truthout--2020-07-21--Looming Immigration Services Shutdown May Fuel Voter Suppression in 2020

Trump ’ s ghoulish exploitation of the coronavirus pandemic to further his anti-immigrant policies has also manufactured a crisis at the federal agency responsible for green cards , citizenship , asylum and myriad other immigration matters .
U.S .
Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) is about to run out of money , and if Congress doesn ’ t act , will furlough more than two-thirds of the USCIS workforce in August .
Such a shutdown would further extend the “ invisible wall ” Trump created to suppress immigration of all kinds .
In an election year in which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of voter suppression possible , the shutdown of USCIS could mean hundreds of thousands of potential new voters may be denied the ballot .
Trump ’ s policy changes pre-pandemic were already creating staggering wait times at USCIS , a problem that received congressional scrutiny .
But coronavirus , combined with Trump ’ s exploitation of the crisis to shut down immigration even further , is not only exacerbating the backlog , but is also leading to a 50 percent decrease in fees beginning in March .
This has left USCIS , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by immigrants , in need of a $ 1.2 billion bailout .
Without it , the agency says it will be forced to furlough nearly two-thirds of its entire staff ( 13,400 of 20,000 employees ) on August 3 .
When Trump took office , USCIS had a surplus .
Less than three years later , the agency finds itself in crisis .
Observers of USCIS believe the funding crisis , although exacerbated by coronavirus , is due to mismanagement .
Trump repeatedly raided USCIS to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transferred $ 415.2 million total in revenue to ICE .
Under Trump , USCIS enacted a slew of new policies and regulations that both suppress immigration and divert resources and money .
For instance , changing regulations regarding who is considered a “ public charge ” to prevent people from becoming green card holders , suspending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) , and eliminating Temporary Protected Status ( TPS ) for hundreds of thousands of people unable to return to their country of nationality due to armed conflict or natural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the H-1B program — these are visas often employed by wealthy employers like Wall Street and tech firms to hire temporary workers .
These visas can cost nearly $ 6,000 per worker , so the Trump administration ’ s changes to this program significantly cut into USCIS revenues .
The White House has all but abandoned USCIS , refusing to formally ask Congress for additional funding .
This is surely by design ; the Trump administration has tried at every turn to shut down immigration to the U.S .
Slowing down USCIS and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to achieve that .
The collateral damage of this agency operating at one-third of its capacity is incalculable .
Before the pandemic , USCIS was naturalizing 3,195 new citizens and granting 2,200 new green cards each day .
The agency also makes important , daily decisions on 30,000 applications on issues ranging from asylum to employment authorization .
Shutting it down spells disaster for people seeking benefits , and all the more so in light of a historically high backlog acknowledged by USCIS ’ s own ombudsman .
Delays mean people are left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , unable to leave an abusive spouse while they wait for their green card filed under the Violence Against Women Act , or stuck in limbo when they need to renew their DACA status .
The National Association of Immigration Judges expressed deep concern about a USCIS furlough , pointing out that it will create backlogs that “ takes months , or even years , to clear.
” These backlogs create real-world consequences for those stuck in them .
A deportation could be stopped if USCIS processes applications before a critical court date @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in jeopardy .
The result could be the removal of hundreds if not thousands of people who are otherwise eligible for relief .
More troubling , those in ICE detention will have their asylum interviews significantly delayed .
In most cases , asylum-seekers can not even request bond from an immigration judge to be released from ICE detention until they have a pre-screening interview with USCIS .
That means that immigrants in detention will face longer wait times in detention facilities with outbreaks of coronavirus .
To give you a sense of scale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone .
Another consequence may be that more Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) agents will take over the asylum pre-screening process , replacing furloughed asylum officers trained on humanitarian issues .
The Trump administration was already pushing for more CBP involvement before coronavirus .
CBP has a well-documented record of undermining the rights of migrants , physical abuse and manipulation to prevent asylum seekers from accessing humanitarian assistance .
For Trump this is likely a feature , not a bug , of a USCIS shutdown .
A USCIS shutdown may also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vote .
Before this looming furlough , USCIS was facing a backlog of naturalization applications .
As of April 2020 , USCIS had 697,232 applicants awaiting a decision .
That ’ s 57 percent more than the 442,219 cases that were pending four years ago .
If you file your application for naturalization today , you are expected to wait up to three years before getting a decision .
You can ’ t even make an inquiry into your case on the USCIS website if your case is less than three years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ naturalized tens of thousands of people a month — at convention centers , theaters , holiday celebrations and in office events .
After the agency closed on March 18 , the backlog for naturalization ceremonies grew by over 3,000 people per day .
They reopened to the public in June and began holding smaller , socially distanced ceremonies to swear new citizens in .
The agency faces bipartisan pressure to ensure naturalizations can take place .
Despite this , USCIS is refusing calls by advocates to implement virtual naturalization ceremonies , even in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic and the agency ’ s budget shortfall .
The people waiting in this backlog are all green card holders , who ’ ve lived in the U.S. for years , who wish to become United States citizens but are prevented from doing so by bureaucratic dysfunction .
Approximately 126,000 people were approved for citizenship and are simply awaiting a naturalization ceremony .
These are 126,000 people who completed their interview , passed their English and civics tests , and whose applications were approved .
These people could become citizens today — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceremonial step .
Many people applied for naturalization in the hopes they could vote in the 2020 election .
Two immigrants in Pennsylvania sued USCIS , stating that COVID-related delays would unjustly prevent them from naturalizing before the voter registration deadline .
In 2019 , USCIS naturalized 834,000 new citizens .
This year , due to the pandemic backlog and looming furlough , hundreds of thousands of potential voters may be left out of the electoral process .
The White House likely has a vested interest in preventing immigrants from naturalizing before October @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given the anti-immigrant agenda Trump has championed in office , he may see these 126,000 people awaiting their naturalization ceremony as the difference between a Trump and Biden victory .
Trump won the 2016 election by 79,646 votes in three key states .
As of April 1 , there are over 134,000 pending applications for naturalization in seven swing states : 66,917 in Florida ; 18,574 in Pennsylvania ; 10,699 in Arizona ; 10,391 in Nevada ; 8,769 in Michigan ; 8,657 in North Carolina ; 7,187 in Ohio ; and 2,996 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some polls have even started to show a narrow lead for Biden , there are 73,551 pending applications .
In 2020 , naturalized citizens make up 10 percent of eligible voters nationwide .
Given Trump ’ s relentless , brutal campaign against immigrants , his full-throated support of white supremacists and his disdain for people of color , it is no stretch of the imagination to think a majority of newly naturalized citizens would vote against him .
A bipartisan bill by Reps. Jeffrey Fortenberry ( R-Nebraska ) and Emanuel Cleaver ( D-Missouri @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billion USCIS needs .
Negotiations over the needed funding will happen in the coronavirus relief package expected at the end of July .
In advance of this , 14 senators led by Jeff Merkley ( D-Oregon ) have pushed for guardrails on the funding , such as barring the transfer of funds to law enforcement , requiring remote naturalization ceremonies and preventing the funding being used to train CBP to take over asylum cases .
If Congress fails to agree to funding and the USCIS shuts down as a result , it will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Potential new citizens will be deprived of the opportunity to vote simply because of bureaucratic malaise and dysfunction .
And the agency ’ s reluctance to adapt to the pandemic by enacting virtual naturalization ceremonies only compounds the problem .
But the agency ’ s missteps aside , the human cost of failing to fund USCIS is painfully high .
Immigrants waiting in USCIS ’ s gargantuan backlog , including those in ICE detention awaiting asylum interviews , will be forced to wait that much longer in incredibly risky conditions .
Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Trump’s ghoulish exploitation of the coronavirus pandemic to further his anti-immigrant policies has also manufactured a crisis at the federal agency responsible for green cards, citizenship, asylum and myriad other immigration matters. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is about to run out of money, and if Congress doesn’t act, will furlough more than two-thirds of the USCIS workforce in August. Such a shutdown would further extend the “invisible wall” Trump created to suppress immigration of all kinds. In an election year in which Trump seems determined to use every tool of voter suppression possible, the shutdown of USCIS could mean hundreds of thousands of potential new voters may be denied the ballot.
