thenation--2020-04-02--Seattle Destroyed Homeless Encampments as the Pandemic Raged

On the evening of March 15 , Austin Rusnak returned from a trip to the food bank to find that the shelter he had set up in Seattle ’ s Ballard neighborhood had been completely destroyed .
His tent had been dismantled and his belongings thrown away .
It wasn ’ t the first time the 46-year-old had been caught up in one of the City of Seattle ’ s sweeps of homeless encampments .
But it was the first time it had happened during a global pandemic .
According to at least one database , there could now be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Washington state , where the first-known case in the United States was diagnosed in late January ; The New York Times reports that 226 people there have died from the disease .
The Centers for Disease Control has recommended that people across the country should stay at home if possible and “ socially distance ” themselves from others .
However , for the more than 11,000 people who have no permanent housing in Seattle and surrounding King County , this task is exponentially more difficult : Many have to choose between shelters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live in potentially perilous but more isolated conditions outside .
On March 27 , five of Seattle ’ s largest shelters and services went into lockdown for at least 14 days , after an individual at one facility tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be hospitalized .
“ There isn ’ t enough room for all of us in the shelters , ” Rusnak told The Nation .
“ They push us all close together , and there are never enough beds .
I feel safest in my tent isolated from everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sick in there.
” But despite the lack of space in the city ’ s shelters , Seattle—led by Mayor Jenny Durkan—continued to sweep homeless encampments last month , even after saying it would put a halt to the practice .
During sweeps , city employees can destroy tents , throw away belongings the city doesn ’ t want or is unable to store , issue parking tickets or even impound vehicles that unhoused individuals use for shelter , and install hostile architecture that keeps people from coming back to sleep on benches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these policies effectively criminalize homelessness , depriving people of their basic needs and exposing them to the dangers of living without any shelter .
On February 29—the same day that the first Covid-19 death in King County was announced—Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency .
According to independent reporter Erica C. Barnett , even after Inslee ’ s announcement , the Seattle mayor ’ s office reported last month that the city had done 15 sweeps between March 1 and March 17 .
Direct service providers for Seattle ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city ’ s Human Services Department ( HSD ) —which manages the city ’ s homelessness services—had communicated during the week of March 9 that it was canceling all planned sweeps , and would not conduct them unless encampments were categorized as “ obstructions.
” However , on March 11 , the HSD ’ s so-called “ navigation team ” —which includes police officers , social workers , and other city employees—conducted a planned sweep of an encampment in a north Seattle natural area , contradicting those claims .
More sweeps were reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advocates on March 12 and 14 .
On March 19—the day when the World Health Organization reported that the United States had more than 10,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19—some residents of a Ballard encampment say they were visited by police , who threatened to displace them the following morning .
As the cost of Seattle housing has continued to rise , the number of unhoused people has increased nearly every year since 2012 , and the city ’ s shelter capacity has not kept up with demand .
At the same time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ living outside in autonomous and unauthorized shelters has become increasingly punitive .
The result is that Seattle ’ s unhoused community is now especially vulnerable to Covid-19 .
Those who lack permanent housing are being forced to choose between self-isolating in unsanctioned encampments and cars—or living in potentially overcrowded shelters .
The spaces that would normally provide refuge have now become exponentially more dangerous .
The Nation met Rusnak in Ballard a few days after his shelter was destroyed in the sweep last month .
His new shelter , in the same neighborhood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his dog , Princess .
He was forced to build it from spare tarp and poles .
“ Thank God I had nothing important in there , ” he said , of his previous tent .
“ I got smarter ever since they took everything from me two years ago.
” Rusnak has lived in Seattle since 1994 .
He has worked a variety of jobs , including at seafood processing companies , a car wash company , and a sausage factory , among others .
Despite these gigs , he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ afford the city ’ s high rents—a common issue in Seattle , where about one in five unhoused people are employed .
Rusnak has attempted to access emergency shelters all over the city , but has often found they were at capacity .
In December 2018 , he was staying in a tent shelter in the city .
A few days before Christmas , he stepped away from his home to run errands—and returned to find everything he owned gone : his only forms of shelter , Christmas presents for his children , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep personal importance .
“ They took everything .
My dog ’ s ashes , memories of my wife , and my tent , ” he said .
“ I walked around that night with nowhere to go and everything I cared about gone .
I wanted to kill myself.
” According to Zillow , the average monthly rent for an apartment in Seattle went from $ 1,893 in 2010 to $ 2,630 as of this January .
That drastic increase is tied to the city ’ s tech boom : Amazon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , moved its headquarters to downtown Seattle in 2010 .
Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 , the company had grown to more than 50,000 employees in the Seattle area alone .
Microsoft—headquartered in Redmond , Washington , a 20-minute drive from downtown Seattle—also has more than 50,000 employees in the area ; Google and Facebook each have local offices with over 4,500 and 5,000 employees , respectively .
By 2018 , Seattle ’ s median income had soared to over $ 90,000 a year—a more-than-50 percent increase from 2010 .
A statewide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of publicly owned affordable housing , and restrictive single-family zoning have also all contributed to the massive increase in the cost of housing .
These changes have only served to escalate racial wealth disparities and encourage gentrification of Seattle ’ s black and brown neighborhoods , and the housing crisis has disproportionately impacted Seattleites who are queer , trans , black , Indigenous , and Latinx , as well as those who are disabled and neuro-atypical .
A recent report found that nearly 40 percent of middle-income workers , such as hospital staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ housing in the city .
Now thousands more workers are losing their jobs as a result of the pandemic .
On March 26 , KOMO News reported that there had been an 843 percent increase in unemployment claims across the state the previous week .
Seattle first declared a state of emergency for its homelessness crisis in 2015 , setting aside an additional $ 5 million for services and shelters .
This year , the HSD ’ s budget for shelters , transitional housing , and other expenditures was increased to over $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the corporate consulting firm McKinsey & Company found that the fastest way to solve King County ’ s homelessness problem would be to build 15,700 affordable homes for those facing immediate lack of housing ; preventing even more working-class residents from dipping into potential homelessness would require up to 37,000 affordable homes .
Last month , socialist City Council member Kshama Sawant cited that report when she unveiled a proposal for a new payroll tax on Amazon and other big businesses that could raise $ 300 million a year , to be used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the city has largely pursued a punitive approach .
Public records indicate that Seattle and Washington state have spent millions of dollars on contracts for fencing alone , to prevent unhoused folks from camping under bridges and highway overpasses .
The budget for the navigation team has also increased every year since 2017 , ballooning to over $ 8 million for 2020 .
While the navigation team does conduct outreach to the unhoused community and issue referrals to shelter , its primary purpose is to sweep unsanctioned encampments and impound unhoused people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team ’ s 38 members are drawn from the Seattle Police Department .
