Hundreds of Amazon workers called in sick Friday to protest working conditions they argue are unsafe and unethical amid the pandemic. They join frontline workers from grocery stores to poultry plants to emergency rooms who’ve demanded safety protections, pay increases, and paid sick leave as they confront some of the greatest risks of contracting the virus. As these fights continue across the country, it’s crucial that we fight for the policies that workers need to be safe in the workplace and beyond.
This week’s Take Action Now gives you ways to support frontline workers, keep up the pressure after Earth Day last week, and demand a bailout for people, not companies.
Take Action Now gives you three meaningful actions you can take each week whatever your schedule. You can sign up here to get these actions and more in your inbox every Tuesday.
NO TIME TO SPARE?
On April 17, Representative Ilhan Omar introduced a bill that would enact rent and mortgage cancellation, a policy that puts low-wage workers struggling to pay rent at the front of the policy agenda. Call your representatives and tell them to support inclusion of the bill in the upcoming stimulus package. Then, help low-wage workers being hit hardest by the pandemic meet their basic needs by donating to the center for Popular Democracy’s community solidarity fund or United We Dream’s National UndocuFund.
GOT SOME TIME?
Environmental groups kept up the pressure on our leaders to address the climate crisis last week with a three-day online digital Earth Day action. Read and sign the Youth Climate Strike coalition’s demands for a people’s bailout, a Green New Deal, and indigenous rights amid the pandemic. Then sign on to Stop the Money Pipeline’s demands to the Trump administration to direct recovery money to people, not coal, oil, and gas companies. Check out and share the group’s resources for moving your money away from fossil funders like Chase, Blackrock, and Liberty Mutual.
READY TO DIG IN?
The house approved another nearly $500 billion coronavirus relief package last week, but low-wage workers and advocates say that it doesn’t do nearly enough to address the most immediate harms of the crisis. On May Day this Friday, join the People’s Bailout for a Live Stream rally. Scroll down on the page for ideas on how to organize a collective action: Form a car caravan with your neighbors or create a banner. Check out this slideshow for more ideas on how to take powerful action in a time of physical distancing.