Trump’s policy changes pre-pandemic were already creating staggering wait times at USCIS, a problem that received congressional scrutiny. But coronavirus, combined with Trump’s exploitation of the crisis to shut down immigration even further, is not only exacerbating the backlog, but is also leading to a 50 percent decrease in fees beginning in March. This has left USCIS, which is almost entirely funded by fees paid by immigrants, in need of a $1.2 billion bailout. Without it, the agency says it will be forced to furlough nearly two-thirds of its entire staff (13,400 of 20,000 employees) on August 3.
When Trump took office, USCIS had a surplus. Less than three years later, the agency finds itself in crisis. Observers of USCIS believe the funding crisis, although exacerbated by coronavirus, is due to mismanagement. Trump repeatedly raided USCIS to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): In 2019 and 2020 USCIS transferred $415.2 million total in revenue to ICE. Under Trump, USCIS enacted a slew of new policies and regulations that both suppress immigration and divert resources and money. For instance, changing regulations regarding who is considered a “public charge” to prevent people from becoming green card holders, suspending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and eliminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of people unable to return to their country of nationality due to armed conflict or natural disaster. And the White House suspended the H-1B program — these are visas often employed by wealthy employers like Wall Street and tech firms to hire temporary workers. These visas can cost nearly $6,000 per worker, so the Trump administration’s changes to this program significantly cut into USCIS revenues.
The White House has all but abandoned USCIS, refusing to formally ask Congress for additional funding. This is surely by design; the Trump administration has tried at every turn to shut down immigration to the U.S. Slowing down USCIS and starving it of resources is one way to achieve that.
The collateral damage of this agency operating at one-third of its capacity is incalculable. Before the pandemic, USCIS was naturalizing 3,195 new citizens and granting 2,200 new green cards each day. The agency also makes important, daily decisions on 30,000 applications on issues ranging from asylum to employment authorization. Shutting it down spells disaster for people seeking benefits, and all the more so in light of a historically high backlog acknowledged by USCIS’s own ombudsman. Delays mean people are left waiting for answers on their TPS applications, unable to leave an abusive spouse while they wait for their green card filed under the Violence Against Women Act, or stuck in limbo when they need to renew their DACA status.
The National Association of Immigration Judges expressed deep concern about a USCIS furlough, pointing out that it will create backlogs that “takes months, or even years, to clear.” These backlogs create real-world consequences for those stuck in them. A deportation could be stopped if USCIS processes applications before a critical court date; backlogs put these kinds of reprieves in jeopardy. The result could be the removal of hundreds if not thousands of people who are otherwise eligible for relief.
The shutdown of USCIS could mean hundreds of thousands of potential new voters may be denied the ballot.
More troubling, those in ICE detention will have their asylum interviews significantly delayed. In most cases, asylum-seekers cannot even request bond from an immigration judge to be released from ICE detention until they have a pre-screening interview with USCIS. That means that immigrants in detention will face longer wait times in detention facilities with outbreaks of coronavirus. To give you a sense of scale, USCIS decided 114,254 pre-screening cases in 2019 alone.
Another consequence may be that more Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents will take over the asylum pre-screening process, replacing furloughed asylum officers trained on humanitarian issues. The Trump administration was already pushing for more CBP involvement before coronavirus. CBP has a well-documented record of undermining the rights of migrants, physical abuse and manipulation to prevent asylum seekers from accessing humanitarian assistance. For Trump this is likely a feature, not a bug, of a USCIS shutdown.
A USCIS shutdown may also be a means for Trump to suppress the vote. Before this looming furlough, USCIS was facing a backlog of naturalization applications. As of April 2020, USCIS had 697,232 applicants awaiting a decision. That’s 57 percent more than the 442,219 cases that were pending four years ago. If you file your application for naturalization today, you are expected to wait up to three years before getting a decision. You can’t even make an inquiry into your case on the USCIS website if your case is less than three years old.
Trump repeatedly raided USCIS to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Before the pandemic, USCIS naturalized tens of thousands of people a month — at convention centers, theaters, holiday celebrations and in office events. After the agency closed on March 18, the backlog for naturalization ceremonies grew by over 3,000 people per day. They reopened to the public in June and began holding smaller, socially distanced ceremonies to swear new citizens in. The agency faces bipartisan pressure to ensure naturalizations can take place. Despite this, USCIS is refusing calls by advocates to implement virtual naturalization ceremonies, even in the midst of the dual crisis of the pandemic and the agency’s budget shortfall.
The people waiting in this backlog are all green card holders, who’ve lived in the U.S. for years, who wish to become United States citizens but are prevented from doing so by bureaucratic dysfunction. Approximately 126,000 people were approved for citizenship and are simply awaiting a naturalization ceremony. These are 126,000 people who completed their interview, passed their English and civics tests, and whose applications were approved. These people could become citizens today — if only USCIS performed the final, ceremonial step.
Many people applied for naturalization in the hopes they could vote in the 2020 election. Two immigrants in Pennsylvania sued USCIS, stating that COVID-related delays would unjustly prevent them from naturalizing before the voter registration deadline. In 2019, USCIS naturalized 834,000 new citizens. This year, due to the pandemic backlog and looming furlough, hundreds of thousands of potential voters may be left out of the electoral process.
The White House likely has a vested interest in preventing immigrants from naturalizing before October voter registration deadlines.
The White House likely has a vested interest in preventing immigrants from naturalizing before October voter registration deadlines. After all, given the anti-immigrant agenda Trump has championed in office, he may see these 126,000 people awaiting their naturalization ceremony as the difference between a Trump and Biden victory. Trump won the 2016 election by 79,646 votes in three key states. As of April 1, there are over 134,000 pending applications for naturalization in seven swing states: 66,917 in Florida; 18,574 in Pennsylvania; 10,699 in Arizona; 10,391 in Nevada; 8,769 in Michigan; 8,657 in North Carolina; 7,187 in Ohio; and 2,996 in Wisconsin. In Texas alone, where some polls have even started to show a narrow lead for Biden, there are 73,551 pending applications. In 2020, naturalized citizens make up 10 percent of eligible voters nationwide. Given Trump’s relentless, brutal campaign against immigrants, his full-throated support of white supremacists and his disdain for people of color, it is no stretch of the imagination to think a majority of newly naturalized citizens would vote against him.
A bipartisan bill by Reps. Jeffrey Fortenberry (R-Nebraska) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-Missouri) seeks to provide the $1.2 billion USCIS needs. Negotiations over the needed funding will happen in the coronavirus relief package expected at the end of July. In advance of this, 14 senators led by Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) have pushed for guardrails on the funding, such as barring the transfer of funds to law enforcement, requiring remote naturalization ceremonies and preventing the funding being used to train CBP to take over asylum cases.
If Congress fails to agree to funding and the USCIS shuts down as a result, it will create the perfect storm for voter suppression. Potential new citizens will be deprived of the opportunity to vote simply because of bureaucratic malaise and dysfunction. And the agency’s reluctance to adapt to the pandemic by enacting virtual naturalization ceremonies only compounds the problem. But the agency’s missteps aside, the human cost of failing to fund USCIS is painfully high. Immigrants waiting in USCIS’s gargantuan backlog, including those in ICE detention awaiting asylum interviews, will be forced to wait that much longer in incredibly risky conditions. Congress must act now to prevent a furlough.
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--2020-07-21--Health Care Workers’ Complaints Show the Morbid Dangers They Face During COVID

During the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic , with thousands dying every day , America relied on a select few essential workers to keep society running , like postal workers , grocery workers and meat packers — all industries that have seen , together , hundreds of Covid-related deaths among workers .
Chief among them are nurses , on the front lines of the pandemic , who have put their lives on the line to intubate disease victims and provide lifesaving medical care .
Since the pandemic began , over 500 healthcare workers in the United States have died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who we rely on so deeply — dubbed “ warriors ” by President Donald Trump and “ heroes ” by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — continue to work under hostile management and in dangerous workplaces that make the disease even more contagious and deadly .
That ’ s according to a dataset and interactive map recently released by Strikewave , a newsletter of original reporting and analysis for the U.S. labor movement .
The data show at least 21,510 Covid-related Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) complaints since the start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unknown exactly how many more complaints than usual have been filed , as OSHA complaints are relatively confidential .
But it ’ s clear that they are surging .
Common in the complaints are allegations of managerial neglect , carelessness and abuse .
