coronavirus

Economy Gains 379,000 Jobs in February; Unemployment Down to 6.2%

Leave a Comment / Pandemic, unemployment / By max cyril

The U.S. economy gained 379,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.2%, according to figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In response to the February job numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted: Last month’s biggest job gains were in leisure and hospitality (+355,000), health care and social assistance (+46,000), …

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Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Labor Movement Fighting Anti-Asian Racism in All Forms

Leave a Comment / Labor Movement, race discrimination / By max cyril

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Anti-Asian racism has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working people condemn this vile behavior as …

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Prepared Remarks: Sanders Speaks on the Urgency of Raising the Minimum Wage and Passing the American Rescue Plan

1 Comment / MinimumWage, Pandemic / By max cyril

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate on the need to pass the American Rescue Plan Act and offered an amendment to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. His remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below: Mr. President, I rise today to offer an amendment …

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Gig workers could end up losers in Covid relief bill

1 Comment / gig economy, Pandemic / By max cyril

Airbnb, Etsy and other pillars of the gig economy are shaping up to be rare losers in Democrats’ coronavirus relief package. Buried in the legislation are provisions that will require them to provide a lot more information to the IRS about the money millions of people earn through their platforms, which is likely to bring …

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COVID-19 has the child care industry in dire crisis, but there are two big reasons for hope

Leave a Comment / Childcare, Pandemic / By max cyril

The child care industry and the workers in it—overwhelmingly women, many of them women of color—have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Really hard. But now there are two big reasons for hope, thanks to child care funding in the COVID-19 relief bill passed by the House and to a rush of states opening …

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Labor watchdog backs calls for binding Covid-19 workplace safety standard, slams Trump’s policy

Leave a Comment / OSHA, Pandemic / By max cyril

The Labor Department’s independent watchdog recommended that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration consider issuing Covid-19-specific safety rules employers would be required to follow, saying that would better protect Americans from exposure to the coronavirus. The recommendation adds weight to calls by President Joe Biden, other Democrats and labor unions for the agency to issue …

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‘Can we find a deal?’: Coronavirus sparks debate over paid leave

Leave a Comment / paid leave, Pandemic / By max cyril

Democrats, Republicans and corporate America are coalescing behind a federal paid leave policy for the first time in the U.S., one of few rich nations where workers aren’t automatically provided the benefit. But as they hammer out the details, fracture lines are already emerging that could derail the decades-long effort once again. President Joe Biden’s …

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Texas and Florida, Defying CDC Guidance, Aren’t Prioritizing Vaccination of Farmworkers

Leave a Comment / Farm Workers, Pandemic / By max cyril

Despite Centers for Disease Control recommendations, a few states with large farmworker populations have not prioritized Covid-19 vaccinations for farmworkers. Because farmworkers risk Covid-19 exposure in the course of their jobs, the CDC proposed that they should be near the front of the vaccination line. But Texas and Florida, which have large farmworker populations, have not included farmworkers in their initial rollouts, …

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Service + Solidarity Spotlight: National Nurses United Leads Coalition to Urge CDC to Acknowledge COVID-19 Aerosol Transmission

Leave a Comment / Pandemic, unions / By max cyril

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. National Nurses United (NNU) is leading a group of 44 allied unions and organizations, including …

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Joe Biden Has a Golden Opportunity to Strengthen Public Education

1 Comment / Education, President Biden / By max cyril

In picking Connecticut Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona to be his nominee for U.S. secretary of education, President-elect Joe Biden appears to have made a Goldilocks choice that pleases just about everyone. People who rarely agree on education policy have praised the decision, including Jeanne Allen, CEO of the Center for Education Reform, a nonprofit …

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