truthout--2020-05-01--“Reopening the Economy” Isn’t the Way to Save Restaurants. What Is?

In the early days of shelter-in-place , I cooperated with some friends in Sacramento ’ s city government on a concept designed to channel money to local restaurants so that they could keep dollars flowing to at least some employees .
The idea was pretty straightforward : When we go out to restaurants , to bars , or to cafés , we are willing to pay a premium for our food and our drink because we value the social camaraderie we find in such places .
Essentially , in addition to paying for the raw ingredients of the things we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for our restaurant tables and our bar stools .
Temporarily unable to sit at those tables or on those stools , many with the means to do so have retreated to virtual get-togethers with our friends and our colleagues , perhaps opening bottles of wine and beer before we log on , and then clicking our virtual glasses together in toasts and talking in front of computer screens .
But we ’ re all hoping for , longing for , a day in the future when we can return to those tables and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that our beloved local eateries , and their hard-working staff , manage to weather the financial storm until then .
The plan we came up with in Sacramento was simple : after each get-together , instead of calling the waiter over and asking for our check , we ’ d log onto a GoFundMe site for local restaurants and bars set up by the city and some local influencers , and we ’ d cash out on that site .
When I have a drink with friends now , I click on that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couple drinks ’ worth .
The site raised $ 29,000 in its first few weeks — not a huge amount by any stretch , but enough to allow for more than 20 micro-grants to be distributed to restaurants .
According to the owners , as they waited day after day for federal loans and stimulus checks to arrive , these locally generated grants were enough to tide them over for at least a couple weeks .
A similar fund in Charlottesville , Virginia , raised over $ 60,000 in the weeks that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , private groups , local governments and philanthropic organizations are turning to increasingly creative measures to try to keep money flowing to restaurants , bars and cafes during a mandated shelter-in-place period that threatens to destroy millions of livelihoods and drive much of the restaurant industry to destruction .
There are now Diner Bonds that allow diners to buy discounted gift certificates for restaurants , to be redeemed once shelter-in-place ends .
Essentially , if you buy a bond , you are loaning your local restaurants money to help tide them over .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at an amount more than the face value , the restaurants are , in essence , paying interest back to the Diner Bond purchaser .
The National Restaurant Association has set up a Restaurant Employee Relief Fund , coordinated by celebrity chef Guy Fieri .
It aims to raise $ 100 million , and as of early April was reporting that it had already raised $ 10 million .
The James Beard Foundation established a Food and Beverage Relief Fund for independent restaurants , but the number of applicants for relief was so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new requests for help .
And the Restaurant Workers ’ Community Fund , which usually works on labor issues in the industry , has created an emergency fund for channeling $ 500 donations to individual restaurant employees .
In New Orleans , one of the country ’ s culinary hubs , the Louisiana Restaurant Association is providing a limited number of unemployed restaurant workers grants of up to $ 1,000 to help tide them over .
But it only has enough resources to distribute 1,000 grants — far too few to meet the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bars and restaurants and clubs as has the Big Easy .
Similarly , in Nevada , the state ’ s restaurant association has also set up a relief fund .
But , while it ’ s better than nothing , the scale of the economic wreckage — in Las Vegas , one-third of the city ’ s jobs are tied up in restaurants , bars , casinos and hotels — means that private aid initiatives will only ever be a drop in the bucket .
In a more rational society , these ad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Instead , Congress and the Trump administration would have immediately recognized the vital necessity of subsidizing wages in shuttered industries during a mandated public health lockdown — as did most countries in Europe — and 20 million-plus Americans wouldn ’ t have needed to file for unemployment over the past month .
But to date that hasn ’ t happened .
While Congress has passed legislation to increase unemployment checks and to authorize the Treasury to send out stimulus payments , millions of those who qualify haven ’ t yet received any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they will be utterly inadequate to cover all of the recipients ’ lost income over a multi-month stoppage .
Moreover , in a shameful capitulation to Trump ’ s nativist instincts , noncitizen immigrants who have legal documents but no Social Security numbers , as well as undocumented workers ( including recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program ) , many of whom work in the hospitality industry , were specifically declared by Congress to be ineligible to receive the stimulus checks sent out by the Treasury .
So , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spouse was a U.S. citizen but the other did not have a Social Security number .
In 2014 , the National Restaurant Association estimated that 2.3 million immigrants worked in restaurants in the U.S .
Many of these folks ( and their spouses ) are not going to receive Trump-signed stimulus checks .
Last week California ’ s Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced that the Golden State would use Federal Emergency Management Agency money , add in some state and local dollars , and start paying restaurants to cook food for vulnerable elderly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in place for months to come ; and those three meals a day will then be distributed , free of charge , to the elderly .
It ’ s as close to a New Deal-style employment program as anything unveiled so far during this crisis .
But , Newsom ’ s effort notwithstanding , even in California most restaurants and their staff have been left in an ugly limbo .
To be sure , demand for take-out and delivery services has sky-rocketed — Talkwalker Analytics , which monitors online trends , recently documented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mentions of Instacart in March and April , and huge upticks in mentions of Uber Eats , Postmates , DoorDash , ChowNow and other restaurant delivery services .
But that doesn ’ t begin to cover all the lost earnings from full tables and crowded bars seven nights a week .
And so , with a faltering federal response , and with most states too burdened by other fiscal needs to take on a full-scale restaurant-and-bar rescue effort , it is falling to local residents and philanthropic organizations to fill the void as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million restaurant workers have lost their jobs in the last couple of months , and the industry as a whole stands to lose nearly quarter of a trillion dollars .
Most of those workers , even when they had jobs , earned low wages and lived pretty much paycheck-to-paycheck .
Many , because of their immigration status , will not receive any federal assistance .
They are our neighbors , our friends , our relatives .
As a society , we owe it to them to support them in any way we can @ @ @ @ @

Part of the Series Despair and Disparity: The Uneven Burdens of COVID-19
In the early days of shelter-in-place, I cooperated with some friends in Sacramento’s city government on a concept designed to channel money to local restaurants so that they could keep dollars flowing to at least some employees.
The idea was pretty straightforward: When we go out to restaurants, to bars, or to cafés, we are willing to pay a premium for our food and our drink because we value the social camaraderie we find in such places. Essentially, in addition to paying for the raw ingredients of the things we ingest, we are also paying rent for our restaurant tables and our bar stools.
Temporarily unable to sit at those tables or on those stools, many with the means to do so have retreated to virtual get-togethers with our friends and our colleagues, perhaps opening bottles of wine and beer before we log on, and then clicking our virtual glasses together in toasts and talking in front of computer screens. But we’re all hoping for, longing for, a day in the future when we can return to those tables and stools — and hoping, desperately, that our beloved local eateries, and their hard-working staff, manage to weather the financial storm until then.
The plan we came up with in Sacramento was simple: after each get-together, instead of calling the waiter over and asking for our check, we’d log onto a GoFundMe site for local restaurants and bars set up by the city and some local influencers, and we’d cash out on that site. When I have a drink with friends now, I click on that site and donate the equivalent of a couple drinks’ worth.