And while we may like to think that bad management is the exclusive territory of greedy corporations , the complaints show how healthcare workers , some of them working for nominally non-profit hospitals , have been failed by their employers even as they perform dangerous and essential work .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan , a suburb of Flint , several OSHA complaints filed at the end of March alleged widespread shortages of personal protective equipment ( PPE ) and threats from management .
Carolyn Clemons , a registered nurse working in Genesys Hospital ’ s Covid-19 intensive care unit and member of Teamsters Local 332 , said that in late March , when cases were skyrocketing , nurses who wore masks outside of patient rooms were threatened with disciplinary actions and firings .
In hallways and offices , where nurses worked closely together , managers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to Clemons .
Ironically , some of the managers who threatened mask-wearing employees were the same who later tested positive for the coronavirus .
“ There was not good communication , ” Clemons said .
“ We felt a lack of respect for what we do.
” At the height of the pandemic , management kept stockpiles of PPE under lock and key in their offices while telling nurses to wear garbage bags instead , according to Kimberly Cox , a registered nurse and the Chief Steward of Teamsters 332 .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that equipment remains unused .
Nurses at the hospital have tested positive .
According to Cox , however , Genesys has so far refused to either provide on-site tests for nurses or inform employees of the number of positive or assumed cases among staff , despite repeated union requests .
Nurses , some of them exhausted by persistent coughs and high fevers , were told to drive to the next hospital over .
There are complaints from hospitals across the Ascension health system .
One , filed on April 28 at Ascension St. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ failed to implement social distancing practices “ properly or effectively ” and that workers were not informed when they were exposed to patients and coworkers with confirmed cases of Covid-19 .
At that point there were almost 3,000 Covid-19 cases in Milwaukee and more than 150 deaths .
There have been more than 15 such complaints against the health system , including the ones against Genesys and St. Francis , and there are likely more ( detailed information about OSHA complaints is only available for “ closed ” cases , suggesting there could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Additionally , Teamsters Local 332 has filed more than 100 grievances with the hospital .
Ascension , which operates as a non-profit out of St. Louis , Missouri , cut its CEO a $ 13.6 million paycheck in 2017 , the last year on record .
It also operates a venture capital fund , Ascension Ventures , which manages more than $ 800 million , and an investment advisory fund , Ascension Investment Management , which is responsible for $ 38.7 billion in corporate money .
The health system , which has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ various regulatory violations over the past decade , received more than $ 400 million in federal funding in May .
Genesys itself received more than $ 20 million .
The funding , like all federal stimulus so far , comes with no stipulations regarding employee treatment .
Ascension Health did not respond to a request for comment .
These kinds of complaints can be seen across the industry .
At publicly-traded HCA Healthcare , one of the wealthiest hospital chains in the country , complaints are , in some cases , nearly identical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks locked away by management , a total lack of protective equipment for housekeepers and food service workers , and prohibitions on mask-wearing .
One complaint even alleged that nurses were directed to clean their masks with household cleaning wipes , return them to a bag , and then reuse those masks .
In total , workers in the HCA network lodged at least 35 complaints , almost twice as many as Ascension received .
HCA paid its CEO more than $ 26 million in 2019 and has made more than $ 7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The chain received $ 1 billion in federal pandemic aid , also without stipulation .
Weeks later , nurses at HCA claimed the company threatened them with mass firings unless they agreed to wage freezes .
These OSHA complaints are just a few of the thousands filed , all of which show how so-called essential workers have been treated as disposable .
There are more than 3 million Covid-19 cases in the United States , but many essential workers are already losing meager hazard pay raises .
As of April , at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospitals had lost their jobs , including many nurses .
It ’ s a racial justice issue as well .
In New York City , 75 % percent of frontline workers are people of color .
And Adia Harvey Wingfield , a sociologist studying Black healthcare workers , found that those workers are more likely to work at hospitals in the same impoverished Black communities that have been devastated by the coronavirus .
Both the pandemic and the protests sweeping the nation in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd carry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quo has long been untenable for many Americans , particularly the poor and non-white .

During the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic, with thousands dying every day, America relied on a select few essential workers to keep society running, like postal workers, grocery workers and meat packers — all industries that have seen, together, hundreds of Covid-related deaths among workers. Chief among them are nurses, on the front lines of the pandemic, who have put their lives on the line to intubate disease victims and provide lifesaving medical care. Since the pandemic began, over 500 healthcare workers in the United States have died from the virus.
But these workers who we rely on so deeply — dubbed “warriors” by President Donald Trump and “heroes” by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — continue to work under hostile management and in dangerous workplaces that make the disease even more contagious and deadly.
That’s according to a dataset and interactive map recently released by Strikewave, a newsletter of original reporting and analysis for the U.S. labor movement. The data show at least 21,510 Covid-related Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) complaints since the start of the pandemic. It’s unknown exactly how many more complaints than usual have been filed, as OSHA complaints are relatively confidential. But it’s clear that they are surging.
Common in the complaints are allegations of managerial neglect, carelessness and abuse.
And while we may like to think that bad management is the exclusive territory of greedy corporations, the complaints show how healthcare workers, some of them working for nominally non-profit hospitals, have been failed by their employers even as they perform dangerous and essential work.
At Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan, a suburb of Flint, several OSHA complaints filed at the end of March alleged widespread shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and threats from management.
Carolyn Clemons, a registered nurse working in Genesys Hospital’s Covid-19 intensive care unit and member of Teamsters Local 332, said that in late March, when cases were skyrocketing, nurses who wore masks outside of patient rooms were threatened with disciplinary actions and firings. In hallways and offices, where nurses worked closely together, managers enforced a no-mask policy into April, according to Clemons. Ironically, some of the managers who threatened mask-wearing employees were the same who later tested positive for the coronavirus.
“There was not good communication,” Clemons said. “We felt a lack of respect for what we do.”
At the height of the pandemic, management kept stockpiles of PPE under lock and key in their offices while telling nurses to wear garbage bags instead, according to Kimberly Cox, a registered nurse and the Chief Steward of Teamsters 332. Even now, she says, much of that equipment remains unused.
Nurses at the hospital have tested positive. According to Cox, however, Genesys has so far refused to either provide on-site tests for nurses or inform employees of the number of positive or assumed cases among staff, despite repeated union requests. Nurses, some of them exhausted by persistent coughs and high fevers, were told to drive to the next hospital over.
There are complaints from hospitals across the Ascension health system.
One, filed on April 28 at Ascension St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee, claimed management failed to implement social distancing practices “properly or effectively” and that workers were not informed when they were exposed to patients and coworkers with confirmed cases of Covid-19. At that point there were almost 3,000 Covid-19 cases in Milwaukee and more than 150 deaths.
There have been more than 15 such complaints against the health system, including the ones against Genesys and St. Francis, and there are likely more (detailed information about OSHA complaints is only available for “closed” cases, suggesting there could be several ongoing but confidential complaints). Additionally, Teamsters Local 332 has filed more than 100 grievances with the hospital.
Ascension, which operates as a non-profit out of St. Louis, Missouri, cut its CEO a $13.6 million paycheck in 2017, the last year on record. It also operates a venture capital fund, Ascension Ventures, which manages more than $800 million, and an investment advisory fund, Ascension Investment Management, which is responsible for $38.7 billion in corporate money.
The health system, which has been fined nearly $70 million for various regulatory violations over the past decade, received more than $400 million in federal funding in May. Genesys itself received more than $20 million. The funding, like all federal stimulus so far, comes with no stipulations regarding employee treatment.
Ascension Health did not respond to a request for comment.
These kinds of complaints can be seen across the industry. At publicly-traded HCA Healthcare, one of the wealthiest hospital chains in the country, complaints are, in some cases, nearly identical to those lodged against Ascension: N95 masks locked away by management, a total lack of protective equipment for housekeepers and food service workers, and prohibitions on mask-wearing. One complaint even alleged that nurses were directed to clean their masks with household cleaning wipes, return them to a bag, and then reuse those masks. In total, workers in the HCA network lodged at least 35 complaints, almost twice as many as Ascension received.
HCA paid its CEO more than $26 million in 2019 and has made more than $7 billion over the past two years. The chain received $1 billion in federal pandemic aid, also without stipulation. Weeks later, nurses at HCA claimed the company threatened them with mass firings unless they agreed to wage freezes.
