Three companies including Gate Gourmet, a global provider of airline meals, received $338 million in relief money for workers — and laid workers off anyway.
COVID-19
Emails Reveal Chaos as Meatpacking Companies Fought Health Agencies Over COVID-19 Outbreaks in Their Plants
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Thousands of pages of documents obtained by ProPublica show how quickly public health agencies were overwhelmed by meatpacking cases. One CEO described social distancing as “a nicety that makes sense only for people with laptops.”
#GeorgeFloyd
Tear Gas Is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On — Especially During the Coronavirus Pandemic
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In the middle of a respiratory pandemic, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas in especially dangerous ways. The chemical agent also seeps into homes, contaminates food, furniture, skin and surfaces, and can cause long-term lung damage.
COVID-19
While Minneapolis Burned, Immigrant Detainees in Sherburne County Jail Started a Hunger Strike
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Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM) announced that immigrant detainees had begun a hunger strike at the Sherburne County jail in Elk River, Minnesota.
COVID-19
Nike Turned Away a Public Health Official From Its Warehouse Days After a Worker With COVID-19 Died
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The Health Department received a complaint that a Nike warehouse wasn’t being cleaned thoroughly or allowing for social distancing. Its inspector wasn’t allowed inside. Twenty-one workers have tested positive for COVID-19 at Nike’s Memphis locations.
Commentary
A Call to Action from Essential Workers
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On May 6th I tested positive for COVID-19. All the weeks of fear, anger and grief that I had suppressed–in order to keep working, keep my loved ones calm, keep helping neighbors who had it even worse–it all came crashing in. And with it, an odd sense of relief.
COVID-19
Hundreds of Apple Workers on Strike in Washington
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‘The strikes are women-led, multigenerational, and multiracial, according to Edgar Franks of Familias Unidas por la Justicia, a local farmworkers’ union.’
COVID-19
Minnesota Home Care Workers & Clients Criticize Inaction in Addressing Care Crisis
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Home care workers and clients across Minnesota criticized inaction by Minnesota lawmakers following news that the bill that would have provided an emergency wage and benefit increase for the workers who care for Minnesota seniors and people with disabilities was not passed in the final hours of the 2020 legislative session.
COVID-19
Frontline Workers share Stories and Importance of Passing Labor Contracts
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The Minnesota House has already passed HF 2768, “but the Minnesota Senate has not scheduled a final vote, which appears to set up state workers as bait for end-of-session drama.” According to an emailed statement.
COVID-19
Being an “Essential Worker” Won’t Save You From Deportation
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Legions of undocumented immigrants in the United States carry letters signed by their employers stating that President Donald Trump’s administration considers them essential workers amid the pandemic. While these letters exempt them from being arrested by local agents for violating stay-at-home orders, these workers could still be detained and deported by federal authorities.
Commentary
Walz’s Worker Protections in His Latest Executive Orders Fall Short
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An empowered workforce is a safe workforce, pure and simple. Governor Walz should give workers – not their bosses – the right to decide if they feel their workplace is safe. Nothing else will do more to keep Minnesotans alive in this crisis.