The site raised $29,000 in its first few weeks — not a huge amount by any stretch, but enough to allow for more than 20 micro-grants to be distributed to restaurants. According to the owners, as they waited day after day for federal loans and stimulus checks to arrive, these locally generated grants were enough to tide them over for at least a couple weeks. A similar fund in Charlottesville, Virginia, raised over $60,000 in the weeks that it was operative.
All over the country, private groups, local governments and philanthropic organizations are turning to increasingly creative measures to try to keep money flowing to restaurants, bars and cafes during a mandated shelter-in-place period that threatens to destroy millions of livelihoods and drive much of the restaurant industry to destruction.
In a more rational society, Congress and the Trump administration would have immediately recognized the vital necessity of subsidizing wages in shuttered industries.
There are now Diner Bonds that allow diners to buy discounted gift certificates for restaurants, to be redeemed once shelter-in-place ends. Essentially, if you buy a bond, you are loaning your local restaurants money to help tide them over. In redeeming those certificates down the road at an amount more than the face value, the restaurants are, in essence, paying interest back to the Diner Bond purchaser.
The National Restaurant Association has set up a Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, coordinated by celebrity chef Guy Fieri. It aims to raise $100 million, and as of early April was reporting that it had already raised $10 million. The James Beard Foundation established a Food and Beverage Relief Fund for independent restaurants, but the number of applicants for relief was so overwhelming that it has now suspended accepting new requests for help. And the Restaurant Workers’ Community Fund, which usually works on labor issues in the industry, has created an emergency fund for channeling $500 donations to individual restaurant employees.
In New Orleans, one of the country’s culinary hubs, the Louisiana Restaurant Association is providing a limited number of unemployed restaurant workers grants of up to $1,000 to help tide them over. But it only has enough resources to distribute 1,000 grants — far too few to meet the need in a city with as many bars and restaurants and clubs as has the Big Easy.
Similarly, in Nevada, the state’s restaurant association has also set up a relief fund.
But, while it’s better than nothing, the scale of the economic wreckage — in Las Vegas, one-third of the city’s jobs are tied up in restaurants, bars, casinos and hotels — means that private aid initiatives will only ever be a drop in the bucket.
A staggering 8 million restaurant workers have lost their jobs in the last couple of months. Many, because of their immigration status, will not receive any federal assistance.
In a more rational society, these ad hoc efforts wouldn’t be needed. Instead, Congress and the Trump administration would have immediately recognized the vital necessity of subsidizing wages in shuttered industries during a mandated public health lockdown — as did most countries in Europe — and 20 million-plus Americans wouldn’t have needed to file for unemployment over the past month. But to date that hasn’t happened.
While Congress has passed legislation to increase unemployment checks and to authorize the Treasury to send out stimulus payments, millions of those who qualify haven’t yet received any payments; and, when they do, they will be utterly inadequate to cover all of the recipients’ lost income over a multi-month stoppage.
Moreover, in a shameful capitulation to Trump’s nativist instincts, noncitizen immigrants who have legal documents but no Social Security numbers, as well as undocumented workers (including recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program), many of whom work in the hospitality industry, were specifically declared by Congress to be ineligible to receive the stimulus checks sent out by the Treasury. So, too, were families in which one spouse was a U.S. citizen but the other did not have a Social Security number. In 2014, the National Restaurant Association estimated that 2.3 million immigrants worked in restaurants in the U.S. Many of these folks (and their spouses) are not going to receive Trump-signed stimulus checks.
Last week California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the Golden State would use Federal Emergency Management Agency money, add in some state and local dollars, and start paying restaurants to cook food for vulnerable elderly Californians who will likely have to shelter in place for months to come; and those three meals a day will then be distributed, free of charge, to the elderly. It’s as close to a New Deal-style employment program as anything unveiled so far during this crisis.
But, Newsom’s effort notwithstanding, even in California most restaurants and their staff have been left in an ugly limbo. To be sure, demand for take-out and delivery services has sky-rocketed — Talkwalker Analytics, which monitors online trends, recently documented an 11,000 percent increase in social media mentions of Instacart in March and April, and huge upticks in mentions of Uber Eats, Postmates, DoorDash, ChowNow and other restaurant delivery services. But that doesn’t begin to cover all the lost earnings from full tables and crowded bars seven nights a week.
And so, with a faltering federal response, and with most states too burdened by other fiscal needs to take on a full-scale restaurant-and-bar rescue effort, it is falling to local residents and philanthropic organizations to fill the void as best they can. A staggering 8 million restaurant workers have lost their jobs in the last couple of months, and the industry as a whole stands to lose nearly quarter of a trillion dollars. Most of those workers, even when they had jobs, earned low wages and lived pretty much paycheck-to-paycheck. Many, because of their immigration status, will not receive any federal assistance. They are our neighbors, our friends, our relatives. As a society, we owe it to them to support them in any way we can over the coming months.
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truthout--2020-05-02--Undocumented New Yorkers Are Essential and Underprotected in COVID’s Epicenter

They ’ ve gotten to know New York City in a way many have not , through the low-wage work of cleaning its skyscrapers , serving its restaurants and crisscrossing its streets on bicycles , through long subway rides very early in the morning and very late at night .
The saying goes : You ’ re not a true New Yorker unless you ’ ve lived here for a decade .
They ’ ve done their time and felt a deep sense of belonging in this city of immigrants .
But , in the epicenter of a pandemic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They are losing loved ones but do not qualify for city funding to help bury them .
They are getting sick but hesitating to get tested or go to the hospital , balancing their fear of the virus with their fear of exposure to immigration authorities .
They are worried about supporting their families abroad as well as those who live with them , weighing whether to keep working perilous jobs or to stay home and somehow keep food on the table .
They ’ ve experienced separation , but not like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a skeleton crew , wearing a mask to deliver food to closed doors ; in cramped apartments , sectioned off , in an attempt to quarantine .
They are divided across national borders as family members die , praying novenas on Google Hangouts .
Their bodies can not be buried , intact , where they were born ; they move from hospital bed , to refrigerated truck , to incinerator .
ProPublica interviewed two dozen undocumented Latino immigrants and their families about their experiences with death , illness and survival .
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ afraid of being targeted .
Others allowed us to use their first names or the full names of their family members who died .
One kitchen worker from the Bronx worked in the World Trade Center two decades ago .
“ We used to fill the back elevators of those towers , ” he said .
He lost friends on Sept. 11 , 2001 , who were not identified or acknowledged among the dead because their names did not match those on record or their families were unable to claim the bodies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this time they wanted their experiences to be counted as part of the story of their city , overtaken by a virus .
Adrian Hernandez Lopez , 38 , never planned to stay in New York City .
His 15 year stint here was dotted with visits to his family in Mexico , for the baptism of his son , who is now almost a teen , and to check on the house he had been sending his paychecks to build .
He and brother worked at an Italian restaurant in Times Square @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” his brother said .
They crossed the border together and , years later , commuted together from Queens to midtown Manhattan .
The last time they spoke by phone , Lopez waited in agony in a hard chair at Elmhurst Hospital , breathing in oxygen from a machine .