These OSHA complaints are just a few of the thousands filed, all of which show how so-called essential workers have been treated as disposable. There are more than 3 million Covid-19 cases in the United States, but many essential workers are already losing meager hazard pay raises. As of April, at least 135,000 health care practitioners who work in hospitals had lost their jobs, including many nurses.
It’s a racial justice issue as well. In New York City, 75% percent of frontline workers are people of color. And Adia Harvey Wingfield, a sociologist studying Black healthcare workers, found that those workers are more likely to work at hospitals in the same impoverished Black communities that have been devastated by the coronavirus.
Both the pandemic and the protests sweeping the nation in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd carry the same lesson: our brutal status quo has long been untenable for many Americans, particularly the poor and non-white.
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.
Originally published at In These Times.


truthout--2020-07-21--As Campuses Cut Ties to Police, Sociology Departments Must Do the Same

After beginning my Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Minnesota in 2011 , it didn ’ t take long to realize that the department does more than produce knowledge — it also produces police .
And my discipline is good at its job .
So good , in fact , that Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng , two of the officers implicated in George Floyd ’ s murder , graduated from the university ’ s Department of Sociology .
As a recent alum of the department , I was troubled by its attempt to silence internal dissent by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media inquiries to the College of Liberal Arts .
In a moment when protest and outcry is not only warranted , but necessary , silencing students is another example of sociology reproducing the problems it claims to study .
Now is not the time for silence .
Now is the time for sociology to reckon with its role — and our role as students of sociology — in the production of a criminal legal system subsidized by Black captivity , dispossession , debt and death .
An inside joke among sociologists is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world .
What , then , is the purpose of learning about a system that needs not to be saved , but dismantled ?
You see , I am not a police apologist .
I am a police and prison abolitionist .
I want to live in a world without police , prisons , migrant jails and other destructive systems that have caused irreparable harm to my family and so many others .
Any academic attempt to distinguish between “ good policing ” and “ bad policing ” or “ overpolicing ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not just theoretically possible , but legitimate .
As a consequence , we must wrestle with our complicity in a system that is , rightly , being called out in this moment .
The University of Minnesota has already committed to cutting ties with the Minneapolis Police Department .
Now it and other sociology programs around the country must take the next step by canceling carceral curricula .
Gone are the days when criminologists can claim “ second-class citizen ” status within sociology .
According to an American Sociological Association report , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by employers for both tenure-track and non-tenure-track jobs in 2019 .
Courses like “ Deviant Behavior , ” “ Criminal Behavior and Social Control , ” “ Terrorist Networks and Counterterror Organizations ” and “ Juvenile Delinquency ” not only legitimize state violence , but also employ academics .
As sociologists , we encourage our students to exercise their sociological imaginations to make the mundane matter and reveal what is hidden in plain sight .
Seldom do we ask , however , how sociology , as a discipline , remains complicit hiding what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fail to consider how “ deviance , ” “ delinquency , ” “ criminal ” and “ terrorist ” still conjure up racialized images that cops , Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and white vigilantes used to attempt to justify the killing of people of color .
Sociology faculty have profited off of Black people ’ s pain for far too long .
Within our field , careers are established on investigating lackluster “ reform ” measures that amount to tinkering with a fundamentally flawed system .
Critiques of policing , jails and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power , while denying any possible alternatives to systems of “ crime and punishment.
” It is not enough to study “ felon disenfranchisement ” and advocate for voting rights among prisoners when liberation and abolition are never on the ballot .
Sociology must come to terms with its role as a key architect of the university-to-police academy pipeline .
Criminologists and sociologists build this destructive infrastructure hoping to have something to read , write and teach about .
In fact , until the recent uprisings , the Department of Sociology at Minnesota @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policing minor .
However , the department is far from the only institution implicated .
Rather , what ’ s happening is symptomatic of a more pervasive problem in the discipline and in higher education more generally .
Sociologists can no longer make a living off of life-taking systems .
As demands to defund the police grow , there must be parallel calls to defund sociology departments invested in the production of police and greater state power .
The sociology department at Minnesota should not struggle alone with this problem .
All sociologists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ sociological imaginations and make the familiar ( i.e .
the criminal legal system ) strange .
When I taught “ American Race Relations ” in the fall 2018 at the University of Minnesota , I knew I could not in good conscience become another assembly line worker in the cop shop that is sociology .
Hence , the course syllabus included both learning and unlearning objectives .
First , we ( un ) learned that “ race relations ” is predicated on assimilationist ideals of biological racism , a euphemism for racialized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racism to individual attitudes .
As an expression of their reservations over a misleading title , my students organized a successful campaign by petitioning the department to change the course name .
I went on to provide a counter-narrative to the department ’ s “ Law , Crime and Deviance ” track by assigning Andrea Ritchie ’ s book , Invisible No More .
The text lays bare the incommensurable levels of violence against Black women , Indigenous women and women of color by local , state and federal authorities .
We learned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but standard operating procedure , making “ police brutality ” redundant and “ police-community relations ” absurd .
The graphic scene of Derek Chauvin using his knee to casually press the life out of George Floyd makes this exceptionally clear .
In the class I instructed , we also learned how sociologists and law enforcement cooperate to turn survival strategies into “ criminal activity.
” The transmutation of “ sex work ” into “ crime , ” for example , is a product of both state and intellectual anxieties over “ sexual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scholars who pathologize sex workers in the classroom grant the state license to mete out gratuitous violence in the streets .
Though most sociologists are not medical doctors , a select few remain poised to diagnose crime as an infection spreading throughout poor , urbanized space .
For example , broken windows theory works to not only construct “ crime , ” but also “ criminals.
” But “ crime ” and “ disorder ” must first be constructed before they are studied , and any talk of “ crime prevention ” is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anomalous .
Within every absence is a presence .
The absence of police and prisons gives us greater opportunities to implement new ways to keep each other safe .
Healing through harm is not sustainable , but healing through abolition is .
Abolition is not simply the absence of oppressive systems , but the presence of new ways of addressing harm such as transformative justice models , including mutual aid , healing justice collectives , and survivor support and accountability pods .
Organizers , activists , and scholars in the Twin Cities and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systems , proving that a world without police is possible .
Sociologists need not feel threatened by the prospects of a police-free world .
The likelihood that the end of policing may put some sociologists out of a job is real .
But if linking “ crime , ” “ pathology ” and “ social disorganization ” to Black life is not grounds for termination , I ’ m not sure what is .
We must halt all police production lines in sociology departments immediately .
Criminologists and others who expect their students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transformative approaches to do so , must search for a new line of work .
Many sociologists work without any end in sight , while abolitionists treat endings as opportunities for new beginnings .
For many of us , the end of policing is both near and clear .
It ’ s now time for sociology to catch up .
When I received my final course evaluations for “ American Race Relations , ” I expected a number of negative reviews , given how triggering abolition is to students aspiring to become cops @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So you can imagine how surprised I was when a student said they entered the class intending to become a police officer , but decided not to after learning about the terror police unleash on Black people every day .
Maybe sociology can save lives after all .

Part of the Series The Road to Abolition
After beginning my Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Minnesota in 2011, it didn’t take long to realize that the department does more than produce knowledge — it also produces police. And my discipline is good at its job. So good, in fact, that Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, two of the officers implicated in George Floyd’s murder, graduated from the university’s Department of Sociology. As a recent alum of the department, I was troubled by its attempt to silence internal dissent by urging current graduate students to direct any media inquiries to the College of Liberal Arts. In a moment when protest and outcry is not only warranted, but necessary, silencing students is another example of sociology reproducing the problems it claims to study.
Now is not the time for silence. Now is the time for sociology to reckon with its role — and our role as students of sociology — in the production of a criminal legal system subsidized by Black captivity, dispossession, debt and death.
An inside joke among sociologists is that we enter the field hoping to save the world. What, then, is the purpose of learning about a system that needs not to be saved, but dismantled? You see, I am not a police apologist. I am a police and prison abolitionist. I want to live in a world without police, prisons, migrant jails and other destructive systems that have caused irreparable harm to my family and so many others. Any academic attempt to distinguish between “good policing” and “bad policing” or “overpolicing” and “underpolicing” makes policing itself not just theoretically possible, but legitimate. As a consequence, we must wrestle with our complicity in a system that is, rightly, being called out in this moment. The University of Minnesota has already committed to cutting ties with the Minneapolis Police Department. Now it and other sociology programs around the country must take the next step by canceling carceral curricula.