Before conducting a planned encampment sweep , the navigation team is mandated to give residents at least 72 hours notice and offer referrals to shelter .
But if an encampment or vehicle is located in so-called “ emphasis zones ” —places where , the navigation team decides , an encampment has become a consistent problem—or categorized as a hazard , obstruction , or “ litter , ” the city is not required to give any notice , or do any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and whether a person ’ s belongings will be stored or destroyed is up to the discretion of the navigation team .
According to city records obtained via public disclosure requests , the navigation team gave encampment residents 72 hours notice before only 81—or 6.8 percent—of the 1,192 sweeps conducted in 2019 .
That ’ s a substantial decrease from the 202 sweeps , or nearly 40 percent , that gave 72 hours notice in 2018 .
This change seems to indicate that the navigation team is interpreting the rules for sweeps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allows them to displace homeless people faster and more frequently .
Despite consensus among unhoused people , advocates , direct service providers , and activists that sweeps are both counterproductive and harmful , the City has not only continued doing sweeps but has increased them substantially .
The City has used two different databases for logging sweeps over the past few years , making the numbers hard to track .
But the records show that the number of sweeps per year went from more than 500 in 2016 to nearly 1,200 in 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many grew even more frustrated that Seattle was continuing to sweep unhoused people .
Bevin McLeod , cofounder and board president of the health care advocacy group Alliance for a Healthy Washington , said that she noticed midday on March 14 that the navigation team had come to her neighborhood in north Seattle : They were there to sweep an elderly disabled couple living in their RV on the side of the road .
McLeod said that the RV was “ not in anybody ’ s way ” yet was impounded by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real shelter to live in .
In response to health concerns and growing criticism from activists and some City Council members , the HSD released a statement on March 17 declaring that it would pause both planned sweeps and the majority of obstruction sweeps , except under certain “ extreme circumstances.
” But Seattle police have threatened a sweep at least once since then : On the night of March 19 , Seattle North Precinct police officers approached a five-tent encampment located at the Ballard branch of the Seattle Public Library , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ballard is a middle-to-upper-class neighborhood in Seattle , where a scheduled sweep has usually happened twice per month .
The officers told the residents that they either had to vacate the area or be forcibly removed the following morning .
“ To be honest , I was surprised they gave us till the next morning , ” a resident named Paul told The Nation .
“ They used to just come during the mornings to sweep us , around 8 am , but not anymore .
Now they do it at all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swept at 2 in the morning last time , and I didn ’ t know what to do .
It was the middle of the night .
They don ’ t play by the same rules anymore.
” Paul said that he and the other residents knew the shelters were overcrowded , so they stayed put .
When the officers came back the next day , the residents were surprised to hear them say that they could no longer perform the sweep anyway—vowing instead to be back within the next couple of weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sweep again .
On March 22 , the CDC released a statement confirming what many already knew : that sweeps increase “ the potential for infectious disease spread.
” In an e-mail to The Nation , a spokesperson for the Seattle Emergency Operations Center did not rule out potential sweep of encampments in an “ extreme circumstance that presents a significant barrier to accessibility of city streets and sidewalks , and is an extraordinary public safety hazard.
” The spokesperson said these people would be offered spots in the city ’ s shelter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recommends .
In non-pandemic times , shelters can save lives .
This year , however , they have become dangerous , as shelter residents tend to live in close quarters , where they can easily spread or contract the coronavirus .
In order to reduce the number of people staying in each facility , Seattle is opening several new shelters and incrementally boosting funding for others .
According to the King County Executive ’ s office , the county and the City of Seattle have opened 95 new shelter beds and spaced 709 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order to reduce the potential for the virus spread .
The City and County have also opened over 1,000 new spaces for those who need to be quarantined or who are recovering from the virus .
( The County also bought a motel in early March to use as a general quarantine facility for Covid-19 patients . )
However , it is unclear if these measures will be enough to reduce transmission .
Anitra Freeman is a participant and the board president of SHARE , one of the largest network homeless shelters in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did receive a small boost in funding for this crisis , but that direct service agencies had already been operating without adequate funding or resources for years .
“ King County and Seattle declared a homeless state of emergency four years ago , and we ’ re all still a long ways short of having the resources to deal with the emergency , ” she says .
“ Now we have an emergency on top of an emergency.
” She says that the low-barrier women ’ s shelter run by WHEEL—one of SHARE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the pandemic , housing 60 women when it was meant to house 40 .
The city has recently opened a new women ’ s shelter in a community center in the Central District so that WHEEL could “ de-intensify ” its number of residents .
“ We ’ ve always needed twice as much shelter as we ’ ve got , ” said Freeman .
“ Now we need even more in order to provide enough space for everyone to be separated.
” She added that there were also still significant shortages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and toilet paper at some facilities .
Shelters across the city share these struggles : Even when there is sufficient space for distancing beds at night , it can be near-impossible to maintain distancing during the day .
Mary Steele is the interim executive director of the nonprofit Compass Housing Alliance , which runs four shelters and a day center for the houseless community .
She says that without more shelters opening up , they simply “ don ’ t have enough space ” to reach the six-foot social distancing requirement .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the clients they serve but also for the people who work at these organizations .
Jerred Clouse , executive director of ROOTS Young Adult Shelter , said the week of March 16 was probably the busiest of his entire career .
They have had to pull back their volunteer operations to reduce the risk of spreading the virus and hire temporary employees , as some regular staff members could no longer work because of health concerns .
Colleen Echohawk , executive director of shelter operator Chief Seattle Club and founder of the Coalition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that their staff “ are just feeling a lot of the pressure of trying to take care of our community , but then also keep themselves safe.
” Indigenous people make up over 10 percent of King County ’ s houseless population , despite only making up 1 percent of the total population .
Chief Seattle Club , which serves this community specifically , has had to start renting hotel rooms for Indigenous elders who are at greatest risk from Covid-19 .
“ I don ’ t know how long we can do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what we ’ re doing right now , ” says Echohawk .
Since the City destroyed his belongings on March 15 , Austin Rusnak hasn ’ t left his newly built tent .
He hopes that spending as little time as possible outside of this shelter will decrease the chance that the city will destroy it , too .
Rusnak is also one of three unhoused plaintiffs in a lawsuit that the ACLU has filed against the City of Seattle .
The suit—which was filed before the pandemic , in October , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city government has criminalized poverty and is punishing people for trying to live on City-owned land , despite a severe lack of shelter availability in Seattle .
It also says that when the City sweeps an encampment , it disturbs a homeless person ’ s private affairs and invades their only source of privacy and refuge—and that the City can not do so without obtaining a warrant , which encampment removals do not have .
The Homeless Need Houses , Now More Than Ever “ We ’ ve seen the City escalate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year and threaten more people with arrests , ” said ACLU attorney Breanne Schuster .
“ We believe that it ’ s not only unconstitutional , but it doesn ’ t do anything to help our homelessness crisis .