He was transferred to Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn .
One day later , the father of two wound up in a vegetative state .
He died on April 2 .
His mother , who lives in Allende , a small village in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there , alongside two babies she lost just after birth .
He can ’ t be traditionally buried , despite the strong Mexican custom .
More than 400 Mexican migrants are known to have died of COVID-19 in the New York area , but for health reasons , Mexico will only accept their bodies if they are cremated .
In place of seeing the body one last time , Lopez ’ s brother was sent photos by the funeral home , which will hold the cremains while the family figures out how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Consulate pledged financial aid to the families of nationals who died of COVID-19 complications , but it has been slow to materialize .
According to Lopez ’ s brother , they ’ ve been asked to follow guidelines to receive a reimbursement .
The Consulate General ’ s office in New York said it was not authorized by the Mexican government to give interviews at the time of our request for comment .
The city of New York provides burial assistance , but it requires a Social Security number for both the deceased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials say they are limited by federal and state law in the help they can offer .
“ We are exploring every possible option to ensure that all New Yorkers , regardless of immigration status , are able to bury their loved ones in the way they feel is most fitting , ” city spokesperson Avery Cohen said .
Two members of the City Council have called for an emergency fund to provide assistance to all low-income families , including the undocumented .
“ One of the most devastating calls I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t afford to bury their loved ones and aren ’ t eligible for any assistance , ” Council Member Francisco Moya said in a release .
“ That ’ s simply not acceptable.
” Lopez ’ s family is one of several raising money for the transport and burial of their loved one who died in the United States .
As he tries to figure out how to send Lopez home , his brother sits in the small apartment they shared in Queens , with his wife and 6-year-old daughter , listening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constant reminder of their loss .
He and his wife have been out of work for a month .
They don ’ t know how they will pay the rent .
More than a dozen undocumented people told ProPublica that when they got sick , they stayed home , deterred from seeking care by the worry that they would not get it if they tried .
They faced the same obstacles as everyone else in New York , where hospitals were crowded and unsafe , and feared additional ones involving their immigration status @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Over the last 18 years , she ’ s worked at a laundromat and a factory , a restaurant and as a babysitter .
When she and her husband got sick they called 311 .
She said the voice on the other end confirmed their COVID-19 symptoms and told them to stay home unless they couldn ’ t breathe .
“ They said there were no beds , no respirators .
We healed each other as best we could with soups , teas and Tylenol , ” she said .
Sonia , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks ago , was afraid to go to the hospital .
“ I knew several people who went into the hospital with symptoms and they never came back , ” she said .
“ That was my fear and why I decided to not go in .
I preferred to isolate myself at home , with a lot of home remedies and hot teas.
” Multiple people said they knew hospitals had limited resources and worried they would be placed last in line for care because they were undocumented .
“ They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” one man told his brother .
A woman named Yogi in the Bronx said , “ It might not be that they don ’ t want to treat us , maybe there weren ’ t enough supplies.
” Stories rippled through the Latino community about those who had difficulty getting care and those who could not be saved .
According to a recent poll of voters in New York City , more than half of Latinos there said they know someone who died , the highest percentage of any group asked .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leonardo Torres , a 65-year-old retired doorman who knew someone on every corner of Corona , Queens .
Unlike the others , Torres , from the Dominican Republic , was a citizen .
Even so , he grew discouraged when he tried to get care .
Within one week at the end of March , Torres had gone from feeling slightly ill to experiencing difficulty breathing and fevers that his wife Mindy tried to manage using herbs and other “ remedios caseros , ” or home remedies .
She and her five sons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go to Long Island Jewish Medical Center Forest Hills , just a five-minute drive from the house .
When Torres arrived , he told his family there were not enough seats in the crowded emergency room .
He gave his chair up to an older woman and stood for hours as staff connected and disconnected him to an oxygen tank .
Fifteen hours later , on a drizzly night , Torres appeared at the door of the family home .
It was 2:30 a.m .
He had made the walk alone and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reason do I want to go to the hospital to die like a dog.
” He spent the next three days quarantined in his son ’ s room , where he died .
As the family waited six hours for his body to be retrieved , his wife sat in the living room “ like a statue.
” Unable to qualify for relief programs like unemployment and stimulus cash , undocumented people are faced with the difficult choice of working dangerous jobs or running out of the money they need for essentials like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have goes to food , ” said Berenice , who suffers from kidney problems and whose son struggles with asthma .
She ’ s been home for weeks along with her husband Luis , who before the pandemic worked at a cab company .
“ Yes , we need money , but there is also our health , ” Berenice said .
“ We have family who are sick and friends who died .
We are trying to survive.
” Luis has lived in New York for 18 years , working his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bicycle to owning a cab .
He worries about exposing his wife and son .
“ I just want this to pass and we ’ ll see about starting over again , ” he said .
Adan lives in the Bronx with his two teenage sons , who were born in New York City , and his wife .
She cleaned homes .
He worked in a restaurant in East Harlem .
Neither are working and both overcame COVID-19 .
“ The little money we had went to pay last month ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t know what to do , we just want to work.
” He said his landlord always comes looking for the rent in person .
He told “ el señor ” that he ’ s spending all his money on food .
The man gave him flyers about unemployment , but Adan knows he won ’ t qualify .
“ Me las voy a ver duras , ” he said .
He ’ s going to see hard times .
He said he has lived in the same building for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ payment .
Even though he can ’ t be evicted now , he said , “ the debt will be there.
” Adding to the pressure , for some , is that they also work to support family members in their home countries , who count on the money they send .
One delivery worker in Queens sends $ 400 to Mexico every two weeks to help his son , who studies biomedicine at a university in Puebla ; that helps him cover what he needs for school , including rent and transportation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month to his elderly mother .
He said he remains one of only a few bicycle delivery workers at his diner who are still on the job , and he is seeing more orders than usual .
He ’ s always worked six days a week , but this past month was so busy , he couldn ’ t stop to eat lunch or take breaks .
He would much rather be outside than at home , but the streets feel tense .
“ I feel strange not seeing anyone or saying hi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s much better this way , ” he said .
“ I understand why people are afraid.
” Even though he doesn ’ t see them in the buildings he visits , customers have been conscious about leaving tips in envelopes .
He feels grateful as he passes the long lines in Queens of those waiting for free food .
It makes him sad to know how many need it now .
He rents a room in an apartment he shares with three other men who have all lost their jobs .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in restaurants .
He takes precautions to keep them safe when he comes home , including changing his clothes before coming in .
“ It would be irresponsible not to , ” he said .
He hopes the rules of social distancing , and his mask and gloves , will protect him .
“ I ’ m not scared , ” he said .
“ If you are afraid all the time , you will get sick faster .
”

Undocumented New Yorkers have been left outside public measures to help those impacted by the spread of COVID-19.
They’ve gotten to know New York City in a way many have not, through the low-wage work of cleaning its skyscrapers, serving its restaurants and crisscrossing its streets on bicycles, through long subway rides very early in the morning and very late at night. The saying goes: You’re not a true New Yorker unless you’ve lived here for a decade. They’ve done their time and felt a deep sense of belonging in this city of immigrants.
