Sen. Elizabeth Warren Calls for an Essential Workers Bill of Rights to Protect Those on the Frontlines Fighting COVID-19

Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined Pastor Michael McBride, the director of LIVE FREE, and CNN host and comedian  W. Kamau Bell for a Facebook Live discussion Wednesday about their Masks for the People campaign and the Essential Workers Bill of Rights.

“Here we are in the middle of a crisis and it turns out that the essential workers in this country are not investment bankers,” said Warren. “The essential workers…are doctors and are nurses — but it so much more. It’s the people that are cleaning the hospitals. It’s the people who are stocking the grocery stores,” she continued. “It’s the people that are making the deliveries and it’s the people who are still going out into people’s home to take care of the elderly.  She argued that these “heroes” deserve more than a “thank you” for putting their lives on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19. “We owe them full medical protection. That means the masks, the gowns,” she said. “We need to make sure that they are fully protected and that their employers are providing those masks and gowns at no costs to them.”

Sen. Warren co-authored and introduced the Essential Workers Bill of Rights in April. The bill advocates to provide essential workers with health and safety protections, universal paid sick leave, family and medical leave, and support for child care.

“This is ultimately about respect for the people that are putting their lives on the line for us every day,” said the former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. “Stand with essential workers because now is the moment to do this and recognize the importance of human dignity. If somebody is going to put their lives on the line to stock the grocery shelves. They must get hazardous pay.”

Launched on April 6, Masks for the People is sponsored by the nongovernmental organization Live Free and Black Church Action Fund. The campaign aims to secure a supply chain of needed supplies like masks, sanitizers, and coronavirus tests for urban neighborhoods and poor rural communities.

In April, Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey donated $1 million to the Masks for the People humanitarian campaign. The donation will also go toward providing free personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits for those who are incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, violence interrupters, essential workers, and the elderly in communities of color.

“Less than a week ago we pulled together an unprecedented coalition of activists, faith leaders, artists and entrepreneurs committed to securing a supply chain of PPE and preventative care for Black and Brown communities,” said Pastor McBride. “Thanks to Dorsey’s generosity, and the generosity of others who have given, we can scale immediately and expand beyond the initial eight to 10 cities. It’s just a blessing.”

Click here to view the full discussion.

 

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Racial Justice and Advocacy Groups Call for Health and Safety Protections for Amazon Workers Amid COVID-19

Dozens of social justice groups are calling on Amazon and other corporate giants to protect their frontline workers after the e-commerce company fired staffers who spoke publicly about their workplace health and safety concerns.

On Thursday, more than 50 advocacy groups signed a solidarity statement to condemn Amazon’s crackdown against whistleblowers who have spoken out about unfair practices during the coronavirus pandemic.  According to a press release sent to BLACK ENTERPRISE, all of the warehouse workers who were fired by Amazon are black.

“Over the last few weeks, Amazon fired at least six workers who had spoken out about unsafe working conditions in warehouses,” reads the statement. “In addition to these firings, other workers at Amazon have reported receiving arbitrary work-related warnings as a result of speaking out or participating in walkouts, and they fear that they are being set-up for termination. Given that Amazon is the second largest private employer in the United States and is significantly expanding its workforce during the crisis, this apparent pattern of retaliation is alarming.”

The joint statement, which was signed by organizations like Color of Change, Public Citizen, Fight for the Future, and United We Dream, called for an expansion of legal protections for workers who call attention to dangerous workplace conditions.

“Workers themselves are in the best position to raise health and safety concerns, and if these concerns are ignored, or worse, if workers are retaliated against, it not only impacts those workers and their families, but risks accelerating the current public health crisis.”

In addition, the statement notes that unfair workplace practices disproportionately affect black and brown people.

“Thousands of warehouse, delivery, and grocery workers are on the front lines of this fight, risking contracting and spreading COVID-19 every day in order to provide essential goods. This risk disproportionately falls on communities of color, who are more likely to hold these jobs and more vulnerable to the virus, as a result of the systemic racism that undermines health in these communities,” it reads.

