Essential workers in 25 cities are going on a 'Strike for Black Lives'
Jul 20, 2020, 22:11 IST
- Teachers, farmers, fast food workers, domestic workers, and more will go on a full day strike July 20 to protest racism and white supremacy.
- Fourteen labor groups, including the Service Employees International Union and American Federation of Teachers, will stage a mass walkout in 25 major cities. The movement, called the "Strike for Black Lives," was first reported by the Associated Press.
- Organizers told AP that they not only demand an end to racial inequality that keeps Black workers from achieving economic mobility, but they are also calling for better access to sick pay and health coverage. In addition to the strike, workers will hold rallies and marches to commemorate unarmed Black people killed by the police.
- Many workers going on strike are essential, meaning they have risked contracting the novel coronavirus by continuing to physically go to work. Essential workers are disproportionately Black and Latino, per the Economic Policy Institute — the two communities that have seen the highest rate of COVID-19 cases.
- In Manhattan, essential workers are expected to gather outside the Trump International Hotel to demand the Senate and President Trump enact the HEROES Act, per NBC 4. The HEROES Act, already passed by the majority Democratic House, would fund more protective equipment for essential workers, extend unemployment benefits, and add another stimulus check for qualified Americans.
- Organizers at multiple cities are also taking aim at corporations like Walmart and McDonald's, which they argue exploit hourly Black workers, NBC 4 reported.
- The New York Times recently analyzed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data to find that for coronavirus cases per every 10,000 people, 73% of infections are Latino and 62% are Black. The Times also reported that 43% of Black and Latino people work in jobs that cannot be done remotely.
- Black Americans are also disproportionately dying from the virus due in part to decades of racial inequality within the US health system.
- Read more on the Associated Press.
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