According to government statistics, the wage gap between white men and Black men has shrunk dramatically since the 1950s. But that’s only true, The New York Times’ David Leonhardt points out, if you compare workers—and the problem is, a lot of Black men have been pushed out of the workforce, in significant part by mass incarceration. When comparing Black men and white men, regardless of if they work, the wage gap is about the same as it was in 1950. “An end to mass incarceration would help,” Leonhardt writes. “So would policies that attempt to reverse decades of government-encouraged racism—especially in housing. But it’s possible that nothing would have a bigger impact than policies that lifted the pay of all working-class families, across races.”
It’s the combination of racism and inequality we can see in this pattern that set the stage for the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on Black people. Black people have been more likely to lose their jobs during the pandemic than white people, but they also disproportionately work at essential jobs that require them to expose themselves to possible infection. They’re less likely to have paid sick leave, the ability to work from home, and health insurance. Racism and inequality produce chronic health problems that make Black people more vulnerable to COVID-19. The list goes on and on and on.
● Black and brown tech workers shared their experiences of racism on the job with the Los Angeles Times. “I raised the point to executives once we were at about 70 to a hundred employees that there were still only two or three Latinx people working at [the company],” one man said. “Rather than say we should do more because here we are in Southern California and only like three percent of the employees are Hispanic, the response I got was, Well who do you know? You should ask your friends to apply.”
● The head of the South Dakota AFL-CIO routinely posts ultra right-wing memes on Facebook, Hamilton Nolan reports. Like, pro-Confederate flag memes and jokes about shooting protesters. The good news is, he’s retiring.
● Three people who've been laid off tell their stories to The New York Times.
● Unions take up the Black Lives Matter banner, and Labor Notes rounds up some of the actions.
● Bryce Covert talked to pregnant essential workers about their experiences in the pandemic. “I am afraid. I am pregnant and I am very scared about getting sick right now because of that, but I need my job,” one had written in a complaint she filed with the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.
● USDA used questionable worker safety data in drafting pork inspection rules, inspector general says.