But, in the epicenter of a pandemic, the undocumented have never felt more alone.
They are losing loved ones but do not qualify for city funding to help bury them. They are getting sick but hesitating to get tested or go to the hospital, balancing their fear of the virus with their fear of exposure to immigration authorities. They are worried about supporting their families abroad as well as those who live with them, weighing whether to keep working perilous jobs or to stay home and somehow keep food on the table.
They’ve experienced separation, but not like this — out in the world, in a skeleton crew, wearing a mask to deliver food to closed doors; in cramped apartments, sectioned off, in an attempt to quarantine. They are divided across national borders as family members die, praying novenas on Google Hangouts. Their bodies cannot be buried, intact, where they were born; they move from hospital bed, to refrigerated truck, to incinerator.
ProPublica interviewed two dozen undocumented Latino immigrants and their families about their experiences with death, illness and survival. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity, afraid of being targeted. Others allowed us to use their first names or the full names of their family members who died.
One kitchen worker from the Bronx worked in the World Trade Center two decades ago. “We used to fill the back elevators of those towers,” he said. He lost friends on Sept. 11, 2001, who were not identified or acknowledged among the dead because their names did not match those on record or their families were unable to claim the bodies.
He and others spoke to ProPublica because this time they wanted their experiences to be counted as part of the story of their city, overtaken by a virus.
Barriers to a Proper Burial
Adrian Hernandez Lopez, 38, never planned to stay in New York City. His 15 year stint here was dotted with visits to his family in Mexico, for the baptism of his son, who is now almost a teen, and to check on the house he had been sending his paychecks to build.
He and brother worked at an Italian restaurant in Times Square. “We were always together,” his brother said. They crossed the border together and, years later, commuted together from Queens to midtown Manhattan.
The last time they spoke by phone, Lopez waited in agony in a hard chair at Elmhurst Hospital, breathing in oxygen from a machine. He was transferred to Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn. One day later, the father of two wound up in a vegetative state.
He died on April 2. His mother, who lives in Allende, a small village in the state of Puebla, wants him buried there, alongside two babies she lost just after birth.
He can’t be traditionally buried, despite the strong Mexican custom. More than 400 Mexican migrants are known to have died of COVID-19 in the New York area, but for health reasons, Mexico will only accept their bodies if they are cremated.
In place of seeing the body one last time, Lopez’s brother was sent photos by the funeral home, which will hold the cremains while the family figures out how to get them to Mexico.
The Mexican Consulate pledged financial aid to the families of nationals who died of COVID-19 complications, but it has been slow to materialize. According to Lopez’s brother, they’ve been asked to follow guidelines to receive a reimbursement. The Consulate General’s office in New York said it was not authorized by the Mexican government to give interviews at the time of our request for comment.
The city of New York provides burial assistance, but it requires a Social Security number for both the deceased and the person requesting funds. City officials say they are limited by federal and state law in the help they can offer. “We are exploring every possible option to ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, are able to bury their loved ones in the way they feel is most fitting,” city spokesperson Avery Cohen said.
Two members of the City Council have called for an emergency fund to provide assistance to all low-income families, including the undocumented.
“One of the most devastating calls I’m regularly getting is from people who can’t afford to bury their loved ones and aren’t eligible for any assistance,” Council Member Francisco Moya said in a release. “That’s simply not acceptable.”
Lopez’s family is one of several raising money for the transport and burial of their loved one who died in the United States.
As he tries to figure out how to send Lopez home, his brother sits in the small apartment they shared in Queens, with his wife and 6-year-old daughter, listening to the sirens that have become a constant reminder of their loss. He and his wife have been out of work for a month. They don’t know how they will pay the rent.
Deterred From Seeking Care
More than a dozen undocumented people told ProPublica that when they got sick, they stayed home, deterred from seeking care by the worry that they would not get it if they tried. They faced the same obstacles as everyone else in New York, where hospitals were crowded and unsafe, and feared additional ones involving their immigration status.
Fani lives in East Harlem. Over the last 18 years, she’s worked at a laundromat and a factory, a restaurant and as a babysitter. When she and her husband got sick they called 311. She said the voice on the other end confirmed their COVID-19 symptoms and told them to stay home unless they couldn’t breathe.
“They said there were no beds, no respirators. We healed each other as best we could with soups, teas and Tylenol,” she said.
Sonia, who became ill with COVID-19 symptoms almost three weeks ago, was afraid to go to the hospital. “I knew several people who went into the hospital with symptoms and they never came back,” she said. “That was my fear and why I decided to not go in. I preferred to isolate myself at home, with a lot of home remedies and hot teas.”
Multiple people said they knew hospitals had limited resources and worried they would be placed last in line for care because they were undocumented. “They’re going to let us die,” one man told his brother. A woman named Yogi in the Bronx said, “It might not be that they don’t want to treat us, maybe there weren’t enough supplies.”
Stories rippled through the Latino community about those who had difficulty getting care and those who could not be saved. According to a recent poll of voters in New York City, more than half of Latinos there said they know someone who died, the highest percentage of any group asked.
They hear stories about people like Juan Leonardo Torres, a 65-year-old retired doorman who knew someone on every corner of Corona, Queens. Unlike the others, Torres, from the Dominican Republic, was a citizen. Even so, he grew discouraged when he tried to get care.
Within one week at the end of March, Torres had gone from feeling slightly ill to experiencing difficulty breathing and fevers that his wife Mindy tried to manage using herbs and other “remedios caseros,” or home remedies. She and her five sons who lived with them finally persuaded him to go to Long Island Jewish Medical Center Forest Hills, just a five-minute drive from the house.
When Torres arrived, he told his family there were not enough seats in the crowded emergency room. He gave his chair up to an older woman and stood for hours as staff connected and disconnected him to an oxygen tank.
Fifteen hours later, on a drizzly night, Torres appeared at the door of the family home. It was 2:30 a.m. He had made the walk alone and declared in Spanish, “For no reason do I want to go to the hospital to die like a dog.”
He spent the next three days quarantined in his son’s room, where he died.
As the family waited six hours for his body to be retrieved, his wife sat in the living room “like a statue.”
Calculating Survival
Unable to qualify for relief programs like unemployment and stimulus cash, undocumented people are faced with the difficult choice of working dangerous jobs or running out of the money they need for essentials like food and housing.
“The little we have goes to food,” said Berenice, who suffers from kidney problems and whose son struggles with asthma. She’s been home for weeks along with her husband Luis, who before the pandemic worked at a cab company.
“Yes, we need money, but there is also our health,” Berenice said. “We have family who are sick and friends who died. We are trying to survive.”
Luis has lived in New York for 18 years, working his way up from delivering pizza on a bicycle to owning a cab. He worries about exposing his wife and son. “I just want this to pass and we’ll see about starting over again,” he said.
Adan lives in the Bronx with his two teenage sons, who were born in New York City, and his wife. She cleaned homes. He worked in a restaurant in East Harlem. Neither are working and both overcame COVID-19. “The little money we had went to pay last month’s rent,” he said. “I don’t know what to do, we just want to work.”
