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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
