Strike For Black Lives: Workers Protest Outside Trump's NYC Hotel

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Essential workers rallied Monday morning outside the Trump International Hotel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to protest systematic racism and economic inequality.

The rally-goers in Manhattan joined essential workers across the country demanding improvement of Black Americans' experiences in the workplace.

The "Strike for Black Lives" protest was organized by labor unions and social and racial justice organizations throughout the nation, which planned a range of action in 25 U.S. cities for Monday.

"We want to hold companies accountable," Jeremy Espinal, a Chipotle employee who took part in Monday's Manhattan protest, told Patch. "The same way they say we're essential, we want them to show it."

"The fight for economic justice is the same thing as racial justice, and you can't try to lift one up without the other," Espinal added.

Protesters holding four-foot-high placards spelling out "Our Lives Are Essential" spoke out in front of the Trump International Hotel at Columbus Circle in Manhattan. They demanded that the Senate and President pass the HEROES Act that would provide essential pay and extended unemployment benefits.

The House of Representatives passed the legislation on May 15.

Many of the rally-goers on Monday, including doormen, cleaners, security officers, nurses, and fast food service workers are members of the 32BJ SEIU, a union that represents more than 170,000 workers on the East Coast.

"Today, we're here to demand from those in power, including the man whose name adorns the building, that it's time to dismantle white supremacy and combat police brutality," Kyle Bragg, president of 32BJ, told the Associated Press. "Until we have racial justice, we cannot have economic, climate or immigrant justice."

Leaders and participants in the nationwide protest demanded action by corporations and elected officials to confront systematic racism and economic inequality that limits many Black and Hispanic employees in the workplace.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.