He said his landlord always comes looking for the rent in person. He told “el señor” that he’s spending all his money on food. The man gave him flyers about unemployment, but Adan knows he won’t qualify. “Me las voy a ver duras,” he said. He’s going to see hard times. He said he has lived in the same building for 11 years and has never missed a payment. Even though he can’t be evicted now, he said, “the debt will be there.”
Adding to the pressure, for some, is that they also work to support family members in their home countries, who count on the money they send.
One delivery worker in Queens sends $400 to Mexico every two weeks to help his son, who studies biomedicine at a university in Puebla; that helps him cover what he needs for school, including rent and transportation. He sends another $300 each month to his elderly mother.
He said he remains one of only a few bicycle delivery workers at his diner who are still on the job, and he is seeing more orders than usual. He’s always worked six days a week, but this past month was so busy, he couldn’t stop to eat lunch or take breaks.
He would much rather be outside than at home, but the streets feel tense. “I feel strange not seeing anyone or saying hi anymore, but I think it’s much better this way,” he said. “I understand why people are afraid.”
Even though he doesn’t see them in the buildings he visits, customers have been conscious about leaving tips in envelopes. He feels grateful as he passes the long lines in Queens of those waiting for free food. It makes him sad to know how many need it now.
He rents a room in an apartment he shares with three other men who have all lost their jobs. One was in construction, the other two in restaurants. He takes precautions to keep them safe when he comes home, including changing his clothes before coming in. “It would be irresponsible not to,” he said.
He hopes the rules of social distancing, and his mask and gloves, will protect him. “I’m not scared,” he said. “If you are afraid all the time, you will get sick faster.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-05-02--Betsy DeVos Sued for Garnishing Wages of 285,000 Student Borrowers Amid Pandemic

A home health aide who earns just under $ 13 per hour is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos , whose department has continued garnishing the wages of hundreds of thousands of student loan borrowers in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic .
The CARES Act , which was signed into law in late March , prohibits the Education Department from seizing the wages and tax refunds of student loan borrowers who have defaulted on their loans .
But Elizabeth Barber of Rochester , New York , says the Trump administration has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her paychecks since the legislation passed — garnishing $ 70 from her check as recently as last week — adding to the financial strain which forced her to default on $ 10,000 in federal loans in December .
Barber ’ s hours have also been reduced by 10 to 15 hours per week since the coronavirus pandemic began .
“ I am so worried about how I will get through this , ” Barber said in a statement .
“ I have no money in the bank .
I need every dollar I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but my hours have been cut because of the virus .
I don ’ t understand why the government keeps taking my money away after it passed a law that says they will stop.
” The lawsuit was filed late Thursday , with legal advocacy group Student Defense and the National Consumer Law Center ( NCLC ) representing Barber and about 285,000 other Americans whose wages have been garnished in the past six weeks .
The CARES Act gave relief to borrowers from wage garnishment until Sept. 30 .
But across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have not yet been formally advised by the Trump administration to stop withholding as much as 15 % of employees ’ paychecks and sending the garnished wages to the government .
The Education Department claims the borrowers will be refunded the garnished wages if they were collected after March 13 , but has offered no information about when they will see those refunds .
The lawsuit “ captures a new low ” in DeVos ’ s leadership , tweeted Student Defense on Friday .
“ Right now , low-wage workers hit hardest by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their paychecks to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads , ” said Persis Yu , director of the NCLC ’ s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project .
“ By continuing to use its harsh collection tools during this public health and economic crisis , the Department of Education is placing the health , safety , and well-being of vulnerable student loan borrowers in peril.
” In a letter to DeVos sent on April 16 , Democratic lawmakers including Sens .
Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
and Bernie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pressley ( D-Mass . )
demanded information about the wage garnishment which has persisted despite being illegal under the CARES Act and called the secretary ’ s failure to stop the practice “ unconscionable.
” “ The Trump administration is taking money from borrowers who are living on the edge of poverty , in the middle of a pandemic , and in violation of the law , ” said Seth Frotman , executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center , which is supporting the lawsuit .
“ This lawsuit shines light on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debt collection machine that is accountable to no one — and it must be stopped .
”

A home health aide who earns just under $13 per hour is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose department has continued garnishing the wages of hundreds of thousands of student loan borrowers in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The CARES Act, which was signed into law in late March, prohibits the Education Department from seizing the wages and tax refunds of student loan borrowers who have defaulted on their loans.
But Elizabeth Barber of Rochester, New York, says the Trump administration has nonetheless continued to take 12% of her paychecks since the legislation passed — garnishing $70 from her check as recently as last week — adding to the financial strain which forced her to default on $10,000 in federal loans in December. Barber’s hours have also been reduced by 10 to 15 hours per week since the coronavirus pandemic began.
“I am so worried about how I will get through this,” Barber said in a statement. “I have no money in the bank. I need every dollar I earn at work to survive each day, but my hours have been cut because of the virus. I don’t understand why the government keeps taking my money away after it passed a law that says they will stop.”
The lawsuit was filed late Thursday, with legal advocacy group Student Defense and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) representing Barber and about 285,000 other Americans whose wages have been garnished in the past six weeks.
BREAKING: Education Secretary @BetsyDeVos has been sued for garnishing the wages of #studentloan borrowers during the #COVID19 crisis against emergency relief passed in the #CARESAct.https://t.co/nJUucbQGnN — StudentDebtCrisis (@DebtCrisisOrg) May 1, 2020
The CARES Act gave relief to borrowers from wage garnishment until Sept. 30. But across the country, employers including Barber’s have not yet been formally advised by the Trump administration to stop withholding as much as 15% of employees’ paychecks and sending the garnished wages to the government.
The Education Department claims the borrowers will be refunded the garnished wages if they were collected after March 13, but has offered no information about when they will see those refunds.
The lawsuit “captures a new low” in DeVos’s leadership, tweeted Student Defense on Friday.
Today's lawsuit against @BetsyDeVosED captures a new low in her leadership: for over a month since passage of #CARESAct DeVos has disregarded provisions in the law designed to protect student loan borrowers from wage garnishment. We sued to #ProtectBorrowers & #DefendStudents. https://t.co/qqHdEv54Tb — Student Defense (@studentlegalnet) May 1, 2020
“Right now, low-wage workers hit hardest by the economic impact of the pandemic need their paychecks to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads,” said Persis Yu, director of the NCLC’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project. “By continuing to use its harsh collection tools during this public health and economic crisis, the Department of Education is placing the health, safety, and well-being of vulnerable student loan borrowers in peril.”
In a letter to DeVos sent on April 16, Democratic lawmakers including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) demanded information about the wage garnishment which has persisted despite being illegal under the CARES Act and called the secretary’s failure to stop the practice “unconscionable.”
“The Trump administration is taking money from borrowers who are living on the edge of poverty, in the middle of a pandemic, and in violation of the law,” said Seth Frotman, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, which is supporting the lawsuit. “This lawsuit shines light on how she has been operating a student debt collection machine that is accountable to no one — and it must be stopped.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-05-02--Essential Workers Across the US Went on Strike Friday

Workers from Amazon , Instacart , Target , Shipt and Whole Foods launched a nationwide May Day strike Friday , protesting treatment and working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic .
