Our Perspective
Workers on the
Front Lines Need Our
Support During Crisis
By Stuart Appelbaum, President
Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union, RWDSU, UFCW
Twitter: @sappelbaum
During this unprecedented public health
crisis, working men and women are on
the front lines in the battle to keep New
Yorkers safe and supplied, and to slow down the
spread of the Coronavirus; so our health care professionals can keep
the situation from spiraling out of control.
RWDSU members in New York – including those at pharmacies
and grocery stores – have an incredibly important role during these
unprecedented times. Fortunately for them, they have a union voice,
and it’s a voice we are using to ensure their workplaces are as safe as
possible for workers as well as the general public. Workers need to be
provided with the proper protective equipment and sanitizer, clean
workplaces, and enough space or protective barriers to make workers
safer. Workers also need proper security on hand to control crowds
and keep workplaces safe.
For other retail workers, we need to protect income as stores close.
The economic disruption in their lives is going to be massive, and we
need to ensure that they aren’t missing paychecks as this pandemic
drags on.
The general public should be thankful for the heroic efforts of these
brave workers who are still doing their job amidst this unprecedented
crisis. And, we need to do our part to keep them healthy; wash hands
constantly, use sanitizer, and keep safe distance from others and
workers as much as is possible. We need to address the growing
childcare needs for service workers who don't have the option of
working from home.
We also need to give stores time to receive deliveries and re-stock
shelves, and we must not panic to a point that we are adding to the
stress and chaos in stores.
At the same time, it’s important to be mindful of the impact this is
going to have on all workers. For non-union workers, without a voice
on the job and without contract protections and benefits, this is an
even scarier time, since they are depending solely upon management
to keep their workplaces safe. And for all workers, we are entering an
economically precarious time, the likes of which we haven’t seen or
even imagined.
The goal of any recovery action and legislation needs to be simple:
no worker should suffer loss of income because of this pandemic,
including those who aren’t sick or caring for the ill. Any bailouts to
corporations needs to be tied to job retention guarantees. There should
not just be a bailout for corporate executives; any bailout needs to help
everybody from the ground up – or our workers, communities, and our
economy will be unable to recover. We cannot leave any worker behind
when it comes to paid time off legislation at the
federal and state level, and we must include
undocumented workers at any size of business.
As we rebuild our economy and our state,
we can leave no one behind. We will only have
one chance to get this right.
www.rwdsu.org
St. John’s Lutheran Church, NYC
81 Christopher Street, NYC
stjohnsnyc.org
During this challenging time, St. John’s seeks
to offer resources for maintaining hope and peace.
Please go to our Facebook page:
St. John’s Lutheran Church, NYC
LIVE STREAMING ON
FACEBOOK
Monday—Saturday:
Morning Prayer: 9 AM
Evening Prayer: 4:30 PM
Sunday:
Mass: 11 AM
Also, music videos and
other expressions of hope.
HOLY WEEK
At this time, we
do not know if in
person worship
will be permitted/
advised.
Please watch
our website for
updates.
The Rev. Mark E. Erson, Pastor
pastor@stjohnsnyc.org 212-242-5735
St. John’s is a diverse community of faith seeking
to share the love of Jesus Christ with all creation.
WE ARE PLEASED TO BE
SERVING OVER THREE MILLION
PEOPLE IN PRINT, DIGITAL, EVENTS AND BROADCASTING
TO ADVERTISE, CALL 718-260-2500
Schneps Media March 26, 2020 27
/www.rwdsu.org
link
/www.rwdsu.org
/stjohnsnyc.org
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