Farmworkers, supermarket clerks, nurses and hospital staff, delivery drivers, domestic and warehouse workers have long been essential to a functioning society and economy. But COVID-19 has laid bare their vital roles like never before.
During the last two years, essential workers have risked their health and safety to fuel our economy and keep our communities secure. They’re the reason we’ve survived this pandemic.
Yet, as these workers served on the frontlines, they were left out of the process of crafting policies supposedly intended to protect them. Meanwhile, corporate profits and executive compensation were skyrocketing at companies like Amazon. It’s no wonder record numbers of workers are rising up, taking action and demanding change across the United States.
Increased worker activism often comes in the form of greater support for labor unions — which has indeed skyrocketed. Low unemployment has also given workers who’ve long put up with low pay and unsafe working conditions more leverage to negotiate with their employers. According to a recent Gallup poll, 68% of Americans now approve of labor unions, the highest level since 1965.
And, according to a recent Harris Poll conducted for Bloomberg News, nearly two-thirds of workers said they would quit their current jobs if offered a better paying one. “Millennials are the most likely to jump ship, followed by Gen Z, Gen X and Boomers,” the news outlet reported. “Among workers likely to ask for a raise soon, nearly all say inflation is a factor in their decision and a majority cited the current economic climate.”
Recognizing their newfound leverage, essential workers have increasingly mobilized to ensure they have a voice in the decision-making process for workplace health and safety policies, for the duration of the pandemic and beyond.
December’s high-profile union victories for Starbucks workers at two locations in Buffalo, New York, became a watershed moment that has galvanized workers around the nation. As of early March, it has already inspired employees at more than 100 Starbucks stores in at least 20 states to pursue their own union elections.
In Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located, organizations representing essential workers from multiple sectors — domestic workers, janitors, construction workers, airport staff, retail workers and others — joined forces to advocate for essential worker representation in policy making. Essential workers in these sectors, disproportionately women, immigrants, Black and other workers of color, are often grossly underpaid, uninsured and without paid leave or secure housing.
On Nov. 30, Harris County commissioners passed the nation’s first Essential Workers Board made up entirely of frontline workers. It gives workers a voice in determining workplace health and safety policies and sets a strong standard for similar initiatives throughout the country.
And let’s not forget this is a campaign year. Essential workers deserve to know whether those seeking public office truly have their backs. Candidates for office must do more than talk about the evils of corporate greed. They must be willing to take meaningful action to hold corporate America accountable and pass pro-worker legislation such as a minimum wage increase and citizenship for immigrant essential workers.
The rules have been rigged against essential workers for far too long. As we enter the third year of this pandemic, expect essential workers across industries to increasingly join forces and demand that they have a voice in deciding policies in the workplace.
____
ABOUT THE WRITER
Erica Smiley is the executive director of Jobs With Justice, a leading labor rights organization, and a co-founder and lead organizer of Always Essential, a campaign of essential workers and allied groups. This column was produced for Progressive Perspectives, which is run by The Progressive magazine, and distributed by Tribune News Service.