Gone are the days when criminologists can claim “second-class citizen” status within sociology. According to an American Sociological Association report, “criminology/delinquency” was the highest-ranked specialization sought by employers for both tenure-track and non-tenure-track jobs in 2019. Courses like “Deviant Behavior,” “Criminal Behavior and Social Control,” “Terrorist Networks and Counterterror Organizations” and “Juvenile Delinquency” not only legitimize state violence, but also employ academics.
As sociologists, we encourage our students to exercise their sociological imaginations to make the mundane matter and reveal what is hidden in plain sight. Seldom do we ask, however, how sociology, as a discipline, remains complicit hiding what is hidden. For example, sociologists fail to consider how “deviance,” “delinquency,” “criminal” and “terrorist” still conjure up racialized images that cops, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and white vigilantes used to attempt to justify the killing of people of color. Sociology faculty have profited off of Black people’s pain for far too long. Within our field, careers are established on investigating lackluster “reform” measures that amount to tinkering with a fundamentally flawed system. Critiques of policing, jails and prisons end up reifying and expanding state power, while denying any possible alternatives to systems of “crime and punishment.” It is not enough to study “felon disenfranchisement” and advocate for voting rights among prisoners when liberation and abolition are never on the ballot.
Sociology must come to terms with its role as a key architect of the university-to-police academy pipeline. Criminologists and sociologists build this destructive infrastructure hoping to have something to read, write and teach about. In fact, until the recent uprisings, the Department of Sociology at Minnesota was in the process of developing a policing minor. However, the department is far from the only institution implicated. Rather, what’s happening is symptomatic of a more pervasive problem in the discipline and in higher education more generally. Sociologists can no longer make a living off of life-taking systems. As demands to defund the police grow, there must be parallel calls to defund sociology departments invested in the production of police and greater state power. The sociology department at Minnesota should not struggle alone with this problem. All sociologists must find creative ways to spark students’ sociological imaginations and make the familiar (i.e. the criminal legal system) strange.
Within our field, careers are established on investigating lackluster “reform” measures that amount to tinkering with a fundamentally flawed system.
When I taught “American Race Relations” in the fall 2018 at the University of Minnesota, I knew I could not in good conscience become another assembly line worker in the cop shop that is sociology. Hence, the course syllabus included both learning and unlearning objectives. First, we (un)learned that “race relations” is predicated on assimilationist ideals of biological racism, a euphemism for racialized violence, and a concept that reduces racism to individual attitudes. As an expression of their reservations over a misleading title, my students organized a successful campaign by petitioning the department to change the course name. I went on to provide a counter-narrative to the department’s “Law, Crime and Deviance” track by assigning Andrea Ritchie’s book, Invisible No More. The text lays bare the incommensurable levels of violence against Black women, Indigenous women and women of color by local, state and federal authorities. We learned that violence is not anomalous to policing, but standard operating procedure, making “police brutality” redundant and “police-community relations” absurd. The graphic scene of Derek Chauvin using his knee to casually press the life out of George Floyd makes this exceptionally clear.
In the class I instructed, we also learned how sociologists and law enforcement cooperate to turn survival strategies into “criminal activity.” The transmutation of “sex work” into “crime,” for example, is a product of both state and intellectual anxieties over “sexual deviance” and “sexual deviants.” Scholars who pathologize sex workers in the classroom grant the state license to mete out gratuitous violence in the streets. Though most sociologists are not medical doctors, a select few remain poised to diagnose crime as an infection spreading throughout poor, urbanized space. For example, broken windows theory works to not only construct “crime,” but also “criminals.” But “crime” and “disorder” must first be constructed before they are studied, and any talk of “crime prevention” is meaningless if “crime construction” remains anomalous.
Within every absence is a presence. The absence of police and prisons gives us greater opportunities to implement new ways to keep each other safe. Healing through harm is not sustainable, but healing through abolition is. Abolition is not simply the absence of oppressive systems, but the presence of new ways of addressing harm such as transformative justice models, including mutual aid, healing justice collectives, and survivor support and accountability pods. Organizers, activists, and scholars in the Twin Cities and around the globe already rely on these systems, proving that a world without police is possible.
Criminologists and others who expect their students to save the world, while opposing transformative approaches to do so, must search for a new line of work.
Sociologists need not feel threatened by the prospects of a police-free world. The likelihood that the end of policing may put some sociologists out of a job is real. But if linking “crime,” “pathology” and “social disorganization” to Black life is not grounds for termination, I’m not sure what is. We must halt all police production lines in sociology departments immediately. Criminologists and others who expect their students to save the world, while opposing transformative approaches to do so, must search for a new line of work. Many sociologists work without any end in sight, while abolitionists treat endings as opportunities for new beginnings. For many of us, the end of policing is both near and clear. It’s now time for sociology to catch up.
When I received my final course evaluations for “American Race Relations,” I expected a number of negative reviews, given how triggering abolition is to students aspiring to become cops or with personal ties to law enforcement. So you can imagine how surprised I was when a student said they entered the class intending to become a police officer, but decided not to after learning about the terror police unleash on Black people every day.
Maybe sociology can save lives after all.
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--2020-07-22--Philadelphia DA Says Trump’s Police Will Be Arrested If They Assault Protesters

As President Donald Trump defends his questionable use of federal agents to arrest and detain protesters in Portland , Oregon , in recent weeks , suggesting also that such actions could happen in other places across the country , one district attorney of a city Trump said might be next said he ’ d take direct action against any federal officers that unlawfully detained individuals .
Trump appeared to cite partisan politics on Monday as part of the reason he felt the need to take action against certain cities , telling reporters that beyond Portland , New York , Chicago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal law enforcement confront Black Lives Matter protesters in those cities .
“ All run by very liberal Democrats .
All run , really , by the radical left , ” Trump said in his comments .
He also called those cities “ worse than Afghanistan ” while stating his rationale for sending federal agents to them .
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner explained in a statement earlier this week that he would not allow such efforts to happen in his city , mentioning his family members ’ past actions against authoritarian threats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking such a strong stand against the president .
“ My dad volunteered and served in World War II to fight fascism , like most of my uncles , so we would not have an American president brutalizing and kidnapping Americans for exercising their constitutional rights and trying to make America a better place , which is what patriots do , ” Krasner said .
“ Anyone , including federal law enforcement , who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges from my office.
” On Wednesday , Krasner reiterated what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , tweeting out that his office “ will not make excuses for crimes committed by law enforcement that demean the democratic freedoms so many Americans have fought and died to preserve.
” Several legal experts have spoken out against the president ’ s use of federal law enforcement in Portland , as well as his threats to use those same officers in other cities across the country , as likely overstepping his bounds and powers as commander-in-chief .
While the president may have some ability to deploy officers in certain cases , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do so .
“ The president is not the king .
The president does not have the ability to require states to enforce their laws in a certain way , or to elbow aside their law enforcement abilities , ” Boston College law professor Kent Greenfield said to Reuters .
Elizabeth Goitein with the Brennan Center for Justice expressed similar sentiments on social media .
Agents are “ arresting people without probable cause ( far from any federal property ) and deliberately creating no records of the arrest so they can deny it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter .
Goitein went further in a second tweet , stating that the use of “ a secret federal paramilitary force ” in U.S. cities “ is every bit the abuse of power that it appears to be .
”

As President Donald Trump defends his questionable use of federal agents to arrest and detain protesters in Portland, Oregon, in recent weeks, suggesting also that such actions could happen in other places across the country, one district attorney of a city Trump said might be next said he’d take direct action against any federal officers that unlawfully detained individuals.
Trump appeared to cite partisan politics on Monday as part of the reason he felt the need to take action against certain cities, telling reporters that beyond Portland, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia could be next to see federal law enforcement confront Black Lives Matter protesters in those cities.
“All run by very liberal Democrats. All run, really, by the radical left,” Trump said in his comments. He also called those cities “worse than Afghanistan” while stating his rationale for sending federal agents to them.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner explained in a statement earlier this week that he would not allow such efforts to happen in his city, mentioning his family members’ past actions against authoritarian threats as part of the basis for him taking such a strong stand against the president.
“My dad volunteered and served in World War II to fight fascism, like most of my uncles, so we would not have an American president brutalizing and kidnapping Americans for exercising their constitutional rights and trying to make America a better place, which is what patriots do,” Krasner said. “Anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges from my office.”
