Thousands of workers walk out in ‘Strike for Black Lives’

Some unable to leave take an 8-minute, 46-second break

Tens of thousands of workers nationwide walked off the job Monday in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, hoping to draw closer scrutiny to the income inequality and systemic racism that organizers say have become more entrenched during the pandemic.

The “Strike for Black Lives,” as leaders have dubbed the campaign in more than two dozen cities, includes workers from a range of industries. Members of the Service Employees International Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, American Federation of Teachers, and dozens of other labor and political groups are taking part.

The campaign is pressing for “an unequivocal declaration that Black Lives Matter” from business and political leaders, and urging government officials to “reimagine our economy and democracy” with civil rights in mind. Organizers also are calling on businesses to “dismantle racism, white supremacy, and economic exploitation” and ensure access to union organizing, according to a list of demands posted on the strike’s website.

In Washington, strikers gathered on Capitol Hill in support of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or Heroes Act, as talks intensify over a fourth coronavirus relief package. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., joined demonstrators in New York outside Trump Tower. Health workers at a nursing home outside Los Angeles planned walkouts, while other workers prepared a car caravan down President Barack Obama Boulevard, a major thoroughfare on the city’s west side.

People unable to leave their jobs were encouraged by organizers to take a knee or break away for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time a Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd, whose death sparked a wave of protests and national reckoning on racial justice.

Protesters in some cities called out their employers’ treatment of hourly workers, many of whom are Black. McDonald’s employees outside St. Louis marched for higher wages and workers in Detroit called for more workplace protections against the coronavirus, according to SIEU.