Labor Day amid the coronavirus pandemic: Leaders lay out recovery agenda
As Massachusetts faces the highest unemployment rate in the country, union members and leaders this Labor Day are sounding the alarm on workplace safety and hazard pay for essential workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s time for a workers bill of rights, Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Steven Tolman told the Herald ahead of Labor Day rallies across the Bay State on Monday.
“In particular for the front-line workers, there should be a standard bill that gives them hazard pay and paid sick time,” he said.
“We also need the whistleblower protections and a reliable place to turn to when their workplaces are unsafe,” Tolman added. “And what’s so important is we need to let workers and occupational safety experts be the ones guiding us when opening up workplaces.”
Massachusetts had the nation’s highest unemployment rate in July at 16.1%. Bay State unemployment was down from 17.4% in June but still far above July’s national unemployment rate of 10.2%.
Workers are excited about going back to work, said Darlene Lombos of the Greater Boston Labor Council, but she added, “We all want people to be safe.”
“We don’t want to see the surges that have happened in other parts of the country,” said Lombos, the Greater Boston Labor Council’s executive secretary-treasurer. “We want the reopening to be done carefully and thoughtfully — that centers on the health and safety of the workers and the community.”
She also stressed the importance of a workers bill of rights, including ensuring there’s enough personal protective equipment for employees and giving workers hazard pay. Previously, Stop & Shop announced a 10% increase in pay for union hourly store associates, but that has since expired, Lombos noted.
“We’ve been really concerned about that,” Lombos said. “We want more employers to look for hazard pay.”
Last week, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union announced the launch of a new national campaign to restore hazard pay for millions of America’s front-line workers.
“America’s grocery workers are putting their lives on the line every day that they walk into the store, because this pandemic is far from over and the health threats are just as real now as they were when this crisis began,” UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement. “It is outrageous that the CEOs of these companies refuse to restore hazard pay even as more of these workers are getting sick and dying every week. Hazard pay for grocery workers must be reinstated now.”
The Greater Boston Labor Council is also pushing for the extension of the eviction moratorium in Massachusetts, which is set to expire in October.
“It’s about a just recovery for all, and understanding that all of our issues are interconnected,” Lombos said. “It’s making sure that essential workers are getting what they need and are protected, and that our most vulnerable are cared for.”
Lombos and Tolman, along with Mayor Martin Walsh, will be speaking at a Boston drive-in rally on Monday called, “Workers Rally for a Just Recovery: Working Class Power Rising.”
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Labor Day rallies
Workers Rally for a Just Recovery: Union members and leaders will join community groups for a drive-in rally and celebration at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The keynote speaker will be Mayor Martin Walsh. The outdoor, socially distant rally will start at 11 a.m.
Raise Up Massachusetts at State House: During the drive-in rally, members of the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition will appear in a live broadcast from the front steps of the State House. They’ll call on legislators to adopt policies for corporations and shareholders to contribute more to the economic recovery.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2Fd5g1o
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