“ At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic essential workers were subjected to exposure in our workplaces due to the lack of PPE [ personal protective equipment ] , flawed policies , and dense safety guidelines .
Because of the failings of our employers , many of our fellow employees have contracted this deadly virus and some have died , ” the organizers said in a joint statement .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sharp focus at the onset of the pandemic , are demanding more robust sick leave and hazard pay policies , in addition to personal protective gear and safer and more sanitary working conditions .
“ On this # MayDay2020 , I stand with the workers at Amazon , Whole Foods , Instacart and Target who are on strike , ” posted Sanders , a longtime workers ’ rights advocate who suspended his presidential campaign earlier this month .
“ Essential workers are putting their lives on the line and deserve protection and hazard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got to end !
” “ Front line workers at large corporations like Amazon and Instacart deserve PPE , ” Harris tweeted.
” They deserve paid sick leave .
They deserve a safe working environment .
But many don ’ t have these protections .
I stand with those on strike today for safe working conditions.
” The strike also comes amid a period of historic unemployment , which works against organizers .
Ally , who has delivered for Instacart for five years in Austin , Tx .
and who spoke to Salon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her surname for fear of employer retribution , told Salon that she was working on Friday , as were all of the co-workers she knew .
Ally said that the Whole Foods flagship in the same city was alive with workers and shoppers through the afternoon .
Whole Foods is a subsidiary of Amazon .
A store manager told Salon that no employees had walked out , and all workers interviewed told Salon , through their surgical masks , that this was the first they ’ d heard of the protests .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , reminded him , “ Don ’ t forget — you can get a burger today.
” The United Food and Commercial Workers International union says 72 of its members have died and more than 5,000 are not at work due to circumstances surrounding infections .
( This week Amazon reported what was at least its second employee death . )
Though worker absentee numbers for the day weren ’ t immediately available , the strike , billed as historic , doesn ’ t seem to have met organizers ’ hopes .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protesters posed beside body bags outside New York governor Andrew Cuomo ’ s office , chanting , “ This is our future if you don ’ t act.
” A handful of people showed up at a Bay Area Amazon warehouse .
A car protest took place outside an Atlanta-area Target .
A slightly larger group gathered at the Staten Island Amazon warehouse , led by Chris Smalls , a worker who was fired after organizing a strike at the warehouse in March .
“ This is a matter of life or death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus is killing some of our employees.
” Amazon maintains Smalls was fired for violating safety policies , not in retaliation .
Earlier this week Salon confirmed that the New York Attorney General ’ s ( NYAG ) office notified Amazon that it is probing the firing .
The NYAG asked the company to temporarily shutter warehouses in the state until it addresses “ inadequate ” worker protections , citing multiple alleged violations of federal safety standards .
The aforementioned companies are pulling in massive profits as entire industries collapse .
National unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time Thursday , but Instacart is hiring thousands .
Amazon reported first quarter revenue jumped 26 percent that same day .
Amazon also expects to spend more than $ 800 million in the first six months of 2020 on pandemic-related expenses .
This includes expanding sick leave and extending until May 16 a $ 2 an hour pay raise set to expire April 30 .
Target has taken the same steps .
Instacart has said it would give workers health and safety kits , but some workers say they haven ’ t seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done enough to protect any shoppers , in my opinion , ” said Ally , the Instacart driver in Austin , who says she has been through several protests against the company .
“ They sent out a notice saying they would provide us with masks and sanitizer but I haven ’ t received anything from them yet.
” “ I have been doing [ driver delivery gig service ] Amazon Flex almost every day since this whole mess started and I feel safe with them , ” she said .

Workers around the United States report back on the coordinated strikes that took place on May Day.
Workers from Amazon, Instacart, Target, Shipt and Whole Foods launched a nationwide May Day strike Friday, protesting treatment and working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic essential workers were subjected to exposure in our workplaces due to the lack of PPE [personal protective equipment], flawed policies, and dense safety guidelines. Because of the failings of our employers, many of our fellow employees have contracted this deadly virus and some have died,” the organizers said in a joint statement.
The workers, whose indispensability was thrown into sharp focus at the onset of the pandemic, are demanding more robust sick leave and hazard pay policies, in addition to personal protective gear and safer and more sanitary working conditions.
High-profile Democratic politicians supported the strikes, including Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)
“On this #MayDay2020, I stand with the workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart and Target who are on strike,” posted Sanders, a longtime workers’ rights advocate who suspended his presidential campaign earlier this month. “Essential workers are putting their lives on the line and deserve protection and hazard pay. The endless corporate greed has got to end!”
“Front line workers at large corporations like Amazon and Instacart deserve PPE,” Harris tweeted.”They deserve paid sick leave. They deserve a safe working environment. But many don’t have these protections. I stand with those on strike today for safe working conditions.”
The strike also comes amid a period of historic unemployment, which works against organizers.
Ally, who has delivered for Instacart for five years in Austin, Tx. and who spoke to Salon under the condition that we not print her surname for fear of employer retribution, told Salon that she was working on Friday, as were all of the co-workers she knew. Ally said that the Whole Foods flagship in the same city was alive with workers and shoppers through the afternoon. Whole Foods is a subsidiary of Amazon.
A store manager told Salon that no employees had walked out, and all workers interviewed told Salon, through their surgical masks, that this was the first they’d heard of the protests.
One worker, passing another in the store, reminded him, “Don’t forget — you can get a burger today.”
The United Food and Commercial Workers International union says 72 of its members have died and more than 5,000 are not at work due to circumstances surrounding infections. (This week Amazon reported what was at least its second employee death.)
Though worker absentee numbers for the day weren’t immediately available, the strike, billed as historic, doesn’t seem to have met organizers’ hopes.
The Washington Post reported that a group of protesters posed beside body bags outside New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, chanting, “This is our future if you don’t act.” A handful of people showed up at a Bay Area Amazon warehouse. A car protest took place outside an Atlanta-area Target.
A slightly larger group gathered at the Staten Island Amazon warehouse, led by Chris Smalls, a worker who was fired after organizing a strike at the warehouse in March.
“This is a matter of life or death,” said Smalls. “The virus is killing some of our employees.”
Amazon maintains Smalls was fired for violating safety policies, not in retaliation.
Earlier this week Salon confirmed that the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG) office notified Amazon that it is probing the firing. The NYAG asked the company to temporarily shutter warehouses in the state until it addresses “inadequate” worker protections, citing multiple alleged violations of federal safety standards.
This week Amazon reported another employee death.
The aforementioned companies are pulling in massive profits as entire industries collapse. National unemployment claims topped 30 million for the first time Thursday, but Instacart is hiring thousands. Amazon reported first quarter revenue jumped 26 percent that same day.
Amazon also expects to spend more than $800 million in the first six months of 2020 on pandemic-related expenses. This includes expanding sick leave and extending until May 16 a $2 an hour pay raise set to expire April 30. Target has taken the same steps.
