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The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
• Thursday, October 29, 2020
3
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY/OPINION EDITORIAL:
Our Vote, the Virus and Working Together
By Rev. Dr. John E. Warren Publisher
Clearly, our communities have been blessed with the number of people who come out each week as volunteers to help with food distribution. Many are without jobs or income themselves. While next Tuesday is a Food Distribution Day, it is also Election Day. We must do both things together. It is not either or.
While we are doing Food Distribution and “Get Out The Vote” efforts, let us not forget to stay safe. Wear the Mask. Wash the hands. Wear a face shield if you have one. Don’t handle grocery carts and gas pumps without gloves. Stay away from stores with lines and shop later when it is safer.
Between now and next Monday is a good time to vote for those who have not done so already. It is also a time to get others out to vote. We can drive out to the Registrar of Voters to turn in ballots and to cast our vote at the source. We must make sure that everyone understands that every vote counts. You need to vote the ballot assigned to where you live. If in doubt, vote a “provisional ballot.” This allows you to cast a sealed vote until your voter identification can be verified, then your vote will be counted.
Don’t get caught visiting with family, friends or other relatives not in your safety bubble. Yet, in the midst of all this, let’s continue to work together; being aware of the safety of others as well as ourselves.
NOVEMBER 3:
There is something that each of us can do to help someone else. We will all have to help each other before this virus is over so let’s get started now if we have not already done so. Remember: Vote, Vote, Vote and get someone else to Vote as well. Our lives depend on it, literally.
DON’T MESS WITH OUR SIDE HUSTLE:
So much at stake in this election Thousands of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would significantly restore workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively. However, the Senate has failed to even allow a vote, let alone, pass the PRO Act. The UAW has endorsed the PRO Act and we must work to see that it is passed.
By Ray Curry International SecretaryTreasurer, UAW
Folks Depend on It
Protect our right to vote
Vote! I cannot say it any simpler or say it enough. Vote to restore government for the people, by the people; vote to preserve our threatened middle class; vote for America’s workers by voting for an America that works; vote up and down the ballot and vote union blue. Sisters and brothers, I have to say that never before has there been so much at stake for the American people than in this election. From constitutional court decisions affecting human, civil and worker rights, to the ability to safely exercise our right to vote … all are on the line. Our current way of life, fought for and worked for over so many decades, is being threatened. Ruled by the rich for the rich sure is not looking out for those of us who work for a living. Together we can readjust America’s light to again shine on a united future — the way it was intended to be. Here is what makes your vote so critical. Consider the issues that your ballot will impact by helping to elect representatives who support labor and the American worker — Who represents us in the courts? Our courts are deteriorating quickly to an anti-worker mindset. Over the past four years, two very conservative Supreme Court justices have been appointed, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, moving the Court further to the right and further away from protecting our rights. And a third anti-labor judge will likely be railroaded through in advance of the election. In addition, more than 50 judges for the United States Courts of Appeals, more than 135 judges for the United States District Courts, and two judges for the United States Court of International Trade have been appointed during the current term. In consequence of these numerous court appointments, our courts are turning in a detrimental way against fair labor practices and human rights. Through your vote in November, you can help fend off further anti-labor control of decisions and policy. Who is watching out for us? Since the 2016 election, there have been several disturbing anti-labor appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the government agency that enforces labor law as it relates to collective bargaining and unfair labor practice charges. This includes officials like William Emanuel, a labor lawyer at the notorious anti-worker law firm Littler Mendelson. He is, most certainly, no friend to labor and his voting record shows it. And we must not forget the appointment of Eugene Scalia last fall to Secretary of Labor. The New Yorker magazine has called him “a wrecking ball for labor.” And consider that on February 6, 2020, the House of
