Workers from the different professions rallied with organised labour on Monday to protest systemic racism and economic inequality. They staged demonstrations across the US and around the world seeking better treatment of black Americans in the workplace.
Organisers said at least 20,000 workers in 160 cities walked off the job, inspired by the racial reckoning that followed the deaths of several Black men and women at the hands of police, reports AP.
Support swelled well beyond expectations, organizers said, although a precise participation tally was not available.
Where work stoppages were not possible for a full day, participants picketed during a lunch break or dropped to a knee in memory of police brutality victims, including George Floyd, a Black man killed in Minneapolis police custody in late May.
Dozens of janitors, security guards and health care workers observed a moment of silence in Denver to honour Floyd.
Participants nationwide broadly demanded action by corporations and the government to confront racism and inequality that limit mobility and career advancement for many Black and Hispanic workers, who make up a disproportionate number of those earning less than a living wage.
The protest also took place in South Korea and Brazil demanding allowing workers to unionize to negotiate better health care, sick leave and child care support.
Justice Favor, 38, an organizer with the Laborers’ International Union Local 79, which represents 10,000 predominately Black and Hispanic construction workers in New York City, said he hopes that the strike motivates more white workers to acknowledge the existence of racism and discrimination in the workplace.
