Thousands of underpaid workers and their allies across the country staged a one day walkout on November 10. The event was part of a national day of action in the “Fight for $15” as a minimum wage. Fast food workers and others were joined by organized labor as well as activists involved in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in scores of cities in unity as well as self-interest.
The national day of action took on a unique turn in Northern California. As members of the Bay Area’s BLM stood with organized labor and underpaid workers in downtown Oakland demanding a livable wage, the leaders of 15 labor organizations led a delegation to Nancy O’Malley’s office, the Alameda County district attorney. The purpose of their visit was to ask O’Malley to drop the charges against the Black Friday 14.
Fourteen activists shut down a West Oakland Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train headed toward San Francisco for several hours on “Black Friday” the day after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, in 2014. The shutdown was in solidarity with nationwide protests over the non-indictments of police officers for killing unarmed African Americans. BART’s board of directors relinquished a request that the activists pay restitution for the monies lost in fares but O’Malley wants to prosecute the activists.
“Labor is very important here in the Bay Area,” said Shannon-Garth Rhodes, a member of BLM-Bay Area. [These labor leaders] chose to use their visibility to lift up our [Black Friday 14] fight on the day that their own fight was being lifted up.”
“We see folks not having access to living wage jobs as a piece of what we are fighting for, said Karissa Lewis, a member of BLM-Bay Area and one of the Black Friday 14. “Those are our folks, they are involved in that fight, so it made sense that we turn up and turn out to fight for living wage jobs.”
Dawn Modkins of the Long Beach chapter of BLM echoed Lewis’s sentiments. “Long Beach is a tourist-based service industry type of city. Many of the only jobs left are service jobs, food and restaurant, hotel jobs, in home health services, child care services … the mere lack of real, living wage providing jobs, full-time jobs with real security IS state sanctioned violence. Such disparities impact our black lives in often greater ways than others. So BLM has to be in alignment with making sure our voices are heard in this struggle.”
In Chicago, BLM stood in solidarity with members of the Black Youth Project 100, the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression, and AFSCME Local 2858, as well other labor organizations. Jason Thompkins of the Chicago chapter was more pointed in his reasons for standing in solidarity with low wage workers: “We strongly believe that questions of economic justice and wealth redistribution and resources are inextricably linked to the question of police accountability and where our public funds are going,” he said
According to Thompkins, wealth redistribution could start with the police department. In a city that is well known for its violence, one might think that more money should be funneled into the police department. Not according to Thompkins. “Because we simply know that time and time again, that more police and policing have nothing to do with actually keeping us safe, preventing any murders. The way we build safety and healthy communities is by building livable wage jobs,” said Thompkins.