Racial injustice strike expected to draw tens of thousands of workers

'We are building a country where black lives matter in every aspect of society — including in the workplace'

Tens of thousands of workers across more than two dozen US cities are expected to take part in a strike over racial inequality, organisers say.

The action, named the Strike for Black Lives, was planned to take place on Monday and will see events take place across more than 25 cities including full-day strikes, lunch pickets, and moments of silence.

A range of essential workers are expected to take part in the action such as nursing home employees, janitors, delivery men and women, and fast food, ride-share and airport workers.

“We are ... building a country where black lives matter in every aspect of society — including in the workplace,” said Ash-Lee Henderson, an organiser with the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of over 150 organisations that make up the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The Strike for Black Lives is a moment of reckoning for corporations that have long ignored the concerns of their black workforce and denied them better working conditions, living wages, and healthcare," Ms Henderson said.

The action comes following ongoing civil unrest across the US following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody after a white police officer knelt on his neck for a prolonged period of time.

The death of Floyd has served as a catalyst for mass protests and demonstrations across all 50 states against police brutality, systemic racism, and racial discrimination.

At noon on Monday, workers were expected to take a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time former Minneapolise police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck.

Strikers are demanding that corporations and the government confront systemic racism and economic inequality that limits black and Hispanic workers.

They are calling on corporate leaders and elected government officials to use executive and legislative power to ensure people of all races can succeed in society by meeting their demands including raising wages, and allowing workers to unionise to negotiate better health care, sick leave and child care support.

Black and Hispanic workers make up a disproportionate number of those earning less than a living wage in the US.

An estimated 54 per cent of black workers and 63 per cent of Hispanic workers work for less than a living wage, compared to 37 per cent of white workers and 40 per cent of Asian American workers, according to the Poor People’s Campaign.

A large number of worker collectives and social and racial justice groups are expected to take part in the action on Monday including the Service Employees International Union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the American Federation of Teachers, United Farm Workers and the Fight for $15 and a Union.

“We have to link these fights in a new and deeper way than ever before,” Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 2 million workers in the US and Canada previously told the Associated Press.

“Our members have been on a journey to understanding why we cannot win economic justice without racial justice. This strike for black lives is a way to take our members’ understanding about that into the streets,” Ms Henry said.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press