Workers’ Safety

Workers’ Safety

Labor Unions, UFT, Say NYC Schools are Dangerously Unprepared to Reopen

In response to growing concation. They remained caugoing to handle something cerns by the community tiously optimistic that things major." that city schools are not would go smoothly. The UFT, who was repreproperly prepared to re-open Mayor Bill de Blasio said that sented at Senator Sanders disin September, Senator James all classrooms would be sanicussion, by Queens Special Sanders Jr. hosted a commutized before schools open and Representative Dermot Smyth, nity conversation on the subthat city inspectors would exsaid the union has a clear and ject on Facebook Live on amine the ventilation systems detailed plan on its website August 26, 2020. All stakeholdin all classrooms this week to that it wishes the city would ers including parents, teachers, ensure that fresh air limits the follow and that the UFT beadministrators, students and spread of the coronavirus. The lieves that a staggered reopenlabor unions were invited to mayor also announced that ing of schools instead of a participate, express their conschools can use outdoor unilateral opening would be a cerns and ask their questions. spaces, including streets and more sensible choice. UFT's The consensus among the parks to help with social dis Senator Sanders said he school superintendents from tancing. In addition, when would be speaking with the School Districts 27, 28, 29 and 75 as well as the Executive Suschools open they will follow a blended model of learning, a Editorial credit: Ron Adar / Shutterstock.com Mayor in the coming days to convey the communities conperintendent for Queens South and the Superintendent of Queens South High Schools was that they would serve the students and ensure the safety of the students to the best of their ability given the resources at their disposal and following the guideline set forth by the Mayor's Office and the NYC Department of Edumix of in-person days at school and remote-learning days at home. The Labor unions who participated in the discussion - Local 372 and the United Federation of Teachers were not so positive. In fact they believe that schools are dangerously unprepared to open in the fall, claiming that the city has no real concrete plan for re-opening safely, and that they are gambling with the student's safety. Shaun D. Francois, President of Board of Education Employees Local 372, said that the schools are not ready to open and that the DOE has not been forthright when it comes to safety conditions. "This is not a joke," he said. "You are dealing with peoples' kids here, lives here, safety here. This is not trial and error. You don't wait to see what happens and then decide what to do after that. We're not guinea pigs. We have major sanitation issues. They can't even get soap in the dispensers in the bathrooms. If you can't do that, how are you cerns, which included a lack of windows and sinks in schools, a lack of nurses, outdoor learning in neighborhoods where shootings have recently occurred, a lack of preparedness to enforce social distancing among kindergarten age children and students with special needs, and much more. p

NY WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

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District Council 9 Donates to South Jamaica Food Bank

As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes across Queens, the food insecurity issue remains a threat to public health. District Council 9 donated $2,500 to The Harding Ford Vision Inc. in South Jamaica to help fund essential food programs to serve those in need, including their food pantry and soup kitchen. In addition to District Council 9’s monetary donation, union members volunteered their Saturday, off the job, and the organization’s food pantry. Queens has been one of the areas hardest-hit by COVID19, and District Council 9 continues to give back and provide relief to help neighborhoods get back on their feet. “District Council 9 members and leadership strongly believe that our communities should be at the center of every action we take. Whether we’re using our skills for local projects and volunteering in food pantries, District Council 9 strives to better the areas where our members live and work,” District Council 9 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Azzopardi said. “We are proud to lend a helping hand to The Harding Ford Vision Inc. and become a part of its commitment to providing health and wellness services across New York City at a time when hardworking families need it most.” p

Building on the Labor Counts! Census 2020 campaign from 2018-2020, Labor Votes! will focus on educating, engaging and facilitating union members’ and their households’ ability to cast their ballot during the 2020 and 2021 elections. Labor Votes! is the member-to-member political program of the NYC Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Visit: actionnetwork.org/campaigns/labor-votes

Union Asks FL Retirees to Get Involved in Transit Funding, Hazard Pay Fight

show Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott the wisdom of voting in favor of government support for mass transit and for hazard pay for frontline workers, including the union's members. New York's retirees in the Sunshine State are a powerful political force — because they are solid citizens and they vote. New York's two Senators are already on board, but need a few "red state" Senators to join them. TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano and Retiree Association Director Mike Tutrone are asking NY's Florida retirees to send an email, or call, Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, and tell them that as a Floridian you support the $32 billion in transit funding and hazard pay for our essential worker heroes in Florida and all over America who kept the lights on, the food shelves stocked and trains and buses moving. Share with any Florida union retirees you know!p

Climate Jobs and Just Transition Summit

On September 22, 2020, from 9am-6pm, the virtual Climate Jobs and Just Transition Summit will bring together labor leaders, union climate activists, environmental and environmental justice advocates, clean-energy developers, policymakers, and scientists who want to build the clean-energy economy of tomorrow with strong union jobs. The Summit features speakers and panelists from across the country and around the world. Speakers will discuss the many ways that climate change and inequality are inextricably linked, identify specific opportunities for bold climate action and building new industries, while engaging in a holistic conversation about just transition for York City’s commercial sanitation workers impacted by COVID-19. Commercial sanitation workers collect trash and recycling from businesses across the city. At the height of the pandemic, they stayed on the job so that essential businesses could continue operating, exposing themselves to the virus. But as more and more economic sectors shut down, many of these workers either lost their jobs or saw their hours severely curtailed. The relief fund grows out of years of advocacy and organizing by the or

workers in fossil fuel industries and their communities. At a time that calls for public investment on a scale not seen since the Great Depression, let’s ensure that we’re investing in the economy of the future. Let’s make sure that we take action at a scale climate science demands. Let’s take on three crises at once: the Covid19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and the crisis of extreme inequality that cannot be ignored. Register at www.climatejob

New Relief Fund for NYC's Commercial Sanitation Workers

Teamsters Local 813 and ALIGN NY announced a new $30,000 relief fund to support New sny.orgp

ganizations alongside sanitation workers. The job is the fifth most deadly in the country and many workers are forced to work off the books, without benefits and protections, or for substandard wages. The Commercial Sanitation Worker Relief Fund will provide monetary, food, and other support for impacted workers. While the fund is beginning with $30,000 provided by a generous donor, organizers are hoping to grow that amount.p