Our Perspective
Headline
As Pandemic Recedes,
Appreciation for Essential
Workers Must Not
In June, as COVID infection rates, hospitalizations
and deaths in New York hit new lows and
vaccination rates rose above 70 percent, what
had appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel
blossomed into a sunny summer day. Nearly all remaining restrictions on
businesses and social gatherings were eliminated, and sights we hadn’t
seen since early last year — crowded restaurants, full bars, and sold-out
full-capacity concerts and sporting events at arenas — once again
became commonplace in New York.
As the pandemic hopefully continues to recede, the debt and
gratitude we owe to our essential, frontline workers should not. These
workers — among them, thousands of RWDSU heroes — stepped up to
provide essential services for all of us when we were locked down during
the worst public health crisis in our country in a century. These working
men and women were thrust into a battle they did not choose, but it’s a
responsibility they courageously accepted. These essential workers in
food processing, health care, pharmacies, supermarkets and retail stores
and more were there for us throughout this crisis — often at great
personal cost to themselves and their families.
For a brief while, as the pandemic raged, our society and employers
recognized the sacrifices essential workers were making. An emphasis
was placed on making workplaces safer, with proper PPE provided, and
workplaces being kept clean and sanitized to an unprecedented degree.
And many employers agreed to “hero pay” for their workers; additional
hourly pay that recognized workers’ contributions.
As infection rates continue to drop and vaccination rates continue to
rise, it’s important to not lose sight of how important these essential
workers are to our economy, our society, and our families. The way we
view these workers needs to permanently change for the better, and so
does their treatment. Essential workers deserve the higher pay and
appreciation many of them received last year, and they deserve greater
emphasis on the health and safety of their workplaces.
At the RWDSU, we’ve always recognized the importance of these
workers, and fought for greater pay and benefits and safer workplaces to
protect them. During the pandemic, we’ve been a leading voice for hero
pay as well as proper protection for workers so that they can do their
jobs safely and go home to their loved ones. In our latest contracts for
retail workers at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s in New York, covering
thousands of working men and women, language was included not only
to protect workers and consumers from COVID-19, but also any future
pandemics we may have to fight through. The lessons we’ve learned
from the COVID-19 pandemic will not be forgotten.
It’s no exaggeration to say that RWDSU members —
and all essential workers — earned the title of
“heroes” during the COVID-19 pandemic. We owe
it to all of them to continue to fight for safer
workplaces, better pay, and better benefits for
the essential work they do not only during times
of crisis, but every single day.
Caribbean L 22 ife, JULY 2-8, 2021
CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
accusing the St. Vincent and the Grenadines
government of seeking to force
public servants to be vaccinated as part
of its policy on testing for COVID-19.
In a memorandum,
the permanent secretary
in the Ministry
of Health, said Cabinet
has directed that
all unvaccinated state
employees are required to be tested
regularly, up to once a week, based
on risk levels as determined by health
authorities.
But PSU President, Elroy Boucher
said that the memo is not in keeping
with science and comes even as
the union is awaiting information on
the said policy, which the government
promised to supply since April.
He said there were no reports of
outbreaks of COVID-19 in the government
departments and strict measures
have been put in place for workers and
the public, including mandatory wearing
of face masks, hand sanitizing and
physical distancing.
Boucher said the government is
yet to provide information on random
sampling that it had spoken about
since April.
He noted that the PSU, the Teacher’s
Union, as well as the Police Welfare
Association have long said until they
can see how long the policy is fleshed
out, members should not comply.
TRINIDAD
Majority state-owned Caribbean Airlines
Ltd. (CAL) reported an after tax
loss of US$103 million in its financial
year ended Dec. 31, 2020, compared
with a US $6.7 million profit in 2019.
CAL’s management accounts for
2020 lay bare the damage that the
Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked on the
airline, which stopped international
flights into and out of Piarco International
Airport in March
2020.
Since that
time,Trinidad and Tobago’s
borders have been
closed to scheduled commercial flights
but have been reopen for repatriation
and cargo flights, as the government
struggles to contain the COVID-19
pandemic.
CAL’s total revenue in 2020 was US$
137.3 million, a decline of 69.7 percent
on the US$453.7 million it generated
in 2019.
The airline’ total expenses plummeted
by 47.3 percent, declining to
US$227.7 in 2020 from US $432.3 million
in 2019.
That left CAL with an operating loss
of US$90.4 million in 2020, compared
with an operating profit of US$21.4
million in 2019.
— Compiled by Azad Ali
Continued from Page 4
By Stuart Appelbaum, President
Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union, UFCW
Twitter: @sappelbaum
www.rwdsu.org
McManus
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