Union Matters

AFL-CIO and nurses’ unions take DOL to protect workers over COVID-19

By STEPHON JOHNSON

Amsterdam News

(Photo courtesy of insta_photos via iStock)

The AFL-CIO and nurses’ unions around the country petitioned a Court of Appeals to make a temporary standard protecting healthcare workers permanent.

The AFL-CIO, National Nurses United (NNU) and other unions petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to make a temporary Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule requiring healthcare employees to protect their workers against COVID on the job.

Bonnie Castillo, RN, National Nurses United executive director, stated that OSHA needs to get to work as soon as possible to protect American workers.

“OSHA is charged with ensuring that employers create and maintain safe workplaces, and this delay in issuing a permanent standard puts the lives of nurses and other healthcare workers, patients, and our communities, in jeopardy,” said Castillo. “We have seen far too many of our fellow nurses die during this pandemic. As of today, we have recorded the deaths of 476 nurse deaths from COVID. Going to work should not mean putting your life and the lives of your loved ones in danger.

“It is time for OSHA to issue a permanent standard and protect nurses and healthcare workers who are on the front lines working to save the lives of others.”

The temporary standard mandated that employers strongly encourage their workers to get vaccinated. Now, OSHA expects employers to work in good faith with employers and handle COVID.

In June, when OSHA officials issued the temporary stay, it was noted that as of late May, the CDC tallied 491,816 healthcare workers who had contracted COVID resulting in 1,611 deaths. By the end of 2021, 803,454 healthcare workers contracted COVID resulting in 3,063 deaths.

In early November, that rule was extended to private businesses. That extension, according to OSHA officials, protected more than 84 million workers from the spread of the coronavirus on the job.

In a statement, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, whose union is a part of the petition, wanted to remind the public, and OSHA, that the fight against COVID-19 isn’t over.

“We are still in the midst of a deadly pandemic, and healthcare workers are facing dangerous exposures to COVID-19 and need the strongest possible protections in their workplaces,” said Shuler. “We must treat the surge in new cases as the crisis that it is. That means retaining and enforcing the emergency standards originally set by OSHA. COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased nearly sixfold in the last six months. In the face of the Omicron variant, it is not the time to roll back protections, but to fully enforce and make them permanent.

“We have no choice but to turn to the courts to ensure that our healthcare workers are protected as they provide such critical care throughout this pandemic.”

Recently, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance for quarantining healthcare workers. According to the CDC, healthcare workers who contract COVID-19 but are asymptomatic can come back to work after 7 days with a negative test. Also, healthcare workers who have been vaccinated with a booster, but still contract COVID-19, don’t have to

quarantine once exposed. “As the healthcare community prepares for an anticipated surge in patients due to Omicron, CDC is updating our recommendations to reflect what we know about infection and exposure in the context of vaccination and booster doses,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in a statement. “Our goal is to keep healthcare personnel and patients safe, and to address and prevent undue burden on our healthcare facilities. Our priority, remains prevention— and I strongly encourage all healthcare personnel to get vaccinated and boosted.” AFSCME President Lee Saunders stated that healthcare workers should be treated just like they were treated at the beginning Healthcare workers want OSHA to make COVID protection guidance permanent. of the pandemic. “Nurses and healthcare workers are the heroes who got us through the worst of the pandemic—but we’re not through with COVID-19 yet,” said Saunders. “Just this week, the U.S. hit a record single-day number of COVID-19 cases: over 1 million. Now is not the time for OSHA to remove the lifesaving protections that have allowed those in our healthcare settings to do their essential work safely and effectively. “To save lives and protect our frontline heroes, OSHA must not rescind the emergency temporary standard and instead promulgate a permanent healthcare standard to protect the lives and health of millions of nurses and other healthcare workers in grave danger from the deadly COVID-19 pandemic,” continued Saunders.

Millions of workers quit their jobs, particularly low-wage ones

By STEPHON JOHNSON

Amsterdam News Staff

The U.S. Department of Labor announced this week that 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November. Job openings, however, have decreased from 10.6 million to 11.1 million.

That number is still a record high.

However, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, this could be looked at from a positive perspective.

“Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations,” read the bureau’s report. “When the number of hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even if the hires level is steady or rising.”

In December, One Fair Wage (a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of tipped restaurant workers), warned of “severe disruptions” when dining out during the holidays with workers not willing to risk their lives due to the easily transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The organization said workers aren’t willing to risk their lives for tips.

“Hundreds of thousands of service workers across the state of New York are fed up with the low wages and poor working conditions in the restaurant industry, including the subminimum wage for tipped workers that persists in New York, which is a direct legacy of slavery,” stated Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage. “The industry is in crisis. Unless wages go up immediately statewide, thousands of workers will continue to organize and many more will continue to leave.”

A lot of this ire could be directed to Albany. New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul has touted her experience as a former tipped worker and called for the elimination of subminimum wage for those kinds of employees.

According to Jayaraman, the ball is in her court. “She has the power to do so right now, before the end of the year, through a simple executive action,” Jayaraman said.

Michael Fuquay, owner of the Queensboro and leader in RAISE High Road Restaurant, said,

“Long before I owned a restaurant, I worked in a restaurant as a busboy, dishwasher, bartender, server. I think it’s important for us to have a kind of industry that good people want to stay in.

“With low wages, people don’t feel there is a future. We as an industry have to change to be the best we can be. We’re trying to make that a reality as much as we can here at The Queensboro.” One Fair Wage’s own report, titled “Closed Due to Low Wages: The Ongoing Exodus of Workers From the NY Restaurant Industry & The Looming Impact on Consumers,” showed that since December 2019, New York State made up 12% of all restaurant workers who left the industry with a 18% overall decline in the overall workforce of any U.S. state or territory. The report stated as of May 2021, 53% of all restaurant workers still in the industry planned on leaving. And job shortages aren’t only found in the restaurant industry. According to Pew Charitable Trusts, Missouri’s social services are in dire straits.

Communications Workers of America Local 6355 officials told Pew that the state’s child welfare workers are being assigned as many as 50 cases, which is double the normal amount. Citizens with questions regarding public assistance are on hold for hours before speaking with a worker.

Workers are leaving the restaurant industry in droves. Some see that as a good thing. (Photo courtesy of Prostock-Studio)