Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) Declares #BlackWorkMatters at Protests in Chicago, New Orleans & New York City

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Hundreds of young Black activists across the country engaged in national day of action, drawing national attention to Black worker’s rights issues

CHICAGO, IL – The Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) championed the voices of Black people and lifted up the struggles of Black workers during yesterday’s Fight For $15 global day of action, the nation’s largest low-wage worker mobilization effort in history. Spearheading activities in three major U.S cities to draw attention to the plight of Black fast food and service sector workers, BYP100 has helped spark a national discussion about the unique challenges faced by Black workers and why social justice movements should amplify the experiences of Black people.

On April 15, local BYP100 chapters in Chicago, New Orleans and New York City spearheaded a series of concurrent public rallies, marches and direct action protests to amplify the experiences of Black fast food workers that are often devalued or disregarded.

“The Fight for $15 is a Black issue because racial justice is economic justice,” said Charlene Carruthers, National Director of BYP100. “In my hometown of Chicago, Black folks make up nearly half of all fast food workers and our families deserve wages that allow them to live with dignity and the right to form a union.”

In addition to capturing the stories of Black workers on the ground, BYP100 pioneered the #BlackWorkMatters hashtag on social media, an ode to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, to articulate the link between the racial and economic justice issues highlighted by the Fight For $15 campaign. .

“Black people often don’t get the opportunity to tell the stories of the injustices we experience. Our actions across the nation yesterday illustrate the impact Black people can have when we dare to reclaim our own narratives and speak truth to power,” added Carruthers.

Low wage work and lack of access to union rights is a national problem, but presents a unique challenge to Black workers. Black people are over-represented in low wage work throughout the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2014 Black people made up only 11.4% of the national employed population, but represented 20.5% of fast food workers. All workers deserve a living wage and access to collective bargaining rights, and Black workers (including Black women and LGBT workers) are disproportionately impacted by falling wages and lack of access to union rights. However, big corporate powers like McDonald’s are busy profiting billions while their workers struggle to pay their rent and support their families. [WATCH BYP100’s new video highlighting the impact of fast food and other low wage jobs on Black youth]

“Corporations shouldn’t be allowed to pass the buck on this, and we will stay in this fight until we win,” stressed Carruthers.

In addition to standing in solidarity with thousands of Black fast food and service sector workers on strike, BYP100 members called for large, profitable fast food corporations like McDonald’s to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $15 an hour and allow their workers to form a union without retaliation.

More than 500 young Black people and allies joined members of the BYP100 Chicago chapter during a march and rally in solidarity with Black workers on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago. Janae Bonsu, Co-Chair of BYP100 Chicago and a former fast food employee, spoke of the hardships she experienced trying to take care of her basic needs as a fast food worker:

“As a student needing to work my way through school, I was dependent on my minimum wage fast food job to support myself. I had a set amount I needed to pay for bills every month, but I never had set amount to look forward to when I opened my paycheck. The hours I worked was always a luck of the draw that determined whether or not I’d be late on paying my rent or putting food in my refrigerator. My experience is not uncommon, and there are so many other people – particularly Black mothers, formerly incarcerated people, and LGBTQ folks – who are struggling to survive on inadequate pay and no mechanism to collectively bargain a living wage, health care benefits, and a safe work environment. “

– Janae Bonsu, BYP100-Chicago Co-Chair

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Black workers in New Orleans, members of BYP100’s New Orleans chapter drew approximately 200 activists to march on McDonald’s restaurants in protest of the company’s unjust treatment of Black workers. In response to their local protests, artist/activist and Co-Chair of BYP100 New Orleans Mwende Katwiwa spoke about the connection between Black labor and the #BlackLivesMatter movement:

“Too often Black youth are trapped in a singular narrative about their lived experience that does not address the structural and social conditions they have The #BlackLivesMatter movement goes beyond a call to end police brutality and murder against Black people — it is a recognition that Black life is valuable while it is still being lived. Valuing Black life means Black people should have access to their basic human dignity at their workplace — especially Black youth who are disproportionately impacted by unemployment and are over-represented in low wage jobs.”

– Mwende Katwiwa, BYP100-NOLA Co-Chair

BYP100 leaders in New York City staged multiple actions in coordination with local allies to demand a fair wage and collective bargaining rights for Black workers. Karl Kumodzi, Organizing Co-Chair of BYP100’s NYC chapter, shared his thoughts on the importance of yesterday’s actions:

“Yesterday’s actions all across the country and the convergence of the #BlackLivesMatter & #FightFor15 movements show that people are fed up with the devaluation and destruction of entire communities in this country, whether it manifests itself in killer cops walking free or killer corporations keeping their employees on poverty wages.”

– Karl Kumodzi, BYP100-NYC Organizing Co-Chair

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