Denver-area Lumen Technology Workers Plan Protest at HQ for MLK Day For All

On Monday, workers at Denver-based Lumen Technologies will protest a policy giving non-union workers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid day off while requiring over 5,000 unionized members to work on the federal holiday.

Workers and supporters will kneel in protest at the Lumen headquarters at 1025 Eldorado Blvd in Broomfield, CO.

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered while in Memphis supporting striking sanitation workers. This isn’t just about a day off for us. This is about understanding the truth of MLK’s legacy. Dr. King supported unions; he fought for unions. He would be rolling in his grave,” said Anna Robbs, Executive Board Member with the Communications Workers of America Local 7777.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Lumen Technologies announced they would be hiring a Chief Diversity Officer and giving all their employees except their unionized workforce the MLK Jr holiday. CWA members accuse their employer of corporate “woke-washing” and using MLK Day to hurt union workers.

“If Lumen executives care for diversity and inclusion, they must correct the wrongful exclusion of union workers from the holiday,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Brenda Roberts. “It is deeply offensive to give this holiday to non-union workers and withhold it from union workers.”

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