Citizens Stand For Economic Equality With #BlackWorkMatters And The #FightFor15

By Jessica Dickerson, the Huffington Post

…One particular civil rights focus took the main stage on Wednesday: #BlackWorkMatters. In a push for racial justice, protesters took to the streets in cities across the country — from New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Sacramento and New Orleans — to demand a $15 per hour minimum wage and the creation of a union for fast food workers.

Protesters in Chicago on Wednesday. April 15.

Black Youth 100, a non-profit organization… explained The Black Work Matters campaign — also known as the Fight For $15 — which calls attention to the disproportionate number of young black people who work in low wage jobs and the experiences they have in these positions.

“It’s a fight for the dignity of workers,” says Charlene A. Carruthers, the National Director BYP100. “It’s a fight for workers to be able to collectively bargain. It’s a fight for workers to actually be in safe environments where their issues and their grievances can be heard.”

The mission of the campaign, which was also a part of Wednesday’s protests, is to empower low wage workers to negotiate fair terms for their employment. Low pay and unsafe work environments plague jobs for parents and families that work in fast food and other low wage industries, according to BYP100 Chicago Chapter co-chair Janae Bonsu. “It’s inhumane,” she says….

Wednesday’s protesters hope to achieve economic justice not just for the lives of low wage workers and their families, but the health of the entire American economy.

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