prosecutors say a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on George Floyd’s neck, suffocating him to death—to honor the memories of Black men and women who have been killed by police officers.
The event—which was organized by the Movement for Black Lives, other racial and social justice organizations, and a coalition of labor unions—will also include worker-led marches in participating cities, including Detroit, Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed.
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