{"id":9353,"date":"2020-03-18T02:10:37","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T02:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lavozlit.com\/?p=9353"},"modified":"2020-03-18T02:10:37","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T02:10:37","slug":"a-socialist-response-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/2020\/03\/18\/a-socialist-response-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic-in-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"A Socialist Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

Statement by La Voz de l@s trabajadores\/Workers\u2019 Voice<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic has brought to the forefront how urgent it is to fundamentally transform the U.S. medical system and the entire capitalist economy at large.\u00a0 As a recent article in the Washington Post <\/em>argued, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations could prove to be utterly ineffective because they do not take into account the dire social reality of US workers: \u201cparents who don\u2019t have paid sick leave from work (only 10 states and the District of Columbia mandate it); a lack of affordable childcare or sick child care; at least 28 million Americans living without insurance and nearly one-third of the population still underinsured; health protections that are not distributed evenly from region to region; and fear among undocumented immigrants regarding access to care.<\/em>\u201d[1]<\/sup><\/a> This economic reality has developed a culture of non-reliance on medical services and healthcare institutions because they are seen as a financial hazard for most workers: \u201cMore Americans were afraid of paying for healthcare if they became seriously ill (40%) than were afraid of getting seriously ill (33%), according to a 2018 poll by the University of Chicago and the West Health Institute. The study also found that in one year, more than once, about 40% of Americans skipped a medical test or treatment and 44% didn\u2019t go to the doctor when they were sick or injured<\/em>.\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/a> While the pandemic is slowing down the global economic system, the response to this crisis from many capitalist governments has revealed the system\u2019s inadequacies, unpreparedness, and fundamental disregard for working and poor people.\u00a0 A socialist program is needed to requisition the production of vital pharmaceutical and drug companies and nationalize that industry so medical supplies are not an object of profit making and speculation.
\nLabor precarity and under-employment are also major obstacles to enact emergency measures that would protect the population from pandemics.\u00a0 This is because people cannot afford to miss work.\u00a0 Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), workers are guaranteed only unpaid leave for up to 12 weeks. Most families cannot lose 2 weeks of wages and are one paycheck away from financial disaster<\/a>.\u00a0 According to the Labor Project for Working Families, “for people in public-facing low-wage jobs, staying home from work is rarely an option.\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 A report by the Center for American Progress said that 38% of private-sector workers and 78% of part-time workers have no paid sick days. As it is, these workers can barely afford to live off their wages, averaging $10 per hour. We urgently need the imposition of medical and maternity\/paternity leave for all workers on a federal level, regardless of the size of their workplace or their union status (of course union workers that already have rights above and beyond the minimum should keep them).
\n 
\nTrump\u2019s Mismanagement of the Health Crisis is Criminal<\/strong>
\n\u00a0<\/strong>Trump\u2019s initial public reaction to the emergence of COVID-19 was to deny it outright, saying it was the Democrats\u2019 \u201cnew hoax<\/a>\u201d, then that it was \u201chysteria<\/a>\u201d spread by \u201cfake news media\u201d. He later jingoistically suggested that the virus comes from abroad, and thus his response has largely been limited to imposing bans on travel from China and Europe instead of focusing on the reality that the virus is already spreading domestically. No response has been given to the growing problems of testing capacities.\u00a0 The fact is that there are far from enough hospital beds, and more generally, that the healthcare system is a complicated, decentralized patchwork of private insurers and provider networks, which still leaves 30 million without medical coverage.
\nTrump\u2019s public address<\/a> on March 12th was not only insufficient, it was riddled with lies and half-truths that sewed confusion about travel restrictions, trade and cargo, health insurance coverage, and the availability of antiviral therapies. In actuality, the travel restrictions only apply to 26 \u201cSchengen Area\u201d countries in Europe. As to trade policy, the transport of goods is not affected. Rather than his claim that all copayments for coronavirus treatments would be waived, insurance industry leaders only agreed to no copayments for coronavirus testing. Despite Trump\u2019s promise \u201cto make antiviral therapies available in record time,\u201d an antiviral drug could be ready for production at earliest in June.
\nThe greatest atrocity by far, is Trump\u2019s squandering of the ample time afforded by the knowledge of this pandemic since December. Not only was his administration not proactive, they weren\u2019t even reactive until far too late. They abdicated their responsibility by waiting until there were 2174 confirmed cases and 53 deaths in the U.S<\/a>, and on March 13th he declared a national emergency under the Stafford Act. \u00a0This measure allows for $50 billion that states could use to establish emergency medical centers and support hospitals, but it has failed to provide access to testing as of the time of writing. In a press conference the same day, he double downed with a brazen declaration, \u201cI don\u2019t take responsibility at all.\u201d\u00a0 While this measure opens up funding, it also opens the door to attacks on democratic rights and cancelling or bypassing union contracts during this state of emergency.\u00a0 We need to fight for the resources to deal with the crisis, while defending against attacks on workers\u2019 rights.
