Newsletter, November 23, 2020

Tacoma, WA:  “Picketing at Tacoma General Hospital as MultiCare clinic doctors strike ”  —- “

Health care providers at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital are picketing Monday to support a two-day strike by doctors and nurses at MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care clinics.

The strike, set for Monday and Tuesday, was called to protest what health care workers describe as “severely unsafe working conditions” at the MultiCare’s Indigo clinics amid the surging coronavirus pandemic.”

https://komonews.com/news/local/picketing-at-tacoma-general-hospital-as-multicare-clinic-doctors-strike

Chicago, IL:  Nearly 700 nursing home workers strike for hazard pay, better conditions at Infinity centers”  —  “Nearly 700 nursing home workers walked off the job Monday morning at 11 Infinity Healthcare Management facilities across the Chicago area, saying they won’t return until the company offers them higher wages and safer working conditions amid a pandemic that has hit nursing homes particularly hard.”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/2020/11/23/21591108/infinity-nursing-homes-seiu-healthcare-strike-hazard-pay-ppe

Philadelphia: “Hundreds of nurses strike at Philadelphia-area hospital”   —  “Hundreds of nurses have gone on strike at a suburban Philadelphia hospital, citing low staffing levels amid rising coronavirus cases.

The walkout that began at 7 a.m. Tuesday involves the 700-plus registered nurses at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne and their allies in the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, the union they joined last fall.

The nurses said the main issue is low staffing due to low wages, and they fear the situation will only grow more dire as COVID-19 hospitalizations rise this winter.”

https://apnews.com/article/health-philadelphia-strikes-coronavirus-pandemic-pennsylvania-97c7b76781191defa7f55d24fc34e250

Fargo, ND: “Workers at Fargo company go on strike over COVID-19 concerns” — “About 70 drivers and warehouse workers at a Fargo food distributor have gone on strike because they don’t believe the company is doing enough to protect them from exposure to COVID-19.”

https://apnews.com/article/food-services-fargo-north-dakota-coronavirus-pandemic-strikes-18af8ad97847e128783cd4af6cc3b1c4

Canada: ‘I’m stressed out. I can’t sleep at night’: Front-line workers detail anger, burnout in new COVID-19 report”   —  “During the first half of the pandemic, nearly one in five Canadian health-care workers became infected with COVID-19, according to the Canadian Institute of Health Information. That is significantly higher than global rates.”

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/im-stressed-out-i-cant-sleep-at-night-front-line-workers-detail-anger-burnout-in-new-covid-19-report?fbclid=IwAR3oAB3ZhbotX_6HPyHqsd4OUai3qCsEJJ3zL8-jJuthGWy4M_F0DRRMg2w

Amazon: “Amazon is using union-busting Pinkerton spies to track warehouse workers and labor movements at the company…”  —   “

Amazon is hiring detectives from the notorious Pinkerton agency to spy on warehouse workers and monitor them for labor unionization efforts, according to a Monday Motherboard report.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that Amazon has indeed recruited operatives from Pinkerton, the spy agency that has a centuries-long history of upending worker union activities, among other services. ”

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-pinkerton-spies-worker-labor-unions-2020-11?fbclid=IwAR3_oo0lzIIONWeko6pVq1eNxP-M1_1wI6J57usfv_0BaVO4UopTzsbE7BA

Malaysia: Major PPE Maker Shuts Factories After Nearly 2,500 Workers Test Positive For Covid-19″ — –  “Top Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of latex gloves, will shut down more than half its factories after nearly 2,500 of its workers tested positive for Covid-19 amidst a surge in demand for its gloves, a key part of personal protective gear.

Of the nearly 5,800 workers the Malaysian company has tested so far, 2,453 have tested positive for Covid-19, the BBC reported, citing the company.”

Farmworkers: Great new article in The Nation: “The Immokalee Way: Protecting Farmworkers Amid a Pandemic”…


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