Thanks largely to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats, workers’ issues are getting a lot of attention as the United States confronts coronavirus. We’ll see what Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell do with it, but Democrats (and COVID-19) have managed to get paid sick leave and paid family leave into the national conversation. Democrats are also pushing for emergency improvements to unemployment insurance and to food assistance, which is a workers’ issue when you consider how many working people rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Those aren’t the only concerns, though. Look below for a bunch of coronavirus-and-labor links, but also check out the Economic Policy Institute’s discussion of how to handle a coronavirus-related recession, which Josh Bivens warns could happen much more quickly than the 2008 Great Recession. He suggests “rapid direct payments to individuals,” similar to what President George W. Bush did in 2008, but with some improvements. State governments are also likely to be hit hard in ways that could be a strong anti-stimulus, so, Bivens suggests, the federal government could very quickly combat that: “A quick way to transfer resources to state governments is to pay states’ share of Medicaid for the next year. This was done as part of the Recovery Act in 2009, and it is possibly the single most-effective component of the Act (when combining scale and per-dollar impact).”
● How can K-12 schools make up for time lost to coronavirus? Scrap high-stakes testing.
● After Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a public health emergency, the state’s unions called for coronavirus-related worker protections.
● Those Wisconsin unions aren’t alone. Unions across America are screaming for paid sick leave and health care.
● Coronavirus shows capitalism is a razor's edge.
● Something to remember as you stock up for social distancing:
● Teachers in St. Paul, Minnesota, went on strike for three days this week before reaching a deal. Teachers put counselors and mental health support for students at the center of their demands.