On Wednesday, Krasner reiterated what he had said earlier in the week, tweeting out that his office “will not make excuses for crimes committed by law enforcement that demean the democratic freedoms so many Americans have fought and died to preserve.”
The @philadao will not make excuses for crimes committed by law enforcement that demean the democratic freedoms so many Americans have fought and died to preserve:https://t.co/MABYyzoBec — DA Larry Krasner (@DA_LarryKrasner) July 22, 2020
Several legal experts have spoken out against the president’s use of federal law enforcement in Portland, as well as his threats to use those same officers in other cities across the country, as likely overstepping his bounds and powers as commander-in-chief. While the president may have some ability to deploy officers in certain cases, he doesn’t have total authority to do so.
“The president is not the king. The president does not have the ability to require states to enforce their laws in a certain way, or to elbow aside their law enforcement abilities,” Boston College law professor Kent Greenfield said to Reuters.
Elizabeth Goitein with the Brennan Center for Justice expressed similar sentiments on social media.
Agents are “arresting people without probable cause (far from any federal property) and deliberately creating no records of the arrest so they can deny it ever happened,” she wrote on Twitter.
Goitein went further in a second tweet, stating that the use of “a secret federal paramilitary force” in U.S. cities “is every bit the abuse of power that it appears to be.”
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--2020-07-22--COVID Deaths Quintuple for Older Latinx Workers Keeping California Going

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations across the United States , the Latinx community has been hit especially hard in places like California , where many Latinx workers fill essential jobs as farmworkers and meatpackers .
“ Latino and people of color basically do the scut work that keep the state going , its economy going , but get very little of the resources , ” says Dr. David Hayes-Bautista , director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA .
His recent study shows Latinx @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 64 have died at more than five times the rate of white people of the same age .
This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
As states like California see a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations — in fact , California has just surpassed New York in number of cases , though it has a quarter of the deaths of New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard hit .
A new report shows Latinx Californians between the ages of 50 and 64 have died at more than five times the rate of white people of the same age .
The report from UCLA , the University of California , Los Angeles , links the trend to the fact that Latinx workers make up the bulk of agricultural workers , who are high-risk essential workers .
In a Frontline PBS documentary called COVID ’ s Hidden Toll that aired Tuesday night , farmworker Sinthia Hernandez describes how she has both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a higher risk for complications if she were to contract COVID-19 , and that the contractor she works for requires her to bring her own mask .
AMY GOODMAN : Likewise , a report from the Centers for Disease Control found 87 % of workers infected on the job at meat processing plants are people of color .
Because of the surge of cases in Los Angeles , it may soon face a second stay-at-home order .
This comes as a Los Angeles Apparel factory that employs mostly Latinx workers to produce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health inspectors found , quote , “ flagrant violations ” of infection control orders .
More than 300 workers at that one factory tested positive for COVID ; four died .
The company is run by Dov Charney , former CEO of American Apparel , who was ousted amidst allegations of misusing funds and allowing sexual harassment .
Workers said the company failed to clearly inform them when people got sick , or enforce social distancing .
For more , we ’ re joined by Dr. David Hayes-Bautista , distinguished professor of medicine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Study of Latino Health and Culture at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA .
It ’ s great to have you with this , Dr. Hayes-Bautista .
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA : It ’ s great to be here .
Great to be here .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you start off by talking about L.A. Apparel , 300 workers found positive , four died , at least , at this point ?
What do you know about that ?
And then move on to farmworkers .
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA : Well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ related , because these are structural situations .
What we ’ ve noticed is that as soon as the state was locked down the first time , early in March , people were told to work from home , take their children out of school — the children would do their lessons at home — and to leave the house only to buy groceries or the bare necessities .
Well , what we discovered , about a month and a half in , is that the essential workers are not only just the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way , are trained to go into dangerous situations .
They have personal protective equipment .
They ’ re trained to use it .
The question was just getting enough to them .
But other workers were also as essential in order for the higher-income families to shelter in place , starting with the farmworkers , who , of course , can not plant strawberries from home .
They have to go out on the job .
They ’ re working in large crews .
They ’ re transported on buses .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ And as we look at the chain of food — the truck drivers , the packing house workers , the slaughterhouse workers , the grocery store shelf stockers , the grocery store checkout clerks — for Pete ’ s sake , a checkout clerk would have possibly a couple of hundred people pass within an arm ’ s length of the checkout stand , and for two months they were not even offered personal protective equipment .
Now we ’ re seeing this in a more industrial , such as in the apparel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a long time we ’ ve had costureras working at the bottom , if you will , of the economic chain , paid very little , rarely offered health insurance , rarely offered any education about what ’ s going on .
And now we ’ re seeing the effects of all of this .
So , what we see at a large scale is that Latino and people of color basically do the scut work that keep the state going , its economy going , but get very little of the resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health insurance , very little access to care .
And this particular pandemic is now exposing these inequities .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Dr. Hayes-Bautista , in terms of the — given that the Latino population of the United States is significantly younger than either the white population or the African American population , and that this disease especially hits hard in terms of fatality at the elderly , you would expect much lower death rates among Latinos , just because so much of the population is young .
Yet you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , at least especially in the 50-to-65 age range , this enormous disparity in terms of deaths among Latinos .
How much of that do you sense is actually as a result of the working conditions that they ’ re being subjected to , or how much of it is part of the underlying health conditions , whether it ’ s diabetes or hypertension or other health conditions that many Latinos face ?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA : Older populations always have higher death rates for almost anything compared to younger populations .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , younger Latinos have a lower death rate than older Latinos ; however , when we look at younger Latinos and younger non-Hispanic whites , the Latinos have about four to five times the death rate of whites .
So , clearly , something is not working even within that younger population .
And again , this has a lot to do with both working and living conditions .
We ’ ve outlined some of them .
Let me just go into more detail .
Latinos , even after Obamacare , consistently are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insurance .
Latinos , for a number of reasons , are faced with a huge doctor shortage , much less being able to find doctors that speak Spanish .
And by the way , medical services have been provided in Spanish in California for 251 years .
So this is not like this is suddenly a new problem we ’ ve discovered .
This has been a problem ever since 1848 .
So , if you remember the early days of the pandemic , Hollywood was able to get access to tests almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immediately .
Those who had access to what ’ s called boutique medicine got their tests immediately .
Well , some of these tests can cost up to $ 2,000 , depending on where you ’ re getting them .
If you don ’ t have health insurance and you hear that a test can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars , you don ’ t have access to medical services , or particularly one that you can communicate with , this creates a problem .
And early in the pandemic , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advisory note — in Spanish , God bless them — and it said , if you have the symptoms , you have a high temperature or you have a dry cough , habla con tu médico , pronto , talk to your doctor now .
But what if you don ’ t have a doctor , you don ’ t know how to pay a doctor ?
So , many people were not able to .
Thus they continued to work without the personal protective equipment .
They were exposed to the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were able to shelter at home .
And , not surprisingly , we started to see the case rates mount , particularly after about six weeks into the coronavirus pandemic .
And now it ’ s progressing to full-blown cases of COVID disease , and , of course , now the mortality .
So , that ’ s the working part .
But then there ’ s the domestic part .
Housing is expensive in California .
There ’ s no question about it .
And Latinos occupy those positions , occupations and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , don ’ t provide them health insurance usually .
So , in order to live , Latinos tend to have more people per household .
And this has been a classic pattern .
So you ’ ll also have more multigenerational households .
So , it could be that , yes , the kids are no longer in school , they ’ re at the house , you have the abuelos , you have the grandparents .
But you also tend to have , because of low wages and high costs of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , the adults , more of them , are going out to work , because they just need to , because it ’ s hard to live here , which means even though the rest of the household may be sheltering , they are going out and being exposed to coronavirus and bringing it back into the household .
So now we ’ re seeing the result of all of these issues compounded .
The Latino physician shortage is so great in California that the rate at which all the California medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take 500 years to make up the shortage for the year 2015 .
So , I can imagine , here ’ s Señora Gómez .
She ’ s feeling , “ I ’ ve got a high temperature .
I ’ ve got a dry cough .
I need to go see the doctor.
” “ Oh , come in , Señora Gómez .
Oh , you have the symptoms ?
Take a seat , and the doctor will see you in 500 years.
