Berkeley, CA – Covid – 19 has not only affected the health of millions but which has also wreaked havoc on the employment situation of thousands of immigrant workers, especially Latinos and Asians, in San Francisco and the rest of the State.
Despite this, a recent study given to Meeting in this eastern Bay city has revealed that Bay Area and California employers in general have refused to offer their workers protections against the coronavirus, information about the pandemic and some have even retaliated against workers who have spoken or reported health problems in their workplaces.
Low-income workers, who work in areas where they are at greater risk of contracting and dying from virus, they fear retaliation if they report the pandemic. Many of them, who earn less than the minimum wage, have not received basic information from their employers on how to defend themselves and prevent the spread of COVID – , or the information on medical leave.
Called ‘Few Options, Many Risks: Low-wage Asian and Latino workers in the covid pandemic – 19 ‘, the study was prepared by the Occupational Health Program of the University of California Berkeley (LOHP acronym in English), together with Asian Americans Promoting Justice and the Asian Law Board (ALC) and relied on interviews and a questionnaire from more than 630
The study scientifically proves that the pandemic has mainly affected immigrant communities, especially Asian and Latino communities, and recommends increasing labor protections and benefits, access to vaccines, increased lic medical gums, protection against retaliation, enforcing labor laws, increasing staffing and resources for labor enforcement agencies, educating workers on their rights and safety measures, and promoting and increasing union representation and safety and health committees .
“Our intention is that be a tool so that we can improve working conditions, “said Alejandra Domenzain, coordinator of the Occupational Health Program at the University of California at Berkeley and one of the main authors of the study, along with Helen Chen, Winifred Kao, Victoria Chan and Kevin Lee.
Domenzain said there are small industries where migrant workers, people of color and women are hired. For domestic workers, cleaning personnel, those who work in fast food restaurants, in all these sectors “it is common for working conditions to be bad,” he said.
The study also It included long-term interviews with eight female workers from various parts of the state. One of them, Araceli Nava, is a resident of the city of Richmond, east of the bay. Nava was infected with the coronavirus, he commented, due to the lack of security at his McDonald’s fast food place of employment.
“I was infected because the appropriate measures were not taken. They did not follow the protocol …, they let a manager work a whole week sick with fever, flu and cough. She was the one who infected us all. There were masks and disinfectants but the protocol was not followed as it should have been. First, they run the risk with the life of one, of the worker; second, with the whole community: and third with our families because if we get infected. How many more people are we infecting! ”Nava said.
Rapid Recovery Act initiative AB – 257, which is already in the process of discussion in the state Assembly, creates a council in the fast food sector for labor negotiations between workers, industry and the government and makes large fast food corporations assume their responsibilities and guarantee safe and regulated restaurants.
Around 59% of the restaurant workers surveyed said they could not maintain the required distance and the 17%, (one in five) reported being paid less than the state minimum wage of $ 12 per hour. Only – 95 regularly and almost three out of five workers did not receive information from employers about their right to use medical leave due to covid – 19, may have received misleading or incomplete information.
Domenzain said that the harassment and violence physical activity on the part of customers is a real fact that workers suffer. “What is a supermarket worker going to do when someone enters without a mask? There is no manager, there is no plan, and many people get aggressive. There is more risk of violence when workers have to enforce covid protocols – 19, ”he said.
For his part, Nava sent a message to Governor Gavin Newsom: “He has to pass the law and put stricter measures with fast food companies like Mac Donald’s, so that there is no such abusive system towards the workers. We come to work, we do not come to steal and we deserve decent treatment. ”
The study is online in three languages, Spanish, Chinese and English, at: www.advancingjustice-alc.org/news_and_media/covid-workers-report/.