美国国家公共电台 NPR 亚马逊沃尔玛等公司员工在五一劳动节举行联合罢工（在线收听）

This day is May 1, International Workers Day. Andaround the world, it is traditionally a day tocelebrate labor. Today workers from Amazon andWalmart and Target and other companies areorganizing mass protests. They say the companiesaren't doing enough to protect them. NPR'sShannon Bond has more.

SHANNON BOND, BYLINE: The hashtag for today's protest is #EssentialWorkersDay. Thoseessential workers check you out at the supermarket, pack your online orders, deliver yourgroceries. They've been thrust onto the front lines. Some have even died from the coronavirus. Now they're demanding more protective equipment, expanded sick leave and better pay bywalking off the job and protesting outside stores.

WILLY SOLIS: We're dealing with multibillion-dollar companies here, and we are — we're avery, very small group, individually speaking, when it comes down to trying to address theseissues against these companies.

BOND: Willy Solis works for the grocery delivery app Shipt, which is owned by Target. Heorganized a walkout of Shipt workers in April, one of many protests in recent weeks bydelivery, warehouse and retail workers. He says today's strike is about bringing all thesedifferent workers together to show how much they have in common.

SOLIS: It seems to be profit over people for the most part, and that is where the disconnectis because, at the end of the day, the workforce and the work laborers are the ones that arehelping these companies become who they are.

BOND: As the pandemic puts low-wage work in the spotlight, Solis and other organizers arehoping to seize the public's attention and galvanize a new wave of labor activism across abroad range of companies. They come from traditional organizations like Walmart, FedEx, Whole Foods, Target; the new gig economy apps like Instacart and Shipt; and fast-growingAmazon warehouses. A note — most of these companies are among NPR's sponsors.

It's unclear how many people will participate today. The companies, in response, say theywelcome input from workers. They've increased pay and stepped up health and safetymeasures. However, Amazon accuses labor groups of being irresponsible by making falseclaims about the company. It says protesters don't represent the majority of workers.

Shannon Bond, NPR News.