Instacart has said it would give workers health and safety kits, but some workers say they haven’t seen anything.
“Instacart hasn’t done enough to protect any shoppers, in my opinion,” said Ally, the Instacart driver in Austin, who says she has been through several protests against the company. “They sent out a notice saying they would provide us with masks and sanitizer but I haven’t received anything from them yet.”
“I have been doing [driver delivery gig service] Amazon Flex almost every day since this whole mess started and I feel safe with them,” she said.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-05-02--COVID-19 Is Worsening a Housing Crisis That Started Long Before the Virus

If you haven ’ t been thinking those two words yourself , it ’ s likely that someone you know has contemplated it , or that you ’ ve seen them scrawled on walls in your city , perhaps on a flyer , posted online — maybe as a meme .
The coronavirus has pulled the rug out from under millions of workers over the last few weeks .
An unprecedented 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment since March 14 , but these numbers barely scratch the surface of the overall impact , as many full-time workers aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many have simply had their hours cut .
It ’ s because of this widespread , sudden loss of income that the call for the elimination of rent and utilities payments , a moratorium on evictions , and a cancelation of mortgages has begun to reverberate through countless vacant city streets and neighborhoods across the country .
And despite being ignored by the propertied classes and most political leaders , there are many groups out there that have heard the call .
One of these groups is Right To The City Alliance ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 80 different organizations across the U.S. that started as a response to gentrification and the displacement of low-income , Black and Brown , LGBTQ and other marginalized communities — especially in historic urban neighborhoods .
Right To the City Alliance recently launched the Beyond Recovery campaign , aimed at addressing housing justice not just during this acute crisis , but well into the future .
Truthout spoke with Kamau Walton , the national organizer for communications at RTTC , about the Beyond Recovery campaign and what coronavirus has revealed about the failures of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : I want to get into the work that Right To The City Alliance is doing around housing justice in response to the coronavirus pandemic in just a bit , but first , I ’ m wondering if you could give us a more general introduction to the work that RTTC has been doing for the last decade ?
Kamau Walton : We work with a focus on racial , economic and environmental justice .
One of our first campaigns was the Homes for All campaign , which focused on housing and land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organized around houselessness and who organize around tenants ’ and renters ’ rights — so people who are building tenant unions , pushing for rent control and pushing for the tenant opportunity to purchase buildings when they go up for sale .
We also work with folks who are building out community land trusts and other alternative forms of housing that take housing off of the speculative market because we don ’ t think housing should be something that is an opportunity for profit .
It ’ s a human right and everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only way we ’ re going to ensure that is to take it off of the market , because right now it ’ s used as a tool of capitalism — it ’ s something that is only accessible to a certain amount of people .
So , we initiated the Homes for All campaign because homes are the headquarters for safety and stability .
Not having housing stability or not having a home impacts your ability to show up for your community and at work .
It impacts your ability to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very clearly that the renter class — renters across this country — are the people hit the hardest and the heaviest by the impacts of capitalism and the ways that society is structured right now .
These are the people who are also impacted by a lot of other systems of oppression .
So this is one of the most important groups to be engaging with , to be empowering and to be organizing with , in this moment and in the future .
Right To The City Alliance has just launched a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or building national power by focusing on local communities ) to address many of the acute and chronic crises felt by communities across the country in regards to housing .
You ’ re calling for the immediate cancelation of rent , mortgages and utility payments as well as a permanent moratorium on evictions , foreclosures , raids and sweeps .
Yes , the Beyond Recovery campaign was called for and shaped by folks who are on the ground across the country .
We have members who are organizing in urban centers and also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic , almost immediately as the economy dropped and folks began losing jobs and losing hours at work , there was an immediate call for rent strikes .
Right To The City believes that in order to build power and do work that is accountable to those on the front lines , a trans-local strategy is absolutely necessary .
Trans-local organizing connects groups across the country , who have been fighting fiercely to protect their communities even before the coronavirus pandemic , [ giving them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , resources and strategies with one another .
This also helps to bring local and statewide fights out of isolation and incorporate them into the housing movement ecosystem on the national level .
There is brilliant work happening on the local and statewide level across the country — from the Florida Housing Justice Alliance ( which includes RTTC member organizations Miami Workers Center , Struggle for Miami ’ s Affordable and Sustainable Housing , Community Justice Project and the Family Action Network Movement ) that just won an eviction moratorium and is now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Our Homes in El Sereno , California , which is putting houseless people into publicly owned homes ; to the Detroit People ’ s Platform working to get folks ’ utilities turned on without putting them further into debt .
We ’ re also in support of all the folks pushing for decarceration and releasing folks who are in jail , prison or immigrant detention right now , because we know all of these things are needed to increase public safety .
And right now , with the outbreak , we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which are being deprioritized .
We need to be thinking and dreaming more widely about the world that we want to see after this , because the world as it has been — the status quo — has already resulted in thousands of people dying .
It ’ s also resulted in even more people being pushed into crisis and not having access to the bare minimum of what they need to survive this moment , let alone to actually thrive and live stable , healthy lives .
It ’ s also important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the demands that we are putting out there .
In the last few weeks , we ’ ve seen a lot of co-optation of language and the bastardization of our demands .
So in thinking about the eviction moratorium in Oakland , California , which is actually pretty limited , or in thinking about the ways that folks are talking about housing people who have been on the streets … [ it ] is still not happening at the [ rate ] that it needs to happen .
I think it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not just for things that feel or look good in storylines , not just for things that sound good and make us feel comfortable , but that we ’ re looking for and seeing concrete , material shifts in the conditions for the people who are being most impacted by the coronavirus .
What would you say the coronavirus has revealed about our current economic system that was perhaps previously obscured or not as obvious to the general public ?
One of the most important things that the coronavirus has revealed is who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this country running .
At the core of it , it ’ s the working-class , low-income folks who keep the economy going .
When they aren ’ t able to do their work in healthy and safe ways , it destabilizes everything .
It really points to which people need to be invested in , protected and centered in the decision-making processes about what ’ s best for this country .
The crisis also calls into question what we mean by public health and what we mean by public safety when we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who are forced to be in cages and who are forced into crowded shelter systems — people who have not been prioritized in society .
It also shows that the demand of people on the front lines , from Black and Brown people , from workers , from single parents , from folks with disabilities , from queer and trans folks , from youth and from elders , is common sense .
Folks have been calling for putting houseless people into homes , and there are enough homes to house the people that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already know that .
We depend far too much on the market to find the solution to things , but we know the market is only finding solutions for the folks who are profiting at the top .
We know that if we lean on the market to find the solution , our folks are ending up on the streets , our folks are ending up in cages .
With the COVID-19 pandemic , we ’ re pushing to envision a future that goes beyond just recovery from this moment , because we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment and loss of hours and people who couldn ’ t pay rent yesterday and definitely won ’ t be able to pay rent [ next month ] , what we need to be striving for is not just to get back to where we were before the coronavirus popped up .
This is an opportunity to push , to really ask questions and to also come together with your neighbors , with your family members , with your loved ones and co-workers to identify the things that folks need in this moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to push for solutions .