In many ways , we are seeing the housing crisis worsen , with more and more people growing frustrated with the City ’ s approach.
” The pandemic is an unprecedented crisis , demanding a scale of action that has never been seen .
Service providers , medical workers , city employees , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often in conditions that could be hazardous to their health .
In addition to the new shelters being opened , service providers say that King County and Seattle officials have invited them to join weekly conference calls , and have distributed personal protective equipment and sanitation equipment to some shelters .
The city has also announced that it plans to add more portable toilets and hygiene trailers to specifically serve the homeless community .
Meanwhile , grassroots groups have come together to establish horizontal mutual aid projects to support people who are most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circulating a petition asking Governor Inslee to issue a moratorium on utility , mortgage , and rent payments , which she says is essential to preventing more people from tipping into homelessness .
The ACLU ’ s Schuster said she believes the key to improving conditions in the future will be holding the City accountable for the changes it is making right now .
“ We ’ re seeing the City ’ s ability to build alternative spaces for our homeless in how they ’ re responding to our Covid-19 pandemic , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen a new urgency to build spaces for people to go .
Will that urgency exist after the pandemic ?
Our health crisis might go away , but our homelessness crisis will not .
”

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
On the evening of March 15, Austin Rusnak returned from a trip to the food bank to find that the shelter he had set up in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood had been completely destroyed. His tent had been dismantled and his belongings thrown away.
It wasn’t the first time the 46-year-old had been caught up in one of the City of Seattle’s sweeps of homeless encampments. But it was the first time it had happened during a global pandemic.
There are now 5,984 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Washington state, where the first-known case in the United States was diagnosed in late January; 247 people there have died from the disease. The Centers for Disease Control has recommended that people across the country should stay at home if possible and practice “social distancing” when around others. However, for the more than 11,000 people who have no permanent housing in Seattle and surrounding King County, this task is exponentially more difficult: Many have to choose between shelters that are already near capacity, or live in potentially perilous but more isolated conditions outside.
On March 27, five of Seattle’s largest shelters and services went into lockdown for at least 14 days, after an individual at one facility tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be hospitalized. “There isn’t enough room for all of us in the shelters,” Rusnak told The Nation. “They push us all close together, and there are never enough beds. I feel safest in my tent isolated from everyone. I know I’ll get sick in there.”
But despite the lack of space in the city’s shelters, Seattle—led by Mayor Jenny Durkan—continued to sweep homeless encampments last month, even after saying it would put a halt to the practice.
During sweeps, city employees can destroy tents, throw away belongings the city doesn’t want or is unable to store, issue parking tickets or even impound vehicles that unhoused individuals use for shelter, and install hostile architecture that keeps people from coming back to sleep on benches in city parks. Advocates say that these policies effectively criminalize homelessness, depriving people of their basic needs and exposing them to the dangers of living without any shelter. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung
On February 29—the same day that the first Covid-19 death in King County was announced—Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency. According to independent reporter Erica C. Barnett, even after Inslee’s announcement, the Seattle mayor’s office reported last month that the city had done 15 sweeps between March 1 and March 17. Current Issue View our current issue
Direct service providers for Seattle’s homeless population told The Nation that the city’s Human Services Department (HSD)—which manages the city’s homelessness services—had communicated during the week of March 9 that it was canceling all planned sweeps, and would not conduct them unless encampments were categorized as “obstructions.” However, on March 11, the HSD’s so-called “navigation team”—which includes police officers, social workers, and other city employees—conducted a planned sweep of an encampment in a north Seattle natural area, contradicting those claims. More sweeps were reported on social media by houseless people and advocates on March 12 and 14. On March 19—the day when the World Health Organization reported that the United States had more than 10,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19—some residents of a Ballard encampment say they were visited by police, who threatened to displace them the following morning.
As the cost of Seattle housing has continued to rise, the number of unhoused people has increased nearly every year since 2012, and the city’s shelter capacity has not kept up with demand. At the same time, the city’s response to those living outside in autonomous and unauthorized shelters has become increasingly punitive.
The result is that Seattle’s unhoused community is now especially vulnerable to Covid-19. Those who lack permanent housing are being forced to choose between self-isolating in unsanctioned encampments and cars—or living in potentially overcrowded shelters. The spaces that would normally provide refuge have now become exponentially more dangerous.
The Nation met Rusnak in Ballard a few days after his shelter was destroyed in the sweep last month. His new shelter, in the same neighborhood, is big enough to fit him and his dog, Princess. He was forced to build it from spare tarp and poles.
“Thank God I had nothing important in there,” he said, of his previous tent. “I got smarter ever since they took everything from me two years ago.”
Rusnak has lived in Seattle since 1994. He has worked a variety of jobs, including at seafood processing companies, a car wash company, and a sausage factory, among others. Despite these gigs, he said that he has frequently been unable to afford the city’s high rents—a common issue in Seattle, where about one in five unhoused people are employed. Rusnak has attempted to access emergency shelters all over the city, but has often found they were at capacity.
In December 2018, he was staying in a tent shelter in the city. A few days before Christmas, he stepped away from his home to run errands—and returned to find everything he owned gone: his only forms of shelter, Christmas presents for his children, tools, clothing, and objects of deep personal importance.
“They took everything. My dog’s ashes, memories of my wife, and my tent,” he said. “I walked around that night with nowhere to go and everything I cared about gone. I wanted to kill myself.”
According to Zillow, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Seattle went from $1,893 in 2010 to $2,630 as of this January. That drastic increase is tied to the city’s tech boom: Amazon, which was founded in Bellevue, Washington, moved its headquarters to downtown Seattle in 2010. Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, the company had grown to more than 50,000 employees in the Seattle area alone. Microsoft—headquartered in Redmond, Washington, a 20-minute drive from downtown Seattle—also has more than 50,000 employees in the area; Google and Facebook each have local offices with over 4,500 and 5,000 employees, respectively. By 2018, Seattle’s median income had soared to over $90,000 a year—a more-than-50 percent increase from 2010. A statewide ban on rent control, a dearth of publicly owned affordable housing, and restrictive single-family zoning have also all contributed to the massive increase in the cost of housing.
These changes have only served to escalate racial wealth disparities and encourage gentrification of Seattle’s black and brown neighborhoods, and the housing crisis has disproportionately impacted Seattleites who are queer, trans, black, Indigenous, and Latinx, as well as those who are disabled and neuro-atypical. A recent report found that nearly 40 percent of middle-income workers, such as hospital staff and teachers, are struggling to afford housing in the city.
Now thousands more workers are losing their jobs as a result of the pandemic. On March 26, KOMO News reported that there had been an 843 percent increase in unemployment claims across the state the previous week. Related Article Amazon Cash Fails to Oust Seattle Socialist Kshama Sawant John Nichols
Seattle first declared a state of emergency for its homelessness crisis in 2015, setting aside an additional $5 million for services and shelters. This year, the HSD’s budget for shelters, transitional housing, and other expenditures was increased to over $80 million.
