Essential Employees Stage Strikes Today

Employees of several essential services are planning to strike today over their treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic by employers. Amazon employees from the Staten Island, New York facility are planning a walkout. Despite amazon stating their employees health and safety is a top priority, upwards of seven people in this one warehouse have contracted COVID-19. Employees claim they are still being forced to come into work. While Amazon has offered two weeks paid sick-leave, this is only if workers test positive. There are many people who aren’t able to get tested in order to get this benefit due to lack of access and testing restrictions. The walkout was set to begin just moments ago and could involve upwards of 200 people. Instacart employees are also staging a strike. They’ve accused employers of not providing them with enough safety precautions. They say they’re most at risk due to the high volume of people they come into contact with everyday and yet they have not been provided basic necessities such as hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, or even hazard pay.