Your very right to vote in this, and every election is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It is a fundamental aspect of living in this democracy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, making our way to the polls has been a concern for many. Mail-in and absentee ballots are a viable option for a safe, secure election. However, we have seen: Challenges to states’ rights and roles in overseeing the presidential election. Opposed election aid for states to run safe elections with COVID-19 restrictions in place. Opposition to funding to make elections safe and secure, including a $25 billion emergency funding bill for the U.S. Postal Service and a Democratic proposal to provide $3.6 billion in additional election funding to the states. Keep us safe That the current management of the pandemic favors the Chamber of Commerce interests over that of the labor force is clearly illustrated in the response to the COVID-19 crisis. Among the anti-worker, anti-safety steps taken: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) refused to issue any required measures — via an emergency temporary infectious disease standard — to protect workers from the virus. OSHA is also failing to enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Act during the pandemic. Despite over 9,000 complaints from workers about unsafe working conditions from COVID-19, the agency issued only four citations for failure to protect workers as of August. Petitions by unions representing affected workers and by the AFL-CIO for mandatory rules to protect workers from exposure to the coronavirus on the job were rejected. Guide us out of this crisis This terrible pandemic has been devastating on so many levels and recovery from the economic, public health and employment impact of the virus will take years. We need strong leadership to guide our country out of this crisis. Now, more than ever, it is time to use our right to vote to let our voices be heard. When UAW members vote, when labor votes, we win. If we stay home, we are silent and powerless and we enable those who would work against us. Brothers and Sisters there are no excuses. Voting by mail is easy and safe. Dropping your ballot at the city clerk’s office or at a voting ballot drop box is easy and safe. You can vote early. Or you can do it at the polls on November 3rd. But however you choose to vote, please vote. Don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way. Our way of life is at stake.
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The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
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By Jay King As President and CEO of the California Black Chamber of Commerce I know the importance of creating and keeping jobs - especially in the Black community. I also understand the damage done with every job that is lost and how much worse that is in the middle of a recession that has already taken a toll on the state’s entire workforce. In most states, when you hear of a business closing, you assume the business was beaten by its competitors as a casualty of the free market. But in California, when you hear a business closed you assume it was beaten by regulations. Federal regulations. State regulations. County regulations. City regulations. And now, there’s yet another state law focused on preventing independent contractors from finding the independent and flexible work they want and need. This newest attack, Assembly Bill 5, is now jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of jobs at a time when we need them most. We all want 2020 to be the year we forget, but at this rate it’s the hundreds of thousands of gig worker jobs that will be forgotten. Prop 22 offers a chance to change course and reverse this damage. Prop 22 would protect the app-based jobs Black Californians need and the services all Californians rely on. Prop 22 also improves the quality of app-based work by providing drivers with an earnings guarantee of 120% of minimum wage plus 30 cents per mile compensation toward expenses and new benefits like health care. And it keeps food and medicine deliveries available for the people who depend on them. Saving these jobs is good for everyone. But it’s necessary for the Black community. With an unemployment rate far higher than the general public, many Blacks rely on independent work just to get by. Appbased services like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Postmates have proven to be leaders at providing income opportunities for Blacks. Losing jobs hurts everyone, but the statistics prove that Blacks are hurt the most. By May of this year we were only 2 months into the pandemic and California had already reached 15.5% unemployment after losing 2.3 million jobs. The Pew Research Center reported that COVID-19 impacts affected lower-income people the hardest. Despite hopes for a V-shaped recovery, the losses have been long lasting. Half of adults who lost jobs during the pandemic are still unemployed. Like many financial indicators, Blacks feel the impacts greater than other groups. The Pew Center also noted that 18% of whites reported difficulty paying bills during the pandemic. That’s compared to 43% for Blacks. The impacts of job loss are real, and all indications are that this recovery will be slow. Each lost job represents a family depending on those wages. The true impact of poverty is difficult to capture on a chart because it’s hard to measure the depth of pain. California should be doing everything in its power to keep existing jobs and create new ones. Instead, we’re on the brink of losing more. Hundreds of thousands of more jobs lost will only deepen the statewide impacts of the recession and further slow our recovery.
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Publisher Dr. John E. Warren
Publisher Emeritus (1987 - 2009) Gerri Warren
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