A January report from the corporate consulting firm McKinsey & Company found that the fastest way to solve King County’s homelessness problem would be to build 15,700 affordable homes for those facing immediate lack of housing; preventing even more working-class residents from dipping into potential homelessness would require up to 37,000 affordable homes. Last month, socialist City Council member Kshama Sawant cited that report when she unveiled a proposal for a new payroll tax on Amazon and other big businesses that could raise $300 million a year, to be used largely for building affordable housing.
However, the city has largely pursued a punitive approach. Public records indicate that Seattle and Washington state have spent millions of dollars on contracts for fencing alone, to prevent unhoused folks from camping under bridges and highway overpasses. The budget for the navigation team has also increased every year since 2017, ballooning to over $8 million for 2020. While the navigation team does conduct outreach to the unhoused community and issue referrals to shelter, its primary purpose is to sweep unsanctioned encampments and impound unhoused people’s vehicles. Thirteen of the team’s 38 members are drawn from the Seattle Police Department.
Before conducting a planned encampment sweep, the navigation team is mandated to give residents at least 72 hours notice and offer referrals to shelter. But if an encampment or vehicle is located in so-called “emphasis zones”—places where, the navigation team decides, an encampment has become a consistent problem—or categorized as a hazard, obstruction, or “litter,” the city is not required to give any notice, or do any outreach. There is no appeals process, and whether a person’s belongings will be stored or destroyed is up to the discretion of the navigation team.
According to city records obtained via public disclosure requests, the navigation team gave encampment residents 72 hours notice before only 81—or 6.8 percent—of the 1,192 sweeps conducted in 2019. That’s a substantial decrease from the 202 sweeps, or nearly 40 percent, that gave 72 hours notice in 2018. This change seems to indicate that the navigation team is interpreting the rules for sweeps differently now, in a way that allows them to displace homeless people faster and more frequently.
An unhoused Seattleite clears debris from in front of the tent where she lives near one of the city’s freeways, as another resident wheels a bicycle past her, March 2017. (Elaine Thompson / AP Photo)
Despite consensus among unhoused people, advocates, direct service providers, and activists that sweeps are both counterproductive and harmful, the City has not only continued doing sweeps but has increased them substantially. The City has used two different databases for logging sweeps over the past few years, making the numbers hard to track. But the records show that the number of sweeps per year went from more than 500 in 2016 to nearly 1,200 in 2019.
Amid the worsening Covid-19 outbreak, many grew even more frustrated that Seattle was continuing to sweep unhoused people. Bevin McLeod, cofounder and board president of the health care advocacy group Alliance for a Healthy Washington, said that she noticed midday on March 14 that the navigation team had come to her neighborhood in north Seattle: They were there to sweep an elderly disabled couple living in their RV on the side of the road. McLeod said that the RV was “not in anybody’s way” yet was impounded by the city, leaving the couple with no real shelter to live in.
In response to health concerns and growing criticism from activists and some City Council members, the HSD released a statement on March 17 declaring that it would pause both planned sweeps and the majority of obstruction sweeps, except under certain “extreme circumstances.” But Seattle police have threatened a sweep at least once since then: On the night of March 19, Seattle North Precinct police officers approached a five-tent encampment located at the Ballard branch of the Seattle Public Library, which was already closed due to the pandemic. Ballard is a middle-to-upper-class neighborhood in Seattle, where a scheduled sweep has usually happened twice per month. The officers told the residents that they either had to vacate the area or be forcibly removed the following morning.
“To be honest, I was surprised they gave us till the next morning,” a resident named Paul told The Nation. “They used to just come during the mornings to sweep us, around 8 am, but not anymore. Now they do it at all times of the day. I got swept at 2 in the morning last time, and I didn’t know what to do. It was the middle of the night. They don’t play by the same rules anymore.”
Paul said that he and the other residents knew the shelters were overcrowded, so they stayed put. When the officers came back the next day, the residents were surprised to hear them say that they could no longer perform the sweep anyway—vowing instead to be back within the next couple of weeks when they were “allowed” to sweep again.
On March 22, the CDC released a statement confirming what many already knew: that sweeps increase “the potential for infectious disease spread.” In an e-mail to The Nation, a spokesperson for the Seattle Emergency Operations Center did not rule out potential sweep of encampments in an “extreme circumstance that presents a significant barrier to accessibility of city streets and sidewalks, and is an extraordinary public safety hazard.” The spokesperson said these people would be offered spots in the city’s shelter system—not individual housing, which the CDC recommends.
In non-pandemic times, shelters can save lives. This year, however, they have become dangerous, as shelter residents tend to live in close quarters, where they can easily spread or contract the coronavirus.
In order to reduce the number of people staying in each facility, Seattle is opening several new shelters and incrementally boosting funding for others. According to the King County Executive’s office, the county and the City of Seattle have opened 95 new shelter beds and spaced 709 existing shelter beds farther apart, in order to reduce the potential for the virus spread. The City and County have also opened over 1,000 new spaces for those who need to be quarantined or who are recovering from the virus. (The County also bought a motel in early March to use as a general quarantine facility for Covid-19 patients.) However, it is unclear if these measures will be enough to reduce transmission.
Anitra Freeman is a participant and the board president of SHARE, one of the largest network homeless shelters in King County. She said that they did receive a small boost in funding for this crisis, but that direct service agencies had already been operating without adequate funding or resources for years. “King County and Seattle declared a homeless state of emergency four years ago, and we’re all still a long ways short of having the resources to deal with the emergency,” she says. “Now we have an emergency on top of an emergency.”
She says that the low-barrier women’s shelter run by WHEEL—one of SHARE’s partner organizations—was above capacity even before the pandemic, housing 60 women when it was meant to house 40. The city has recently opened a new women’s shelter in a community center in the Central District so that WHEEL could “de-intensify” its number of residents.
“We’ve always needed twice as much shelter as we’ve got,” said Freeman. “Now we need even more in order to provide enough space for everyone to be separated.” She added that there were also still significant shortages of basic supplies such as hand sanitizer and toilet paper at some facilities.
Shelters across the city share these struggles: Even when there is sufficient space for distancing beds at night, it can be near-impossible to maintain distancing during the day. Mary Steele is the interim executive director of the nonprofit Compass Housing Alliance, which runs four shelters and a day center for the houseless community. She says that without more shelters opening up, they simply “don’t have enough space” to reach the six-foot social distancing requirement.
The crisis has been trying not only for the clients they serve but also for the people who work at these organizations. Jerred Clouse, executive director of ROOTS Young Adult Shelter, said the week of March 16 was probably the busiest of his entire career. They have had to pull back their volunteer operations to reduce the risk of spreading the virus and hire temporary employees, as some regular staff members could no longer work because of health concerns.
