In labor news, workers across a wide range of sectors are continuing to demand better safety measures to protect against infections. In Chicago, Amazon workers staged their fourth strike in under a week Saturday, days after Amazon fired a Staten Island employee who organized a similar walkout here in New York.
Workers at food processing factories — which are often staffed by a majority-immigrant workforce — have been walking off the job to protest unsafe conditions. Recent strikes include workers at a chicken processing facility in Virginia, a flan and gelatin production factory in Illinois and a meatpacking plant in Colorado.
Meanwhile, a union representing some 13,000 carpenters in Massachusetts has called for a strike starting today to protest Republican Governor Charlie Baker’s refusal to shut down all construction across the state.
And nurses around the country continue to shine light on the ongoing lack of personal protective equipment, or PPE, and understaffing around the country. The University of Illinois Hospital and the Illinois Nurses Association recently announced an agreement to provide nurses with hazard pay for the duration of the state’s stay-at-home order. After headlines, we’ll head to Harlem Hospital, where nurses are staging a protest this morning, and speak to organizer, registered nurse Sarah Dowd.