Weekly Update: Fighting to keep workers and our communities safe
Dear friends and allies,
Working families across Massachusetts continue to struggle with difficult decisions about how to balance working and caring for our families — especially as many school reopening plans remain unclear. We need to plan for child care while at the same time we must continue to work to make ends meet. One thing is clear, though: there is no going back to school without proper safety standards in place.
We stand in solidarity with our Boston educators and staff who rallied this week to present their proposal to the City focusing on ensuring a safe restart of the Boston Public Schools. The only way to safely reopen our schools is to invest in public education as part of a just recovery. That begins with everyone paying their fair share.
We cannot let giant corporations enjoy massive tax breaks while our communities suffer and struggle to put food on the table. Let us not give in to their greed and protect our communities by building them together. Here you’ll find a few ways in which you can take action.
You can help us continue the fight by sharing our Facebook posts and by following and retweeting us on Twitter. You can also receive regular updates from CLU by registering on our website.
A Just Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Care That Works Storytelling Series: Christina Morris
One can imagine Christina Morris’ home to be filled with energy and laughter. Her four young kids pack the house she and her partner, both union carpenters, bought a few years ago, in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. When the virus emerged in March, Christina was laid off, and soon after her kids were home from school too. “The whole time I was thinking ‘Thank God… I don’t know what would’ve happened if I had to work from home, do remote learning, and take care of two toddlers,’” Christina remarks, laughing at the utter impossibility of such a situation. Still, she describes the balance of remote learning and toddler trouble as a “circus show.”
Working mothers like Christina, all around the country, are struggling to manage their own work lives in a world where they may need to stay home with their kids. Christina articulated that “a working parent and child care go hand in hand; you can’t have one without the other.” Read her story here.
TAKE ACTION
Reopening Our School Buildings Safely
It’s become clear in the last few weeks that an in-person return to schools would put the health and safety of our students, their families, and educators at risk. On July 31, the AFT Massachusetts Executive Board, made up of elected representatives of the 23,000 AFT members statewide, voted to call for a remote start to school this fall, citing the rising levels of COVID-19 transmission in Massachusetts, lengthy delays in obtaining test results, and the lack of hot water, adequate ventilation, and space for social distancing in school buildings.
Join us and AFT members in telling Governor Baker that we need to start the year with remote learning until districts and the state can meet our health and safety criteria!
Keep Emergency Paid Sick Time Moving!
Emergency Paid Sick Time has been reported favorably out of the Labor and Workforce Development committee! The next stop for Emergency Paid Sick Time legislation is the Ways and Means committee of both the Senate and House of Representatives. For activists, community groups, and grassroots organizations like us that means it is time we reignite the urgency for Emergency Paid Sick Time on Beacon Hill.
Please take two minutes to email your State Representative and State Senator right away! Personalize your letter if you can — one or two sentences of your personal reason for championing this legislation or how it would impact your life makes a monumental difference.
Contact your legislators for the Guaranteed Housing Stability Act!
HELP WIN THE GUARANTEED HOUSING STABILITY ACT – HD.5166 in the Massachusetts State House. Tens of thousands of families across Massachusetts will be at risk of eviction when our state’s eviction moratorium expires on October 17. This bill will prevent a massive surge of unjust evictions and foreclosures due to COVID-related debt, prevent rent hikes and no-fault evictions as we recover from COVID-19, and help establish a Housing Stability & Recovery Fund to relieve small business owners. Here is how you can take action:
Call your legislators
Email your legislators
Call your legislators (Spanish)
Email your legislators (Spanish)
Thank you for reading!
In Solidarity,
Community Labor United