Part of the Series Despair and Disparity: The Uneven Burdens of COVID-19
Cancel rent.
If you haven’t been thinking those two words yourself, it’s likely that someone you know has contemplated it, or that you’ve seen them scrawled on walls in your city, perhaps on a flyer, posted online — maybe as a meme.
The coronavirus has pulled the rug out from under millions of workers over the last few weeks. An unprecedented 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment since March 14, but these numbers barely scratch the surface of the overall impact, as many full-time workers aren’t eligible for this benefit, and many have simply had their hours cut.
It’s because of this widespread, sudden loss of income that the call for the elimination of rent and utilities payments, a moratorium on evictions, and a cancelation of mortgages has begun to reverberate through countless vacant city streets and neighborhoods across the country. And despite being ignored by the propertied classes and most political leaders, there are many groups out there that have heard the call.
One of these groups is Right To The City Alliance (RTTC), an alliance of over 80 different organizations across the U.S. that started as a response to gentrification and the displacement of low-income, Black and Brown, LGBTQ and other marginalized communities — especially in historic urban neighborhoods. Right To the City Alliance recently launched the Beyond Recovery campaign, aimed at addressing housing justice not just during this acute crisis, but well into the future.
Truthout spoke with Kamau Walton, the national organizer for communications at RTTC, about the Beyond Recovery campaign and what coronavirus has revealed about the failures of our current economic system.
Robert Raymond: I want to get into the work that Right To The City Alliance is doing around housing justice in response to the coronavirus pandemic in just a bit, but first, I’m wondering if you could give us a more general introduction to the work that RTTC has been doing for the last decade?
Kamau Walton: We work with a focus on racial, economic and environmental justice. One of our first campaigns was the Homes for All campaign, which focused on housing and land. We work with folks who are organized around houselessness and who organize around tenants’ and renters’ rights — so people who are building tenant unions, pushing for rent control and pushing for the tenant opportunity to purchase buildings when they go up for sale. We also work with folks who are building out community land trusts and other alternative forms of housing that take housing off of the speculative market because we don’t think housing should be something that is an opportunity for profit. It’s a human right and everyone should have access to it — the only way we’re going to ensure that is to take it off of the market, because right now it’s used as a tool of capitalism — it’s something that is only accessible to a certain amount of people.
The renter class are the people hit the hardest and the heaviest by the impacts of capitalism and the ways that society is structured right now.
So, we initiated the Homes for All campaign because homes are the headquarters for safety and stability. Not having housing stability or not having a home impacts your ability to show up for your community and at work. It impacts your ability to be politically involved and engaged. We see very clearly that the renter class — renters across this country — are the people hit the hardest and the heaviest by the impacts of capitalism and the ways that society is structured right now. These are the people who are also impacted by a lot of other systems of oppression. So this is one of the most important groups to be engaging with, to be empowering and to be organizing with, in this moment and in the future.
Right To The City Alliance has just launched a new campaign that utilizes trans-local organizing (or building national power by focusing on local communities) to address many of the acute and chronic crises felt by communities across the country in regards to housing. You’re calling for the immediate cancelation of rent, mortgages and utility payments as well as a permanent moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, raids and sweeps.
Yes, the Beyond Recovery campaign was called for and shaped by folks who are on the ground across the country. We have members who are organizing in urban centers and also people who are doing more rural organizing. And in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost immediately as the economy dropped and folks began losing jobs and losing hours at work, there was an immediate call for rent strikes.
Right To The City believes that in order to build power and do work that is accountable to those on the front lines, a trans-local strategy is absolutely necessary. Trans-local organizing connects groups across the country, who have been fighting fiercely to protect their communities even before the coronavirus pandemic, [giving them] an opportunity to share lessons learned, resources and strategies with one another. This also helps to bring local and statewide fights out of isolation and incorporate them into the housing movement ecosystem on the national level.
There is brilliant work happening on the local and statewide level across the country — from the Florida Housing Justice Alliance (which includes RTTC member organizations Miami Workers Center, Struggle for Miami’s Affordable and Sustainable Housing, Community Justice Project and the Family Action Network Movement) that just won an eviction moratorium and is now pushing to cancel rent; to Reclaiming Our Homes in El Sereno, California, which is putting houseless people into publicly owned homes; to the Detroit People’s Platform working to get folks’ utilities turned on without putting them further into debt.
We’re also in support of all the folks pushing for decarceration and releasing folks who are in jail, prison or immigrant detention right now, because we know all of these things are needed to increase public safety. And right now, with the outbreak, we’re seeing which communities are being prioritized and which are being deprioritized. We need to be thinking and dreaming more widely about the world that we want to see after this, because the world as it has been — the status quo — has already resulted in thousands of people dying. It’s also resulted in even more people being pushed into crisis and not having access to the bare minimum of what they need to survive this moment, let alone to actually thrive and live stable, healthy lives.
One of the most important things that the coronavirus has revealed is who has the power to continue to keep this country running. At the core of it, it’s the working class.
It’s also important for us to hold true and strong to the demands that we are putting out there. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of co-optation of language and the bastardization of our demands. So in thinking about the eviction moratorium in Oakland, California, which is actually pretty limited, or in thinking about the ways that folks are talking about housing people who have been on the streets … [it] is still not happening at the [rate] that it needs to happen. I think it’s important that we continue to push not just for things that feel or look good in storylines, not just for things that sound good and make us feel comfortable, but that we’re looking for and seeing concrete, material shifts in the conditions for the people who are being most impacted by the coronavirus.
What would you say the coronavirus has revealed about our current economic system that was perhaps previously obscured or not as obvious to the general public?
One of the most important things that the coronavirus has revealed is who has the power to continue to keep this country running. At the core of it, it’s the working-class, low-income folks who keep the economy going. When they aren’t able to do their work in healthy and safe ways, it destabilizes everything. It really points to which people need to be invested in, protected and centered in the decision-making processes about what’s best for this country.
The crisis also calls into question what we mean by public health and what we mean by public safety when we see the impacts of COVID-19 on people who are forced to be in cages and who are forced into crowded shelter systems — people who have not been prioritized in society. It also shows that the demand of people on the front lines, from Black and Brown people, from workers, from single parents, from folks with disabilities, from queer and trans folks, from youth and from elders, is common sense. Folks have been calling for putting houseless people into homes, and there are enough homes to house the people that are living on the street — we already know that.
We depend far too much on the market to find the solution to things, but we know the market is only finding solutions for the folks who are profiting at the top. We know that if we lean on the market to find the solution, our folks are ending up on the streets, our folks are ending up in cages.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re pushing to envision a future that goes beyond just recovery from this moment, because we know right now with the increases in unemployment and loss of hours and people who couldn’t pay rent yesterday and definitely won’t be able to pay rent [next month], what we need to be striving for is not just to get back to where we were before the coronavirus popped up. This is an opportunity to push, to really ask questions and to also come together with your neighbors, with your family members, with your loved ones and co-workers to identify the things that folks need in this moment and how we can all come together to push for solutions.
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