“Black and brown workers have always been essential for our nation’s economy and public health, but their voices are too often silenced,” said Myaisha Hayes, campaign director at MediaJustice. “During this crisis, Amazon and other employers are willing to make this ‘essential work’ a death sentence for black and brown frontline workers. This blatant disregard for the safety and wellbeing of black and brown bodies is business as usual for Amazon, who already profits from mass surveillance of over-policed communities through their partnerships with ICE and local law enforcement.”

The statement was released on May Day, a global celebration of laborers and the working class also known as International Workers Day. To mark the holiday, employees at large companies including Amazon, Target, and FedEx staged sickouts, walkouts, and other direct actions across the country on Friday.

 

 

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Is Pharrell's New Basketball Sneaker Worth Picking Up?

Runners and Kanye stans alike may argue otherwise but the fact remains: Basketball shoes are the axis upon which the sneaker world spins. Even as non-athletes like Virgil Abloh and Travis Scott continue to dominate the sneaker space and create unprecedented levels of hype, the roots of it all are still firmly embedded…

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Report: Over 28 Million Workers File For Unemployment Despite Trillions Of Dollars In Stimulus Spending

Since the start of the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, health crisis, numerous Americans around the country have lost their jobs and have been severely impacted by the economic fallout. With over 700,000 jobs lost, the number of people filing for unemployment continues to climb each week as the outbreak continues to spread. In the last six weeks, over 28 million workers have applied for unemployment compensation from the government.

Last week, the Labor Department’s latest report says roughly 3.8 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. Applications for benefits hit a record 6.867 million in the week ended March 28. These new figures bring the six-week total to 30 million U.S. workers filing jobless claims due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the astronomical number, at least 10 million people who have filed claims have yet to receive benefits.

“The first wave was dominated by displaced leisure and hospitality workers, workers at doctor and dentist offices and administrative positions in general,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the New York Times. “A larger portion of more recent job losses have likely been in manufacturing, logistics and professional services.”

The implementation of the stimulus package was intended to slow down the economic devastation but reports show that relief programs won’t be enough to save the economy. In a separate report released this week, the Commerce Department said that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, has slumped by a record 7.5% last month. Personal income plummeted 2.0% in March, the most since January 2013, reflecting decreases in compensation.

Due to the viral outbreak, Americans who are still earning income during this pandemic have been spending less and are instead directing a majority of income into their savings account. Reports show that Americans who are still employed are stashing away cash rather than saving, boosting the saving rate to 13.1%, the highest since November 1981, from 8.0% in February.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2Yqe7Vl

Report: Over 28 Million Workers File For Unemployment Despite Trillions Of Dollars In Stimulus Spending

Since the start of the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, health crisis, numerous Americans around the country have lost their jobs and have been severely impacted by the economic fallout. With over 700,000 jobs lost, the number of people filing for unemployment continues to climb each week as the outbreak continues to spread. In the last six weeks, over 28 million workers have applied for unemployment compensation from the government.

Last week, the Labor Department’s latest report says roughly 3.8 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. Applications for benefits hit a record 6.867 million in the week ended March 28. These new figures bring the six-week total to 30 million U.S. workers filing jobless claims due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the astronomical number, at least 10 million people who have filed claims have yet to receive benefits.

“The first wave was dominated by displaced leisure and hospitality workers, workers at doctor and dentist offices and administrative positions in general,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the New York Times. “A larger portion of more recent job losses have likely been in manufacturing, logistics and professional services.”

The implementation of the stimulus package was intended to slow down the economic devastation but reports show that relief programs won’t be enough to save the economy. In a separate report released this week, the Commerce Department said that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, has slumped by a record 7.5% last month. Personal income plummeted 2.0% in March, the most since January 2013, reflecting decreases in compensation.

Due to the viral outbreak, Americans who are still earning income during this pandemic have been spending less and are instead directing a majority of income into their savings account. Reports show that Americans who are still employed are stashing away cash rather than saving, boosting the saving rate to 13.1%, the highest since November 1981, from 8.0% in February.

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