Colleen Echohawk, executive director of shelter operator Chief Seattle Club and founder of the Coalition to End Urban Indigenous Homelessness, said that their staff “are just feeling a lot of the pressure of trying to take care of our community, but then also keep themselves safe.” Indigenous people make up over 10 percent of King County’s houseless population, despite only making up 1 percent of the total population. Chief Seattle Club, which serves this community specifically, has had to start renting hotel rooms for Indigenous elders who are at greatest risk from Covid-19. “I don’t know how long we can do that for, but that’s what we’re doing right now,” says Echohawk.
Since the City destroyed his belongings on March 15, Austin Rusnak hasn’t left his newly built tent. He hopes that spending as little time as possible outside of this shelter will decrease the chance that the city will destroy it, too.
Rusnak is also one of three unhoused plaintiffs in a lawsuit that the ACLU has filed against the City of Seattle. The suit—which was filed before the pandemic, in October, and is currently in the discovery phase—argues that the city government has criminalized poverty and is punishing people for trying to live on City-owned land, despite a severe lack of shelter availability in Seattle. It also says that when the City sweeps an encampment, it disturbs a homeless person’s private affairs and invades their only source of privacy and refuge—and that the City cannot do so without obtaining a warrant, which encampment removals do not have. Related Article Inside an Urgent Mission to Protect the Homeless From Coronavirus Zoë Carpenter
“We’ve seen the City escalate the number of sweeps over the past year and threaten more people with arrests,” said ACLU attorney Breanne Schuster. “We believe that it’s not only unconstitutional, but it doesn’t do anything to help our homelessness crisis. In many ways, we are seeing the housing crisis worsen, with more and more people growing frustrated with the City’s approach.”
The pandemic is an unprecedented crisis, demanding a scale of action that has never been seen. Service providers, medical workers, city employees, and community organizers have been working overtime, often in conditions that could be hazardous to their health. In addition to the new shelters being opened, service providers say that King County and Seattle officials have invited them to join weekly conference calls, and have distributed personal protective equipment and sanitation equipment to some shelters. The city has also announced that it plans to add more portable toilets and hygiene trailers to specifically serve the homeless community.
Meanwhile, grassroots groups have come together to establish horizontal mutual aid projects to support people who are most vulnerable during the pandemic—and Councilmember Sawant is circulating a petition asking Governor Inslee to issue a moratorium on utility, mortgage, and rent payments, which she says is essential to preventing more people from tipping into homelessness.
The ACLU’s Schuster said she believes the key to improving conditions in the future will be holding the City accountable for the changes it is making right now.
“We’re seeing the City’s ability to build alternative spaces for our homeless in how they’re responding to our Covid-19 pandemic,” she said. “We’ve seen a new urgency to build spaces for people to go. Will that urgency exist after the pandemic? Our health crisis might go away, but our homelessness crisis will not.”


thenation--2020-04-02--Three Truths and a Lie: a Version for Organizers

In the current crisis , two post-neoliberal futures are blinking into view like holograms : one catastrophically vicious , miserable and authoritarian ; the other more just , caring , and democratic .
This is the political fork in the road we find ourselves confronting , and the decisions we make now will shape the next several decades of life in the United States and around the world .
Which version of the future materializes very much depends on how progressives show up in these next months and years .
For most of the past year before the emergence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swept up in a passionate debate about who the Democratic nominee should be .
Though that debate has been suspended , we can learn some valuable lessons from that fractious process to help us meet this extraordinary moment in history with big vision and grounded strategy .
To see how this may be so , play along with our modification of the classic teenage party game .
Truth # 1 : Bernie Sanders supporters ’ critique of the oligarchic nature of our society , our politics , and our economy , of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charge of worker and community henhouses , of the need for big solutions and a mass democratic movement to restore democracy—is fundamentally right .
This is in fact a country largely run by and for the 1 percent .
The realities of climate change , massive inequality , and the too-often-invisible suffering they create require an urgent , passionate , and indignant response .
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the savagery and consequences of that inequality for all to see , while upping the urgency and perhaps the possibility for radical change .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ t go back to the way things used to be .
Sanders ’ s supporters are also right that neoliberal Democrats share responsibility for this situation through three decades of active complicity and pusillanimity .
They have sometimes been bystanders and sometimes active co-conspirators and enablers of Republicans and their oligarchic backers .
Decades of deregulation , accommodation to banks and insurance companies , corporate trade deals , and harsh criminal justice , immigration , welfare , and other policies were designed by centrist Democrats in partnership with Republicans .
The wave of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we are all paying for , and some are dying from now‚ is in part attributable to these colossal strategic and moral failures of the center-left establishment .
Truth # 2 : Elizabeth Warren ’ s supporters are right that progressive governance must include carefully thought-out and designed policy proposals undergirded by a class analysis that also deeply incorporates a robust understanding of how gender and race inextricably shape inequality in America .
This intersectional approach is not optional .
It is necessary to get the analysis , the solutions , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s made a more serious effort to do that than any candidate for president in decades .
Warren has also been serious not just about policy but about power—about building power at the bottom and taming it at the top .
She laid out plans to reform specific political structures that get in the way of change ( like the filibuster ) that are necessary to actually displace the oligarchy .
All of this attention to the substance and politics of governance is essential if we are to actually have a chance at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an alternative set of ideas and policies based on full inclusion and that center human flourishing , dignity , and justice .
Though Warren ’ s candidacy failed , her vision of a pragmatic , principled radicalism concerned with actually achieving concrete changes that alter relations of power in society and people ’ s lived material circumstances must be preserved .
Truth # 3 : Joe Biden ’ s African American supporters are attuned to some profound truths about America and how power operates in this country that progressives must reckon with honestly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lived experience and rooted in collective memory .
The choice to vote for him was not due to their supposed moderation ( though some are indeed moderate ) or lack of “ wokeness ” or “ low information ” ( don ’ t get us started ) or simply about Biden ’ s proximity to Obama ( though this is part of it ) —but precisely because they understand some painful truths about white Americans better than white Americans themselves .
Even if they might in principle support a bold , transformative agenda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they understand that most middle-income suburban whites are not hankering for ( or willing , barring a lot more deep organizing than our side has done ) to sign up for revolution .
These same whites might , however , join in a coalition to defeat Trump and to make incremental but real progress on variety of issues .
Biden ’ s African American supporters understand the stakes of losing to Trump correctly , precisely because many have had or have parents who have had the lived experience of living in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burden of his reelection .
Jim Crow , rooted in the embers of racialized authoritarian state governments as the old Confederacy ’ s legacy , was not long ago or far away , and Charlottesville was a portal back to a future we must slam shut .