” That ’ s why we have a problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to the issue of the meatpackers .
For example , the JBS beef plant in Greeley , Colorado , the site of the deadliest workplace COVID-19 outbreak in Colorado , where at least 286 workers tested positive for COVID-19 , and six died .
The United Food and Commercial Workers put up two billboards in Greeley to remember those who died .
This week , JBS agreed to a $ 1.85-an-hour wage increase , after many of the workers walked off the job earlier this month .
UFCW Local 7 responded by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , end what it called its “ work while sick culture.
” That ’ s one company in one state .
President Trump tried to prevent meatpacking plants from being closed .
And you have , throughout states , thousands and thousands and thousands of meatpackers being infected with COVID-19 , many dying .
Can you talk about this , Dr. Hayes-Bautista ?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA : Well , yes , not only meatpacker , any production where you have to have a lot of workers standing in close contact , either with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can say the same thing with grocery store checkout clerks — without providing them the education , without providing the personal protective equipment , without providing them with health insurance or sufficient wages so that they could buy health insurance , this is all a recipe for a quick spread of the coronavirus .
And we ’ re seeing it play out .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Doctor , I wanted to ask you — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , every other word out of his mouth the last few weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to address the pandemic must include ending of — removal of liability for employers , in terms of their workers getting sick .
Given the reality that OSHA , the federal agency in charge of workplace safety , is virtually nonexistent these days in terms of what it does , do you think that it ’ s advisable for the Democrats to agree to remove liability from employers if they ’ re not properly protecting their workers ?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA : Well , not only is it not advisable , but , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act , the COVID relief act , specifically excluded any household in which at least one member was a noncitizen .
Now , we ’ re not talking about undocumented ; we ’ re talking about noncitizens .
So , you have a green card holder who ’ s maybe been here 20 , 30 years , has not yet taken that last step to naturalize , the whole household was penalized .
They got none of the benefits that everyone was worried that are expiring for everybody else .
Latino businesses got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So here we have a population that gets very little from the sources of support , and yet now even the legal route is being closed off , if in fact their employers are held not liable .
And I ’ m wondering how many of these employers , by the way , even bother to offer health insurance , and usually such employers do not .
So , it ’ s putting this entire population at risk .
Nonetheless , and let me hasten to point out , the 60 million Latinos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago , created the world ’ s eighth-largest economy — $ 2.3 trillion .
And that ’ s with all these obstacles , all these barriers , all the name-calling .
Just think if we actually invested the way we invested in the rest of the country .
AMY GOODMAN : So , Dr. David Hayes-Bautista , your state , California , has exceeded our state , surpassed New York , in number of COVID infections .
Of course , we don ’ t really know the number of COVID infections anywhere in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a far underestimate .
CDC thinks it ’ s something like 24 times higher .
But can you explain what ’ s going on , also what ’ s happening on the border with people who are living on the border ?
You talked — mentioned undocumented , but what about actually undocumented people in this country having access to healthcare , and the fact that the Trump administration has not made use of $ 7 billion to $ 8 billion that were allocated by Congress for testing , for masks , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of all of these things right now , and how that particularly affects the Latinx community ?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA : This is a case in point .
If you remember the first days of the lockdown across the country , in early March , mid-March , early April , and people ran to the grocery stores , and there was a run on certain products , such as , remember , paper towels and toilet paper , and people were fighting in the aisles over bales of paper towels and toilet paper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the farm labor workforce is Latino .
It ’ s 100 % immigrant , and probably 60 to 80 % undocumented .
Now , what ’ s interesting is that , early on , these farmworkers were considered essential employees .
In fact , they were given letters that would allow them to actually travel to work without being stopped .
And yet , they could also be deported at any moment .
So , between the deportations , between COVID and everything else , if these farmworkers are not allowed at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to grow the food ?
And we thought we were fighting over paper towels and toilet paper ?
Suppose we ’ re fighting over the last sack of potatoes in the store .
That could happen if this labor force were not here .
Yet we criminalize it .
We put obstacles for access to care .
And then we wonder if we ’ re going to have a food shortage .
AMY GOODMAN : Language barriers , Dr. David Hayes-Bautista , when it comes to getting information about COVID-19 ?
DR. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ providing — in fact , we had the first smallpox vaccination campaign in 1803 in California in Spanish .
We were part of Spain at the time .
Medical services have been provided in California in Spanish for 251 years .
We came into the United States as a bilingual state .
Spanish was one of the official languages .
And yet Latinos are least likely to find a physician who speaks Spanish .
The shortage is tremendous .
But it ’ s not because this is a new issue .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 160 years is chosen to turn our back on this population , not allow it access to the investments we were making in other populations either for education or healthcare , then wonder why there ’ s an issue .
AMY GOODMAN : Dr. David Hayes-Bautista , I want to thank you so much for being with us , distinguished professor of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the UCLA medical school .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
Stay @ @

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations across the United States, the Latinx community has been hit especially hard in places like California, where many Latinx workers fill essential jobs as farmworkers and meatpackers. “Latino and people of color basically do the scut work that keep the state going, its economy going, but get very little of the resources,” says Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His recent study shows Latinx Californians between the ages of 50 and 64 have died at more than five times the rate of white people of the same age.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. As states like California see a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations — in fact, California has just surpassed New York in number of cases, though it has a quarter of the deaths of New York — the Latinx community has been especially hard hit.
A new report shows Latinx Californians between the ages of 50 and 64 have died at more than five times the rate of white people of the same age. The report from UCLA, the University of California, Los Angeles, links the trend to the fact that Latinx workers make up the bulk of agricultural workers, who are high-risk essential workers.
In a Frontline PBS documentary called COVID’s Hidden Toll that aired Tuesday night, farmworker Sinthia Hernandez describes how she has both cancer and diabetes, which put her at a higher risk for complications if she were to contract COVID-19, and that the contractor she works for requires her to bring her own mask.
SINTHIA HERNANDEZ: [translated] All us farmworkers are making a big sacrifice out of necessity for hunger, to be able to feed our families and to have a place to live. … Those of us who are working have so much debt and bills to pay that the money sometimes isn’t even enough to buy one mask, because each mask costs $3 or $4 at the store. And it’s disposable.
AMY GOODMAN: Likewise, a report from the Centers for Disease Control found 87% of workers infected on the job at meat processing plants are people of color.
Because of the surge of cases in Los Angeles, it may soon face a second stay-at-home order. This comes as a Los Angeles Apparel factory that employs mostly Latinx workers to produce face masks has been shut down after health inspectors found, quote, “flagrant violations” of infection control orders. More than 300 workers at that one factory tested positive for COVID; four died. The company is run by Dov Charney, former CEO of American Apparel, who was ousted amidst allegations of misusing funds and allowing sexual harassment. Workers said the company failed to clearly inform them when people got sick, or enforce social distancing.
For more, we’re joined by Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, distinguished professor of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
It’s great to have you with this, Dr. Hayes-Bautista.
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA: It’s great to be here. Great to be here.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you start off by talking about L.A. Apparel, 300 workers found positive, four died, at least, at this point? What do you know about that? And then move on to farmworkers.
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA: Well, actually, both of them are related, because these are structural situations. What we’ve noticed is that as soon as the state was locked down the first time, early in March, people were told to work from home, take their children out of school — the children would do their lessons at home — and to leave the house only to buy groceries or the bare necessities. Well, what we discovered, about a month and a half in, is that the essential workers are not only just the nurses and physicians, who, by the way, are trained to go into dangerous situations. They have personal protective equipment. They’re trained to use it. The question was just getting enough to them. But other workers were also as essential in order for the higher-income families to shelter in place, starting with the farmworkers, who, of course, cannot plant strawberries from home. They have to go out on the job. They’re working in large crews. They’re transported on buses. Some of them sleep in barracks.
