Workers Still Striking Over Pandemic-Working Conditions
Though media attention has shifted focus away from workers fighting for coronavirus protections and the burdens placed on them under the label of essential workers, organizing and workers’ activism remains widespread throughout the US.
In Farrell, Pennsylvania, around 400 steelworkers gave their management a 48 hour strike notice on August 20, as new contract negotiations with the NLMK Steel Factory reached an impasse. The union cited high healthcare deductibles and unfair labor practices as the motivating factors behind the strike.
In Virginia Beach, Virginia, sanitation workers walked off the job on August 19 in response to the lack of hazard pay for workers, despite other sanitation workers in nearby areas being given hazard pay under the designation of first responders.
Teachers in Detroit authorized a safety strike ahead of in person school reopenings on September 8, over concerns about the lack of adequate safety protocols and support in place.
https://apnews.com/e620c5a0bc7646a102f674a8efbd96fb
New York City teachers are increasingly discussing the possibility of a safety strike as schools in NYC are set to reopen in person
Over 1000 nurses at the University of Illinois voted to authorize a strike this past week in demand of safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios.
Workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette authorized a strike earlier this month, and are in the process of having the executive council and CWA President sign off on the authorization. The publication has faced several issues over the past few months during the pandemic, including management silencing Black journalists during the George Floyd protests.
Resident Assistants at Cornell University went on strike this past week to demand the school administration meet with them to fix issues with the school reopening in person, as students have started to move-in on campus and coronavirus safety protections and protocols were being ignored
https://cornellsun.com/2020/08/20/ra-strike-ends-as-administration-comes-to-the-table/
Nursing home workers at 17 facilities in the Detroit, Michigan area are delaying a strike to give Governor Gretchen Whitmer an opportunity to intervene in negotiations between the nursing facility companies and workers demanding better coronavirus protections