They have to navigate these hard realities of what makes white people comfortable every day , and they know that large swaths of white America have to be soothed and made to feel safe in order to do what ’ s in their own self-interest .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ calculus about the stakes of the election more prescient and pressing .
This primary season has been agonizing for many of us because all of these three things are true—and because even if we have been fierce partisans of one candidate , we can in our honest moments see the validity in the other points of view .
None of these three truths constitutes the whole truth , and we ’ re going to have to get better at seeing reality through the eyes of others if we have any hope of building @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it ’ s possible to get to the promised land through any messianic figure or by starting with electoral politics .
The Workers Party in Brazil—the country that most resembles the United States in its founding on slavery and genocide and in its extreme economic inequality—started by movement building in unions , women ’ s organizations , and among Afro-Brazilians and landless workers and then took state power through politics after uniting in a coalition , developing a common program , recruiting , and engaging millions of people and failing many times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama swoon ” over a decade ago , we both hoped that liberals and leftists here would have learned the lesson that the path to big , bold change ultimately manifests in electoral politics but doesn ’ t begin there .
There are not now—and there have never been—any shortcuts to radical social and economic transformation .
It takes the persistent work of real , authentic , and often hard conversations with trusted people in our own social networks .
And because talk is cheap by itself , it also requires giving people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with others on their block , in their neighborhood , in their community , online , at their workplace , and , yes , in the voting booth , too .
We need mass organizations , rooted in working and middle-class communities , that combine big vision with deep roots .
This work of recruitment can be accelerated exponentially in times of crisis when people are open to new ways of looking at the world—but it can not be skipped or passed over .
The Science of ( Not ) Ending Global Poverty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s How to Start Fixing It .
More in this series The current crisis exposes the bankruptcy of the neoliberal order .
It could be a transformational time in which a different world becomes real , one in which public needs take precedence over private profits , we care for each other through mutual aid and support of caregivers , we value human connection and health over consumption , we actually see and value the working-class heroes who make our civilization run every day for their crucial importance , and we dramatically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to realize the future we need , in the context of mass recruitment of millions more people who are open now to politicization—bold program combined with mass recruitment—should be the basis for unity in this time of crisis .
Let ’ s focus far less on presidential primary differences and machinations and focus more on bold vision and mass organizing , especially new ways of mass organizing that this crisis demands , similar to the invention of industrial unionism in what grew to become the CIO 85 years ago in a previous deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fundamentals right , the rest will follow .
So vote for whomever you prefer in the primary ( assuming there ’ s still a choice at that point , one of us will vote for Sanders , the other for Biden ) —but do so understanding that getting rid of Trump is the indispensable but not sufficient requirement to achieve transformational change .
( Read about the fights between the SPD and the Communists in the Weimar Germany over their narrow conceptions of truth if you want to understand the potential consequences of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wrong things at the wrong time . )
Tolerance for ambiguity and an ability to modulate the stridency of our disagreements with people close to us on the political spectrum have not been hallmarks of left politics in recent years .
But they will need to be if we ’ re going to be able to lead in this moment of transformation .
The three priorities for this period are unity among liberal and left forces to remove the existential threat to our democracy and now our very lives at the ballot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program for economic and social transformation beyond Election Day , and an enduring commitment to the mass organizing that it will take to win the popular support needed to make big change sustainable and deeply owned .
These three imperatives are far more important than your preference of Democratic candidate .
We may disagree about Bernie v. Joe , but there should be no doubt that the kind of mass movement building we need will be delayed—perhaps for a generation we can not spare—if we fail to meet this moment with vision , @ @ @ @ @

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In the current crisis, two post-neoliberal futures are blinking into view like holograms: one catastrophically vicious, miserable and authoritarian; the other more just, caring, and democratic. This is the political fork in the road we find ourselves confronting, and the decisions we make now will shape the next several decades of life in the United States and around the world. Which version of the future materializes very much depends on how progressives show up in these next months and years.
For most of the past year before the emergence of Covid-19, liberals and leftists have been swept up in a passionate debate about who the Democratic nominee should be. Though that debate has been suspended, we can learn some valuable lessons from that fractious process to help us meet this extraordinary moment in history with big vision and grounded strategy.
To see how this may be so, play along with our modification of the classic teenage party game.
Truth #1: Bernie Sanders supporters’ critique of the oligarchic nature of our society, our politics, and our economy, of the rigged system that puts corporate foxes in charge of worker and community henhouses, of the need for big solutions and a mass democratic movement to restore democracy—is fundamentally right. This is in fact a country largely run by and for the 1 percent. The realities of climate change, massive inequality, and the too-often-invisible suffering they create require an urgent, passionate, and indignant response. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the savagery and consequences of that inequality for all to see, while upping the urgency and perhaps the possibility for radical change. We can’t and shouldn’t go back to the way things used to be.
Sanders’s supporters are also right that neoliberal Democrats share responsibility for this situation through three decades of active complicity and pusillanimity. They have sometimes been bystanders and sometimes active co-conspirators and enablers of Republicans and their oligarchic backers. Decades of deregulation, accommodation to banks and insurance companies, corporate trade deals, and harsh criminal justice, immigration, welfare, and other policies were designed by centrist Democrats in partnership with Republicans. The wave of right-wing populist backlash Trump rode to office—and that we are all paying for, and some are dying from now‚ is in part attributable to these colossal strategic and moral failures of the center-left establishment. Current Issue View our current issue
Truth #2: Elizabeth Warren’s supporters are right that progressive governance must include carefully thought-out and designed policy proposals undergirded by a class analysis that also deeply incorporates a robust understanding of how gender and race inextricably shape inequality in America. This intersectional approach is not optional. It is necessary to get the analysis, the solutions, and the strategy right, and she’s made a more serious effort to do that than any candidate for president in decades. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung
Warren has also been serious not just about policy but about power—about building power at the bottom and taming it at the top. She laid out plans to reform specific political structures that get in the way of change (like the filibuster) that are necessary to actually displace the oligarchy. All of this attention to the substance and politics of governance is essential if we are to actually have a chance at breaking from the neoliberal paradigm and forging an alternative set of ideas and policies based on full inclusion and that center human flourishing, dignity, and justice. Though Warren’s candidacy failed, her vision of a pragmatic, principled radicalism concerned with actually achieving concrete changes that alter relations of power in society and people’s lived material circumstances must be preserved.
Truth #3: Joe Biden’s African American supporters are attuned to some profound truths about America and how power operates in this country that progressives must reckon with honestly. These insights are born of deep lived experience and rooted in collective memory. The choice to vote for him was not due to their supposed moderation (though some are indeed moderate) or lack of “wokeness” or “low information” (don’t get us started) or simply about Biden’s proximity to Obama (though this is part of it)—but precisely because they understand some painful truths about white Americans better than white Americans themselves. Even if they might in principle support a bold, transformative agenda of the kind Sanders and Warren proposed, they understand that most middle-income suburban whites are not hankering for (or willing, barring a lot more deep organizing than our side has done) to sign up for revolution. These same whites might, however, join in a coalition to defeat Trump and to make incremental but real progress on variety of issues.
