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John -
We must do more to protect the 2.2 million essential workers in New York in order to prevent more unnecessary deaths and a second surge of COVID-19 in already devastated communities. Essential workers are putting their lives on the line every day during this crisis--they are providing healthcare, ensuring that workers have the ability to travel to their jobs, processing food and stocking grocery stores, collecting garbage and keeping our streets clean, delivering packages, energy and telecommunication services, and keeping our government functioning.
Essential workers want to be safe and do their jobs with the dignity and respect that they deserve. This is as much about racial and gender justice as it is about economic justice: women, immigrants, and Black and Latinx workers are more likely to be essential workers. Black and brown communities have suffered disproportionate cases and deaths during this public health crisis, exposing the structural failures that have made them more vulnerable during this pandemic. |
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Many essential workplaces are still crowded spaces where workers must congregate in large numbers, creating high risks of infection not only among the workforce but the general public as well when workers leave the workplace at the end of their shifts or when workers must interact with the public in the course of performing their jobs.
The federal administration has ignored the needs of essential workers across the nation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recently issued an enforcement directive that states the agency will not formally investigate any complaints from essential workers outside of the healthcare industry.
This all means it is up to New York State to protect the health and safety of all essential workers during this crisis.
We should not put our guards down--COVID-19 still poses significant threats to public health at this moment. Join us to protect essential workers across sectors during this unprecedented public health crisis. |
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In solidarity, Maritza-Silva Farrell Executive Director ALIGN NY
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