Can Employees Participate in Protests During Their Workday?

Unions and union-front organizations are promoting a nationwide Strike for Black Lives at noon on Monday, July 20. These groups are encouraging employees to take at least eight minutes and forty-six seconds of their workday to take a knee, remain silent, or walk off the job. A website sponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) provides employees with step-by-step instructions on how to participate in the “8:46 Pledge” (a reference to the recent killing of George Floyd), including a sample “strike notice” to give their employers and buzz words to use (and avoid) to show their activities are protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).