Please sign our petition of COVID-19 related demands for our city and county governments!

Petition link: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/memphis-midsouth-dsa-covid-19-petition-to-the-city-of-memphis-and-shelby-county-governments

Petition Text

By signing this petition, I hereby join the Memphis-Midsouth Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America in demanding that the governments of Memphis and Shelby County do the following:

1. Freeze rent and place a moratorium on all evictions from residential rental properties, place a moratorium on mortgage payments and foreclosures, and suspend the sale of tax-foreclosed properties.

2. Open emergency shelters for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and open vacant or underused properties to house individuals experiencing homelessness when shelters and temporary homes reach capacity.

3. Suspend low-level and nonviolent arrests in order to reduce the spread of the virus within the jail system and to city and county workers.

4. Release pretrial detainees who are being detained solely because they cannot afford bond.

5. Dispatch healthcare workers throughout the county jail system to treat and monitor infected individuals and prevent an outbreak that would endanger the lives of those jailed as well as workers at those facilities.

6. Place a moratorium on the county and municipal governments cooperating with ICE to ensure that undocumented people are not discouraged from seeking treatment or testing.

7. Waive all public transit fares so that those who lack transportation are not financially hindered from seeking treatment.

8. Implement free testing at all Shelby County Health Department locations.

9. Place a moratorium on the collection and accrual of interest on all fines and fees from the Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk, Memphis City Clerk, Shelby County Clerk, Memphis City Treasurer, and Shelby County Trustee’s offices for the duration of this crisis.


10. Grant all city and county workers—no matter their status—a bank of 14 days’ paid sick leave specifically for this outbreak to ensure that no one is penalized for being infected or taking care of loved ones during a pandemic.

11. Utilize powers to procure granted by the respective governmental emergency orders to provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to all workers deemed “essential”, as defined in the orders issued by the City of Memphis and Shelby County. Ensure that all hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, emergency rooms, and other healthcare facilities operating in the City of Memphis or within Shelby County have the ability to provide personal protective equipment (PPE)—including disposable gloves, gowns, face shields, fully sealed goggles, and N95 respirators—to all healthcare workers providing direct patient care. Further, ensure that all other workers providing “essential services” be provided with disposable gloves and surgical masks. Require that all employers operating within the City of Memphis and Shelby County adopt and enforce an infectious disease control policy which includes strategies to reduce exposure to oneself and others, education on the proper use of PPE, and requires that all workers don appropriate PPE when engaged in providing essential services.