Los Angeles part of 25-city protest from coast to coast demanding corporations, government take action to confront triple threat of white supremacy, public health emergency, broken economy
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Racial, social justice organizations, major labor unions join forces for walkout to confront systemic racism
LOS ANGELES – Local fast-food workers, rideshare drivers, janitors, long-term care workers and USC graduate students will join tens of thousands in more than 25 cities July 20 in a Strike for Black Lives, demanding corporations and government take action to confront systemic racism in our society, economy and workplaces that is holding back Black and brown communities. Striking workers will be joined by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles (BLMLA), Clergy for Black Lives, the Los Angeles Tenants Union.
In Los Angeles workers in the Fight for $15 and a Union, Mobile Workers Alliance, SEIU 2015, SEIU 721 and USC Forward are joining with activists from Black Lives Matter Los Angeles (BLMLA), Clergy for Black Lives and the Los Angeles Tenants Union for a day of action that will include a caravan to through Los Angeles to call for racial and economic justice. The caravan will include a kick-off rally at a McDonald’s on Crenshaw Blvd. and will culminate with a program at on the USC campus, where participants will call on the university to abolish the campus police department.
“We’re striking for safer workplaces not only for workers, but also for our families and the communities we serve,” said Angelica Hernandez, a Los Angeles McDonald’s worker and leader in the Fight for $15 and a Union. “McDonald’s and other fast-food companies have failed to protect us in a pandemic that has ravaged Black and brown communities across the country. Tweeting Black Lives Matter is not enough, McDonald’s and other companies need to respond with actions that show they really value the lives and livelihoods of their frontline workers.”
“I’m supporting the Strike for Black Lives because Lyft, Uber, and the other gig giants claim to be progressive, but the reality is, their actions don’t match their words,” said Jerome Gage, a Lyft driver and leader with Mobile Workers Alliance, a network of over 18,000 rideshare and delivery drivers organizing for employee rights and a union. “If Uber and Lyft really cared, they wouldn’t be sending their workforce – the majority of whom are people of color and immigrants – out into the teeth of a deadly pandemic with no protective equipment, sick days, or unemployment protections.”
WHO: Los Angeles workers in the Fight for $15 and a Union, Mobile Workers Alliance, SEIU 2015, SEIU 721 and activists from Black Lives Matter Los Angeles (BLMLA), Clergy for Black Lives, the Los Angeles Tenant Union
WHAT: In Los Angeles, workers and allies will start the day of action with a rally at McDonald’s on Crenshaw Blvd. before leading a caravan that will culminate at USC
WHEN/WHERE: MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020
| NOON – 12:30PM PT | Rally at McDonald’s at 2829 Crenshaw Blvd. |
| 12:50PM – 1PM | Stop at Western Ave. and 24th Street |
| 1:30 PM PT | USC at Jefferson and Hoover Blvd. |
** To RSVP or for more information, email: isabel.urbano@thefightfor15.org**
NATIONWIDE DAY OF ACTION
Nationwide, workers including fast-food, nursing home and janitorial workers will go on strike July 20. They will be joined by thousands more who will walk off their jobs for eight minutes, 46 seconds to remember George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain and other Black people killed by police and demand an end to the systemic racism that led to their murders and that also exists in our workplaces. Across the country, youth and climate activists will join in the actions to show the intersectionality of the fights for justice.
Strikes and protests will also take place in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Durham, Hartford, Houston, Las Vegas, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, New Martinsville, New York, Oakland, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, St. Paul, Stamford, Toledo, Yakima and more.
A growing list of major national labor organizations, including the Service Employees International Union, Amalgamated Transit Union, American Federation of Teachers, Communications Workers of America, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, National Domestic Workers Alliance, United Food and Commercial Workers, United Farm Workers and the Fight for $15 and a Union will join forces with leading racial and social justice groups like the Movement for Black Lives, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, March On, Future Coalition, U.S. Youth Climate Strike Coalition, Center for Popular Democracy, Googlers Against Racism, Jobs with Justice and One Fair Wage to take action from coast to coast. A full list of organizations participating in the Strike for Black Lives is available here.
For more information visit J20STRIKEFORBLACKLIVES.ORG.
CONTACT: Isabel Urbano, isabel@thefightfor15.org, (650) 580-1896
Mike Long, mike.long@seiu721.org, (213) 304-9777
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