Chris Brooks

Follow the Money: Employers Are Behind the Rush to Reopen

The federal government squandered the time the states spent in lockdown. We still face a national shortage of COVID-19 test kits and PPE and there is no nationwide testing or contact tracing program. The United States has 4 percent of the world’s population, but about a third of the world’s coronavirus cases.

The Hammer and the Dance: Why Reopening Now Will Kill

This is a time of deep uncertainty. The coronavirus has been the leading cause of death in the United States since April 7, but scientist and doctors are only just beginning to understand it. It turns out that COVID-19 is much more than just a respiratory disease; it also attacks the brain, kidneys, heart, and blood vessels. Science, one of the world’s top academic journals, said that “the virus acts like no pathogen humanity has ever seen.”

Interview: Noam Chomsky on How Bosses Are Making Coronavirus ‘Worse, for Their Benefit’

For decades Noam Chomsky has been a leading intellectual troublemaker. His books and speeches have helped to explain how a world run by corporations and billionaires has led to endless war and catastrophic climate change. Now he is helping to explain how corporations and billionaires are actually making the coronavirus pandemic worse by pursuing savage policies that benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else.

Please Join: National Health Care Day of Action April 15

A national network of rank-and-file activists from New York State Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), Service Employees 1021, National Nurses United Chicago, and other nurse unions is organizing a National Day of Action on Tax Day, April 15.

Health care workers are encouraged to participate by taking on the actions below—or come up with your own ideas. Be creative! Other unions should contact local nurses unions to see how you can help.

Exclusive: Transcripts Show Disgraced UAW President Strong-Armed Board to Pick His Own Successor

This story is part of an ongoing collaboration between In These Times and Labor Notes.

WEBINAR: Organizing without a Union During the Coronavirus / Organizándose sin sindicato durante el coronavirus

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Author(s): 
Chris Brooks

Some employers are laying us off and canceling our health care. Others say workers must show up for work regardless of the danger—and then not giving us the protective equipment we need.

What can non-union workers do to protect themselves, their families, and the public?

Find out how to take on the boss and organize on the job in this webinar organized by Labor Notes, the Food Chain Workers Alliance, and the Pioneer Valley Workers Center.

WEBINAR: Don't Die for Wall Street: Essential Workers on Why Everyone Else Should Stay Home

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Author(s): 
Chris Brooks

You must register to participate in this webinar. Please register here.

Defying health experts who say we need a five-week national lockdown, Republicans and employers are pushing for workers to endanger themselves and everyone around them by returning to work in April.

The Denier in Chief is leading the charge to get everyone back on the job. Essential workers are living with how bad things are now--and they know how bad it will get if millions start defying doctors' orders.

The Danger We're Facing: A Grocery Worker Speaks Out

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Author(s): 
Chris Brooks

The coronavirus crisis is spurring record-breaking sales for grocery store chains, straining supply chains and exhausting employees.

While many businesses are having employees work from home or are closing down to mitigate the spread of the virus, grocery stores have been designated a “critical industry” by federal agencies. This means they can largely continue with business like normal—and normal was bad enough.

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