And as we look at the chain of food — the truck drivers, the packing house workers, the slaughterhouse workers, the grocery store shelf stockers, the grocery store checkout clerks — for Pete’s sake, a checkout clerk would have possibly a couple of hundred people pass within an arm’s length of the checkout stand, and for two months they were not even offered personal protective equipment. Now we’re seeing this in a more industrial, such as in the apparel companies, where, again, for a long time we’ve had costureras working at the bottom, if you will, of the economic chain, paid very little, rarely offered health insurance, rarely offered any education about what’s going on. And now we’re seeing the effects of all of this. So, what we see at a large scale is that Latino and people of color basically do the scut work that keep the state going, its economy going, but get very little of the resources, very little pay, very little health insurance, very little access to care. And this particular pandemic is now exposing these inequities.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Dr. Hayes-Bautista, in terms of the — given that the Latino population of the United States is significantly younger than either the white population or the African American population, and that this disease especially hits hard in terms of fatality at the elderly, you would expect much lower death rates among Latinos, just because so much of the population is young. Yet you’re seeing — you’re finding, at least especially in the 50-to-65 age range, this enormous disparity in terms of deaths among Latinos. How much of that do you sense is actually as a result of the working conditions that they’re being subjected to, or how much of it is part of the underlying health conditions, whether it’s diabetes or hypertension or other health conditions that many Latinos face?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA: Older populations always have higher death rates for almost anything compared to younger populations. But what’s important here, yes, younger Latinos have a lower death rate than older Latinos; however, when we look at younger Latinos and younger non-Hispanic whites, the Latinos have about four to five times the death rate of whites. So, clearly, something is not working even within that younger population. And again, this has a lot to do with both working and living conditions. We’ve outlined some of them. Let me just go into more detail.
Latinos, even after Obamacare, consistently are twice as likely not to have health insurance. Latinos, for a number of reasons, are faced with a huge doctor shortage, much less being able to find doctors that speak Spanish. And by the way, medical services have been provided in Spanish in California for 251 years. So this is not like this is suddenly a new problem we’ve discovered. This has been a problem ever since 1848.
So, if you remember the early days of the pandemic, Hollywood was able to get access to tests almost immediately. The Lakers got their tests immediately. Those who had access to what’s called boutique medicine got their tests immediately. Well, some of these tests can cost up to $2,000, depending on where you’re getting them. If you don’t have health insurance and you hear that a test can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, you don’t have access to medical services, or particularly one that you can communicate with, this creates a problem.
And early in the pandemic, the California Department of Health sent out an advisory note — in Spanish, God bless them — and it said, if you have the symptoms, you have a high temperature or you have a dry cough, habla con tu médico, pronto, talk to your doctor now. But what if you don’t have a doctor, you don’t know how to pay a doctor? So, many people were not able to. Thus they continued to work without the personal protective equipment. They were exposed to the coronavirus at much higher rates than people that were able to shelter at home. And, not surprisingly, we started to see the case rates mount, particularly after about six weeks into the coronavirus pandemic. And now it’s progressing to full-blown cases of COVID disease, and, of course, now the mortality. So, that’s the working part.
But then there’s the domestic part. Housing is expensive in California. There’s no question about it. And Latinos occupy those positions, occupations and industries that pay very, very little, don’t provide them health insurance usually. So, in order to live, Latinos tend to have more people per household. And this has been a classic pattern. So you’ll also have more multigenerational households. So, it could be that, yes, the kids are no longer in school, they’re at the house, you have the abuelos, you have the grandparents. But you also tend to have, because of low wages and high costs of housing, more multiple-wage-earner households. That is, the adults, more of them, are going out to work, because they just need to, because it’s hard to live here, which means even though the rest of the household may be sheltering, they are going out and being exposed to coronavirus and bringing it back into the household. So now we’re seeing the result of all of these issues compounded.
The Latino physician shortage is so great in California that the rate at which all the California medical schools graduate Latino physicians, it will take 500 years to make up the shortage for the year 2015. So, I can imagine, here’s Señora Gómez. She’s feeling, “I’ve got a high temperature. I’ve got a dry cough. I need to go see the doctor.” “Oh, come in, Señora Gómez. Oh, you have the symptoms? Take a seat, and the doctor will see you in 500 years.” That’s why we have a problem.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go to the issue of the meatpackers. For example, the JBS beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, the site of the deadliest workplace COVID-19 outbreak in Colorado, where at least 286 workers tested positive for COVID-19, and six died. The United Food and Commercial Workers put up two billboards in Greeley to remember those who died. This week, JBS agreed to a $1.85-an-hour wage increase, after many of the workers walked off the job earlier this month. UFCW Local 7 responded by calling on JBS to improve safety measures, end what it called its “work while sick culture.” That’s one company in one state. President Trump tried to prevent meatpacking plants from being closed. And you have, throughout states, thousands and thousands and thousands of meatpackers being infected with COVID-19, many dying. Can you talk about this, Dr. Hayes-Bautista?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA: Well, yes, not only meatpacker, any production where you have to have a lot of workers standing in close contact, either with one another or with clients — we can say the same thing with grocery store checkout clerks — without providing them the education, without providing the personal protective equipment, without providing them with health insurance or sufficient wages so that they could buy health insurance, this is all a recipe for a quick spread of the coronavirus. And we’re seeing it play out.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Doctor, I wanted to ask you — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, every other word out of his mouth the last few weeks has been that a new congressional bill to address the pandemic must include ending of — removal of liability for employers, in terms of their workers getting sick. Given the reality that OSHA, the federal agency in charge of workplace safety, is virtually nonexistent these days in terms of what it does, do you think that it’s advisable for the Democrats to agree to remove liability from employers if they’re not properly protecting their workers?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA: Well, not only is it not advisable, but, if you remember, the first CARES Act, the COVID relief act, specifically excluded any household in which at least one member was a noncitizen. Now, we’re not talking about undocumented; we’re talking about noncitizens. So, you have a green card holder who’s maybe been here 20, 30 years, has not yet taken that last step to naturalize, the whole household was penalized. They got none of the benefits that everyone was worried that are expiring for everybody else. Latino businesses got very little of the business support.
So here we have a population that gets very little from the sources of support, and yet now even the legal route is being closed off, if in fact their employers are held not liable. And I’m wondering how many of these employers, by the way, even bother to offer health insurance, and usually such employers do not. So, it’s putting this entire population at risk. Nonetheless, and let me hasten to point out, the 60 million Latinos in the United States, two years ago, created the world’s eighth-largest economy — $2.3 trillion. And that’s with all these obstacles, all these barriers, all the name-calling. Just think if we actually invested the way we invested in the rest of the country.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, your state, California, has exceeded our state, surpassed New York, in number of COVID infections. Of course, we don’t really know the number of COVID infections anywhere in this country. It’s considered a far underestimate. CDC thinks it’s something like 24 times higher. But can you explain what’s going on, also what’s happening on the border with people who are living on the border? You talked — mentioned undocumented, but what about actually undocumented people in this country having access to healthcare, and the fact that the Trump administration has not made use of $7 billion to $8 billion that were allocated by Congress for testing, for masks, and you have this incredible, severe shortage of all of these things right now, and how that particularly affects the Latinx community?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA: This is a case in point. If you remember the first days of the lockdown across the country, in early March, mid-March, early April, and people ran to the grocery stores, and there was a run on certain products, such as, remember, paper towels and toilet paper, and people were fighting in the aisles over bales of paper towels and toilet paper — in California, 100% of the farm labor workforce is Latino. It’s 100% immigrant, and probably 60 to 80% undocumented. Now, what’s interesting is that, early on, these farmworkers were considered essential employees. In fact, they were given letters that would allow them to actually travel to work without being stopped. And yet, they could also be deported at any moment.
So, between the deportations, between COVID and everything else, if these farmworkers are not allowed at least the opportunity to live, who is going to grow the food? And we thought we were fighting over paper towels and toilet paper? Suppose we’re fighting over the last sack of potatoes in the store. That could happen if this labor force were not here. Yet we criminalize it. We put obstacles for access to care. And then we wonder if we’re going to have a food shortage.
AMY GOODMAN: Language barriers, Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, when it comes to getting information about COVID-19?
DR. DAVID HAYES–BAUTISTA: Medical services have been providing — in fact, we had the first smallpox vaccination campaign in 1803 in California in Spanish. We were part of Spain at the time. Medical services have been provided in California in Spanish for 251 years. We came into the United States as a bilingual state. Spanish was one of the official languages. And yet Latinos are least likely to find a physician who speaks Spanish. The shortage is tremendous.
But it’s not because this is a new issue. This is California. What we have done for 160 years is chosen to turn our back on this population, not allow it access to the investments we were making in other populations either for education or healthcare, then wonder why there’s an issue.
AMY GOODMAN: Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, I want to thank you so much for being with us, distinguished professor of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the UCLA medical school. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Stay safe.