Black Lives Matter at Work

“It is no longer the time to be silent at the water cooler. It is
time to start the conversation. You walk up and say, we’ve been
sitting in this cubicle next to each other, in this class next to
each other. I’ve been watching you scrub my floors, wipe out
the bathroom, serve my food, drive my bus. We don’t know
about each other’s lives and we need to find out!”
Cleveland woman protesting the murder of 12-year old Tamir Rice
As workers and organizers, the time to be silent is over.
Black lives matter. Racial violence rolls on. What does this mean for us in
the labor movement? What can we do to uplift the rage of the current
moment and address the collective trauma of anti-Black violence? What
can we do to dismantle white supremacy where we work and beyond?
The goal of this resource guide is to provide information and support that
we can share across our spaces.
How was this guide created?
This guide is hosted by the Young Worker Media Project, a volunteer
network that emerged from the 2014 Labor Notes conference. The
content comes from people in our spaces as well as responses to a survey
that we put out. While contributors represent a range of backgrounds,
we’ve emphasized the voices of Black folks, especially women and queer
people. We’ve also put an emphasis on tangibles to share with workers
and organizers. We’ve welcomed a range of views, but are
unapologetically focused on the mission of Black liberation and healing.