UE officers: In order to bring the COVID-19 public health crisis under control, we must shut down all workplaces except those truly critical to sustaining life; give workers in those critical jobs everything they need to do their work safely and compensate them for the immense risk they are taking; and provide robust economic support for everyone else to allow and incentivize them to stay home.
UE Officers: The People’s Health Demands that Workers Take Action
The rapidly growing COVID-19 pandemic brings into sharp relief how bosses put their own profits ahead of workers' lives, something workers have known for generations.
A coalition of hundreds of worker, community and environmental organizations, including UE, launched a new People’s Bailout campaign yesterday, to demand that congressional coronavirus responses focus on the needs of working people.
“Now is the time for bold actions that will not only save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, but also create an economy that works for working people,” said UE General President Carl Rosen.
As our nation and our world takes measures to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, workers need effective rank-and-file unions more than ever, to make sure workers’ voices are heard as decisions are being made which impact our health, our jobs, and our ability to provide for our families. Visit UE's COVID-19 information page for suggestions for maintaining local union functioning, demands locals should consider making on employers, and highlights of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), which includes measures to cover COVID-19 testing, provide paid sick leave, strengthen unemployment insurance benefits, and keep working people from going without food.