Biden’s African American supporters understand the stakes of losing to Trump correctly, precisely because many have had or have parents who have had the lived experience of living in an authoritarian state and would bear the heaviest burden of his reelection. Jim Crow, rooted in the embers of racialized authoritarian state governments as the old Confederacy’s legacy, was not long ago or far away, and Charlottesville was a portal back to a future we must slam shut. They have to navigate these hard realities of what makes white people comfortable every day, and they know that large swaths of white America have to be soothed and made to feel safe in order to do what’s in their own self-interest. The pandemic has only made this sober calculus about the stakes of the election more prescient and pressing. What’s Next? From Resistance to Governing Deepak Bhargava
This primary season has been agonizing for many of us because all of these three things are true—and because even if we have been fierce partisans of one candidate, we can in our honest moments see the validity in the other points of view. None of these three truths constitutes the whole truth, and we’re going to have to get better at seeing reality through the eyes of others if we have any hope of building a new world.
The Lie: that it’s possible to get to the promised land through any messianic figure or by starting with electoral politics. The Workers Party in Brazil—the country that most resembles the United States in its founding on slavery and genocide and in its extreme economic inequality—started by movement building in unions, women’s organizations, and among Afro-Brazilians and landless workers and then took state power through politics after uniting in a coalition, developing a common program, recruiting, and engaging millions of people and failing many times.
Having experienced or seen the “Obama swoon” over a decade ago, we both hoped that liberals and leftists here would have learned the lesson that the path to big, bold change ultimately manifests in electoral politics but doesn’t begin there. There are not now—and there have never been—any shortcuts to radical social and economic transformation. It takes the persistent work of real, authentic, and often hard conversations with trusted people in our own social networks. And because talk is cheap by itself, it also requires giving people a ladder of engagement to take action with others on their block, in their neighborhood, in their community, online, at their workplace, and, yes, in the voting booth, too. We need mass organizations, rooted in working and middle-class communities, that combine big vision with deep roots. This work of recruitment can be accelerated exponentially in times of crisis when people are open to new ways of looking at the world—but it cannot be skipped or passed over. Election 2020 Larry Summers and the Crisis of Economic Orthodoxy Jeet Heer The Liberal Discontents of Francis Fukuyama Daniel Bessner We’re Living in a Golden Age of Plenty—for the Rich Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis
The current crisis exposes the bankruptcy of the neoliberal order. It could be a transformational time in which a different world becomes real, one in which public needs take precedence over private profits, we care for each other through mutual aid and support of caregivers, we value human connection and health over consumption, we actually see and value the working-class heroes who make our civilization run every day for their crucial importance, and we dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Pushing bold demands to realize the future we need, in the context of mass recruitment of millions more people who are open now to politicization—bold program combined with mass recruitment—should be the basis for unity in this time of crisis. Let’s focus far less on presidential primary differences and machinations and focus more on bold vision and mass organizing, especially new ways of mass organizing that this crisis demands, similar to the invention of industrial unionism in what grew to become the CIO 85 years ago in a previous deep economic crisis. If we get the fundamentals right, the rest will follow.
So vote for whomever you prefer in the primary (assuming there’s still a choice at that point, one of us will vote for Sanders, the other for Biden)—but do so understanding that getting rid of Trump is the indispensable but not sufficient requirement to achieve transformational change. (Read about the fights between the SPD and the Communists in the Weimar Germany over their narrow conceptions of truth if you want to understand the potential consequences of obsessively fighting with the wrong people about the wrong things at the wrong time.)
Tolerance for ambiguity and an ability to modulate the stridency of our disagreements with people close to us on the political spectrum have not been hallmarks of left politics in recent years. But they will need to be if we’re going to be able to lead in this moment of transformation. The three priorities for this period are unity among liberal and left forces to remove the existential threat to our democracy and now our very lives at the ballot box, commitment to push a bold program for economic and social transformation beyond Election Day, and an enduring commitment to the mass organizing that it will take to win the popular support needed to make big change sustainable and deeply owned. These three imperatives are far more important than your preference of Democratic candidate. We may disagree about Bernie v. Joe, but there should be no doubt that the kind of mass movement building we need will be delayed—perhaps for a generation we cannot spare—if we fail to meet this moment with vision, sobriety, and unity.


thenation--2020-04-02--‘Our Lives Are Worth More Than Packages’

Chicago—Amazon workers in a Chicago warehouse think their health should be as essential as their labor—and they ’ re building on past organizing to get management to act like it .
With at least one confirmed case of Covid-19 at the facility southwest of downtown that ’ s responsible for the “ last mile ” of most Amazon Prime deliveries in the city , workers are circulating a petition calling for the company to immediately shut down the warehouse for disinfection , pay all workers during the closure , cover medical bills for workers and family members who contract the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put safety first .
On Monday night , at least 30 workers—around half the size of the shift due to go in—gathered outside the facility ’ s entrances for a socially distanced speak-out and urged coworkers not to clock in and risk their health for Amazon ’ s packages .
“ Our warehouse is a petri dish for spreading this , ” says Ted Miin , one of the workers who spoke .
“ We know that as things get worse , our walkouts and our picket lines and our actions will only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amazon facilities nationwide as the company tries to keep running flat-out to meet demand .
Earlier in March , a Queens warehouse shut down when workers walked out after learning of a positive case .
On Monday , March 30 , workers at a Staten Island facility where as many as 10 employees are infected walked out mid-shift ; one of the main organizers of the action was fired .
Workers at Chicago ’ s DCH1 ( as the facility is known ) say managers first disclosed the Covid case in the middle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the work had finished one worker at a time , to avoid a collective response .
Day-shift workers were informed by robocall later the next day—after three more shifts of workers had entered and worked in the facility .
“ Managers aren ’ t taking decisive action that will actually protect us from having coronavirus spread into our communities , ” says Christian Zamarrón , who has worked at DCH1 for close to three years .
He says the company is focused on “ PR stuff : having workers pose for photos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re practicing social distancing .
But it ’ s all a farce.
” Workers packing bags for delivery vans often “ have to be within a few feet of each other ” to do their jobs , he says .
Zamarrón and Miin are part of a group of DCH1 workers who started organizing last year .
They had a lot of grievances , but started with the basics : a petition for clean drinking water .
At a daily “ stand-up ” meeting at the start of one shift , one worker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ safety tip—in fact , 150 of us have a safety tip on this petition : We need water !
” According to a Medium article co-authored by DCH1 workers , “ Within an hour the manager had run to the nearest grocery store and gotten enough cases of bottled water for everyone .
For the next months , Amazon had pallets of bottled water available to us .
Within a few weeks , management had water lines and water stations installed throughout the facility.
