WEC Staff

This week, were were joined by Marcy Gelb, Co-Director, National COSH and Al Vega, Director Policy and Programs and Vice Chair of National COSH Board of Directors, who discussed the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health’s (National COSH) eight-point National Agenda for Worker Safety and Health, developed with more than 100 labor and community-based organizations. Marcy outlined the devastating increase in mortality COVID-19 has brought to workers, and the enormous disparity in mortality between white and black and latino workers. She emphasized that COVID-19 is not just a workplace hazard, but a hazard for our entire community. It is critical that workers are protected from not just COVID-19, but from all hazards and retaliation from employers for speaking up about them. Al elaborated on conditions for workers on the ground, and stressed the importance of setting a baseline of safety at the federal level, instead of leaving it up to state governments to decide whether or not workers have a right to be safe in their workplace. You can learn more about the national agenda here. More than 75 people attended this webinar. NOTE: There is no webinar next week. We will be back on Tuesday, February 23 @ 10am.

This week we heard from two transit union representatives - Corey Gallman, Recording Secretary of Amalgamated Transit Union’s NJ State Council, and Jerome Johnson, General Chairman/President of Smart-TD Local 60, representing New Jersey bus and train workers respectively at NJ Transit. ATU and SMART joined us on the series last summer to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on their members. Today, both unions came back to share updates on PPE, cleaning and other safety measures, on-the-job violence that transit workers face. We were also joined by Janna Chernetz, Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Deputy Director and Director of New Jersey Policy. Janna shared statistics revealing the disparity in returning ridership between inter-city and commuter buses and trains during the pandemic -- proving that while many white-collar workers are able to work remotely, large numbers of essential workers still depend on public transit to get to work. Janna spoke about the Bus Rider Bill of Rights as a vehicle for transit equity - a document now proposed as NJ state legislation that declares the rights of all riders to affordable, accessible, reliable and safe bus service. More than 78 people attended this webinar. Janna also spoke about Transit Equity Day - a national day of action coming up this Thursday, February [...]

This week we were joined by Dr. Tina Tan, MD, MPH, State Epidemiologist and Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health at the New Jersey Department of Health, where she oversees program areas in general communicable disease surveillance and control, immunizations, environmental and occupational health, and cancer epidemiology. Dr. Tan traced the origin of the virus outbreak in the US and NJ, contextualizing the viruses history thus far and challenges in tracing and managing the outbreak for both the state and the nation. She covered our shift from a state of emergency, to the cancellation of mass gatherings and school closures, to the stay at home order. She also spoke about our cultural shift towards social distancing and using masks and hygiene to combat the virus. She detailed the strain the first wave had on our healthcare systems, discussed the second wave and its peaks, and discussed challenges for local agencies in regards to contact tracing and capacity. More than 165 people attended this presentation. Here is Dr. Tan's presentation.

This week we covered the effect of COVID-19 on long-term care facilities, which have been ground zero for viral outbreaks. As the pandemic has ravaged senior communities across the country and frontline healthcare workers have faced PPE shortages, the federal government has offered weak and inconsistent aid to beleaguered nursing homes. To discuss the ongoing impact of the pandemic on long-term care, we were joined by Matte Kane, Union Representative, UFCW 152, Kendra Bass, LPN, United Steelworkers Local 406 Recording Secretary, and Phillis Shivers, District 1199J, National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, AFSCME, AFL-CIO. Our guests spoke to the unique workplace risks that long term care facility workers face, as well as to the challenges of organizing and ensuring that workers’ voices are heard in a world where face-to-face connection is limited. The conversation ended with a productive exploration of ways we can overcome collective barriers to organizing in the COVID era. Resource: Center for Disease Control: How COVID-19 Spreads