\nAfter much delay and pressure from below, which is described in the following section, on March 14th, the US House of Representatives passed the bipartisan \u201cFamilies First Coronavirus Response Act,\u201d which has support from Trump and Republicans and is, therefore, likely to pass in the Senate.\u00a0 This legislation would \u201cexpand access to free testing, provide $1 billion in food aid\u2026[and would] include 14 paid sick days for employees, as well as three months of paid emergency leave throughout the coronavirus crisis.\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 While these testing and food aid measures are drastically needed to deal with the current crisis, they only apply to this specific pandemic, and not future ones which we will certainly face.\u00a0 Additionally, under closer inspection, proposed paid sick-leave measures leave out around 80% of workers, thanks to exemptions given to megacorporations like Amazon and McDonalds as well as small businesses.\u00a0 Instead of pushing forward universal paid leave for all workers, both Democrats and Republicans have demonstrated their commitment to preserving corporate profits over public health.\u00a0 We need more than a bandaid to deal with this crisis; we need a complete transformation of the US medical system and the economic system that prioritizes profit over people.
\n 
\nThe Labor Movement\u2019s Response to the Crisis<\/strong>
\nWorkers are reporting that the bosses are doing nothing to make working conditions safe during this pandemic, while many others are getting laid off or have had their hours drastically cut. Many employers are simply telling workers to wash their hands and follow the recommendations of the government.\u00a0 As the US government has been particularly slow to respond to the pandemic, sectors of the labor movement and other working class organizations have been discussing the challenges of this crisis, highlighting the concerns and inadequacies of the government\u2019s response, and formulating demands and solutions.\u00a0 Frontline rank and file workers like nurses, educators, transport workers, and service workers have been working around the clock to keep people safe, fed, sheltered and healthy.\u00a0 They are keeping the economy running with the limited resources available, putting them at great risk of contracting the virus.\u00a0 The crisis is both revealing the mismanagement by the capitalist class, and the ability of working people to address the crisis with real solutions.
\nOn March 6th, the California Nurses Association, along with the American Federation of Teachers, the United Auto Workers, and 10 other unions, issued a resolution<\/a> calling out how the CDC\u2019s proposed changes at the time would be inefficient and result in harmful effects on healthcare workers. They argued that these changes would \u201cdecrease the level of protection for healthcare workers\u2026[and] would also contribute to the spread of this virus.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) demanded that the city close schools and provide food for students.\u00a0 Rank and file workers throughout Connecticut from a variety of sectors of the labor movement including hotel workers from Unite Here local 217, produce clerks from UFCW local 919, and educators from local AFT and NEA chapters, are organizing an online meeting to discuss a plan of action for a workers relief program from the Coronavirus.\u00a0 In California, Community College faculty unions are demanding to bargain with their districts over the effects of unilateral changes being made due to the pandemic, and are demanding that faculty be paid throughout the crisis.\u00a0 And in the midst of active struggle, graduate student workers across the UC system are dealing with the challenges of the pandemic as they formulate plans to move the COLA strike online.
\nOther educator unions and rank and file educator groups, like MORE (Movement of Rank and File Educators) in New York City, successfully called for a mass sickout<\/a> against their district\u2019s failure to close schools. Additionally, organized educators developed common-good, community demands in coalition with unions and community organizations, including: the Seattle Equity Educators<\/a>, UTLA<\/a>, Oakland students<\/a>, and Philadelphia educators<\/a>. These coalitions formed independently of each other and developed similar demands mirroring the fragmentation of the Red for Ed movement –\u00a0 which is understandable given its newness. If workers can channel these separate efforts into a coordinated national movement, they will be most able to protect themselves, their families, and the communities they serve in the face of irresponsible governance at all levels.
\nIn Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) told the public and workers that their sanitation protocols were sufficient, even when the CDC was warning of an imminent outbreak. Workers tried approaching their union leaderships to begin mobilizing union power, but were bureaucratically blocked by union officials uncomfortable with making demands against the bosses. Workers conducted discussions at their workplaces and online and created lists of demands which they brought to managers and to mass membership meetings of their unions. Demands included distribution of hand sanitizers and sanitizing wipes, more frequent cleaning with proper safety equipment and training, and paid work hours. Workers also demanded a moratorium on marks against a worker\u2019s record for being sick. Again, workers were told that they could not discuss this because \u201cthe union may get sued\u201d or that \u201cwe don\u2019t want to create a panic.\u201d Teachers in Chicago were at the same time demanding the schools be closed and food be distributed to families who relied on school food programs. The city government refused but were embarrassingly overruled the same day by the Governor who closed down not only Chicago schools, but also all of Illinois public schools (with pay for all staff). The Chicago Teachers Union, which had led two strikes since 2012, joined with other unions and community groups to call for immediate social measures, such as:<\/p>\n