” The workers—who named themselves DCH1 Amazonians United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next on wages , health insurance , and lack of air conditioning .
In the midst of Prime Week in mid-July , 25 workers marched into the manager ’ s office during the overnight shift to present a new petition .
Later in the month , management was pressured into sending everyone home with full pay when conditions became unbearable on one of the hottest days of the summer .
At the start of this year , Chicago ’ s DCH1 workers were inspired by coworkers at a Sacramento facility to organize for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amazon ’ s employee manual states that any employee working 20 hours or more a week is entitled to paid personal time , but the Chicago workers found managers were routinely denying PTO requests from part-timers .
The DCH1 group presented its latest petition , the one for PTO , at the company ’ s quarterly “ all-hands ” meetings for each shift .
When Vanessa Carrillo came forward at one of the all-hands meetings , she wasn ’ t alone—11 of her coworkers stood with her .
“ Most of the associates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when I turned the petition in to the site lead , ” she says .
The Coronavirus Class War Has Already Started Working Behind the Scenes in the Pandemic Peter van Agtmael , The Nation and The Magnum Foundation The Postal Service Is Breaking Down More in this series When the manager refused to accept the petition , “ people were really pissed about it , that management disrespected us like that , ” Carrillo says .
It was another step toward unifying workers , some of whom were skeptical about the campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soon , there was a victory to celebrate : On March 23 , Amazon announced that all part-time and seasonal employees would be able to apply for PTO .
With the coronavirus pandemic spreading , the issue a handful of workers started organizing around months earlier couldn ’ t be more relevant .
Miin says the quick response now to the coronavirus threat was made possible by previous organizing .
“ Many people warmed up over the months , seeing us take action , seeing our PTO win , ” he says .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ confidence with our coworkers .
Zamarrón says DCH1 Amazonians United will keep fighting to make sure the company honors its PTO announcement while preparing to face the new threat .
“ This is a crisis that doesn ’ t affect just one site ; it ’ s a crisis that affects all Amazon workers , nationally and internationally , ” he says .
“ We ’ re doing our best to tell our coworkers : This is how you do it .
It ’ s different at every location ; you ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coworkers at your site .
But this is what we did , and you can do it , too .
”

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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Chicago—Amazon workers in a Chicago warehouse think their health should be as essential as their labor—and they’re building on past organizing to get management to act like it.
With at least one confirmed case of Covid-19 at the facility southwest of downtown that’s responsible for the “last mile” of most Amazon Prime deliveries in the city, workers are circulating a petition calling for the company to immediately shut down the warehouse for disinfection, pay all workers during the closure, cover medical bills for workers and family members who contract the coronavirus, and take other steps to put safety first.
On Monday night, at least 30 workers—around half the size of the shift due to go in—gathered outside the facility’s entrances for a socially distanced speak-out and urged coworkers not to clock in and risk their health for Amazon’s packages.
“Our warehouse is a petri dish for spreading this,” says Ted Miin, one of the workers who spoke. “We know that as things get worse, our walkouts and our picket lines and our actions will only grow.”
Anger has been building inside Amazon facilities nationwide as the company tries to keep running flat-out to meet demand. Earlier in March, a Queens warehouse shut down when workers walked out after learning of a positive case. On Monday, March 30, workers at a Staten Island facility where as many as 10 employees are infected walked out mid-shift; one of the main organizers of the action was fired.
Workers at Chicago’s DCH1 (as the facility is known) say managers first disclosed the Covid case in the middle of the night shift, after most of the work had finished, and one worker at a time, to avoid a collective response. Day-shift workers were informed by robocall later the next day—after three more shifts of workers had entered and worked in the facility.
“Managers aren’t taking decisive action that will actually protect us from having coronavirus spread into our communities,” says Christian Zamarrón, who has worked at DCH1 for close to three years. He says the company is focused on “PR stuff: having workers pose for photos and making it look like we’re practicing social distancing. But it’s all a farce.” Workers packing bags for delivery vans often “have to be within a few feet of each other” to do their jobs, he says. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Current Issue View our current issue
Zamarrón and Miin are part of a group of DCH1 workers who started organizing last year. They had a lot of grievances, but started with the basics: a petition for clean drinking water. At a daily “stand-up” meeting at the start of one shift, one worker spoke up and said they had a “safety tip—in fact, 150 of us have a safety tip on this petition: We need water!”
According to a Medium article co-authored by DCH1 workers, “Within an hour the manager had run to the nearest grocery store and gotten enough cases of bottled water for everyone. For the next months, Amazon had pallets of bottled water available to us. Within a few weeks, management had water lines and water stations installed throughout the facility.”
The workers—who named themselves DCH1 Amazonians United, like similar groups around the country—focused next on wages, health insurance, and lack of air-conditioning. In the midst of Prime Week in mid-July, 25 workers marched into the manager’s office during the overnight shift to present a new petition. Later in the month, management was pressured into sending everyone home with full pay when conditions became unbearable on one of the hottest days of the summer.
At the start of this year, Chicago’s DCH1 workers were inspired by coworkers at a Sacramento facility to organize for paid time off (PTO). Amazon’s employee manual states that any employee working 20 hours or more a week is entitled to paid personal time, but the Chicago workers found managers were routinely denying PTO requests from part-timers.
The DCH1 group presented its latest petition, the one for PTO, at the company’s quarterly “all-hands” meetings for each shift. When Vanessa Carrillo came forward at one of the all-hands meetings, she wasn’t alone—11 of her coworkers stood with her. “Most of the associates who were in that room were applauding when I turned the petition in to the site lead,” she says. Working Conditions NIH Fellows Win Recognition as Workers With the Right to Join a Union Peter Lucas The New Law to Protect Pregnant Workers Is Already Changing Lives Bryce Covert Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? Jeet Heer
When the manager refused to accept the petition, “people were really pissed about it, that management disrespected us like that,” Carrillo says. It was another step toward unifying workers, some of whom were skeptical about the campaign when the core group began organizing.
Soon, there was a victory to celebrate: On March 23, Amazon announced that all part-time and seasonal employees would be able to apply for PTO. With the coronavirus pandemic spreading, the issue a handful of workers started organizing around months earlier couldn’t be more relevant.
Miin says the quick response now to the coronavirus threat was made possible by previous organizing. “Many people warmed up over the months, seeing us take action, seeing our PTO win,” he says. “So we’ve built some confidence with our coworkers.
Zamarrón says DCH1 Amazonians United will keep fighting to make sure the company honors its PTO announcement while preparing to face the new threat.
“This is a crisis that doesn’t affect just one site; it’s a crisis that affects all Amazon workers, nationally and internationally,” he says. “We’re doing our best to tell our coworkers: This is how you do it. It’s different at every location; you’ve got to figure it out with your coworkers at your site. But this is what we did, and you can do it, too.”