Milwaukee, WI – On May 7, Wisconsin governor Tony Evers declared a COVID-19 testing plan that would focus on reaching all Blacks, Latinos and indigenous people in Wisconsin. The sites would be administered by and staffed by members of the Wisconsin National Guard. The significance of these sites was that individuals would be able to receive testing regardless of symptoms, healthcare or appointment.
Chicago, IL – Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy (IJLA) is a small two-floor building that rests on the corner of Western and Blue Island Avenues in Pilsen, Chicago. At first glance you would notice the mural that decorates the wall – women of color with fists in the air, “La Lucha Sigue.” You might ask yourself, “Is this a school?” and the first answer is: yes. Though, the more accurate answer is: “It’s a home, a safe haven.”
Tampa, FL – At least 36 employees at a UPS hub in Tucson, Arizona have tested positive for COVID-19. The news comes as many states, including Arizona, are beginning to reopen more commercial business. Three of the 36 employees are currently being treated in intensive care. Because of the lack of proper testing at the facility, the number of total cases could be much higher.
Nevada, Michigan and Hawai’i see unemployment rates above 20% in April
San José, CA – On Friday, May 22, the monthly report on state-level labor markets saw the – unemployment rate for three states – Nevada, Michigan and Hawai’i – all soar to more than 20%, levels unseen since the worst of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Actual job losses, reported by business, came to almost 20% between March and April in Vermont and New York, along with Hawai’i.
Milwaukee, WI – Around this time every year, open-enrollment for health insurance benefits begins at the Milwaukee Center For Independence (MCFI), a social services agency in Milwaukee. Workers at the agency meet a range of needs such as mental health services, day-programming for people with disabilities, and job-training for people who want to enter the workforce.
Chicago, IL – Educators at EPIC Academy College Prep who are seeking to join the Chicago Teachers Union celebrated the afternoon of May 18, when the NLRB – the National Labor Relations Board – blocked their employer’s reckless demand that they hold an in-person union election at the school. Such an election would have forced workers to risk their own health and the health of their loved ones during the shelter-in-place order.
Milwaukee, WI – Ryan Hamann, a Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) leader stated, “The Wisconsin Supreme Court – meeting virtually, I might add – voted 4-3 to strike down the 'safer-at-home' order. While this is disappointing, it is not a surprise. The judicial system, much like the government, is intricately tied to the wealthy business owners and their anti-people agenda. What it proves is that the ruling class in this state is willing to sacrifice the lives of the working class just to maintain a higher rate of profit.”
Over the last 8 weeks more than 40 million have lost their livelihood
San José, CA – On Thursday, May 14, the Labor Department reported more bad news, saying that almost 3 million people applied for unemployment insurance in the previous week ending May 9. This means that over the last eight weeks more than 36 million people applied after losing jobs and income. Another 3.5 million are collecting the federal government’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, which goes to the self-employed. This brings the total number of recently unemployed people to about 40 million.
Salt Lake City, UT – UPS Teamsters are working extremely long hours in hazardous conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting themselves and their families at risk with no hazard pay. UPS was late to provide sufficient personal protective equipment for workers and only did so after workers demanded it. Still, many areas lack the appropriate PPE to stay safe at work. The Teamsters union has not put hazard pay on the negotiating table for UPS Teamsters; workers are organizing on the shop floor to win their demand. UPS recently announced their quarterly profits at almost $1 billion.
Minneapolis, MN – Jess Sundin, a Minnesota leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) condemned Governor Walz’s decision to allow many statewide stay-at-home restrictions to lapse, May 13.
Gainesville, GA – COVID-19 virus is spreading quickly among poultry workers and their families in Georgia. In Hall County, northeast of Atlanta, there is a hotspot with over 2000 cases and 29 deaths as of May 12. With roughly 16,500 workers employed by 14 chicken plants across Georgia, and most immigrant families living with two or three generations in one house, the situation is code red. There needs to be an emergency response from the government and the corporations.
Appleton, WI – There’s a fear in polite American culture to engage in conflict. Strong words are discouraged, anger is derided, and extremism is posed as the singular problem; this unites all the various gasbags who turn our culture into such a toxic environment, where concepts like truth and justice have little hope to survive.
Green Bay, WI – While Wisconsin business owners and their political allies claimed local COVID-19 cases were on the decline and pressed to repeal Governor Ever’s Safer at Home order, manufacturing plants in Brown County were experiencing a huge outbreak of the deadly viral disease amongst the workers. Cases at three meatpacking plants – JBS Packerland, American Foods Group, and Salm Partners – have accounted for over half of the county’s cases, even as the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union fought for and won vital hazard pay, safer working conditions, and personal protection equipment (PPE) for its members, following concerns raised by the immigrant advocacy group Voces de la Frontera.
Chicago, IL – Close to 400,000 students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are in their seventh week of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this haze of attempting to teach the children of Chicago one thing is becoming crystal clear: disparity. According to NBC Chicago 52% of coronavirus deaths are of African American people and 25% are Latinos. Working-class African American and Latino neighborhoods on the South and West Sides are being hit much harder than predominantly white neighborhoods downtown and on the North Side.
Chicago, IL – 500 cars from around Chicago converged on the State of Illinois Building as Governor J.B. Pritzker held his daily COVID-19 press briefing May 7. The horns could be heard clearly from inside the building.
Madison, WI – On a sunny May 1 afternoon which marked both May Day and A Day Without Immigrants, a caravan comprised of about 20 different vehicles made its way to the Capitol Square in a careful procession in support of a timely cause.
New York, NY – Dozens of cars gathered in different boroughs of New York City on Friday May 1 in honor of May Day, or International Workers Day. Due to the city being on pause, protesters used a caravan to display signs and drive through different neighborhoods in the city, showing solidarity with workers and other oppressed groups. A special focus was put on COVID-19 and how workers, prisoners and immigrants lack protection from COVID-19.
Miami, FL – More than 2 million Floridians have now applied for unemployment benefits. Only a fraction of the applications have even been processed and even fewer workers have received payments. Florida’s unemployment system was already terrible before the crisis and it has completely collapsed under pressure from COVID-19.
