RELEASE: Immigrant Rights Group Releases Policy Platform to Protect Tennessee Workers from COVID-19

PRESS RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2020

CONTACT
Hamp Price, hamp@tirrcvotes.org


Immigrant Rights Group Releases Policy Platform to Protect Tennessee Workers from COVID-19
Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Communities provides guidance to state and local policymakers


NASHVILLE - TIRRC Votes, an organization affiliated with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), released today a list of demands for increased worker protections to make sure all of those who are required to work on the front lines during this pandemic have the necessary protections needed to keep their families and communities healthy and safe.

Tennessee has seen a string of workplace outbreaks, including more than 300 positive cases and 2 deaths at the Tyson plant in Goodlettsville, more than 70 positive cases at the Monterey Mushroom facility in Loudon County, and 100% infection rate  of the nearly 200 workers at a farm in Rhea County.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the deep structural and racial inequities in our health and economic systems. A disproportionately high number of Black Americans and people of color continue to be exposed and infected with COVID-19 and are dying at higher rates. The essential workers, many who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color, who keep our country running are put at risk by employers who do little to safeguard their well being.

“No one should have to put themselves at risk of getting ill in order to provide for their family,” said TIRRC Votes policy director Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus. “Workers on the frontline of this pandemic, including immigrants, are essential, not disposable. When employers fail to provide a safe work environment, it puts the health of not only their employees at risk but their families and our entire communities.”

TIRRC Votes is releasing a set of priority policies to protect workers and is urging local and state governments to take swift action. The group moved to release demands after hearing from immigrant workers from across Tennessee who have expressed concern about the lack of policies and protections to stop the spread of COVID-19 at their workplaces and are calling on government officials to increase worker protections. The group lays out policy demands in four areas, calling on Governor Lee, city and county mayors, state and local legislators, and health departments to:

  • Issue clear, enforceable regulations for all businesses in Tennessee

  • Provide information to workers about their rights

  • Expand whistleblower and other protections

  • Use workers compensation and employer death benefits to cover workers who contract COVID-19

The group also called on Governor Lee to use his emergency powers to suspend any state laws that prevent local governments from fully implementing these recommendations, including the state law that prohibits local governments from requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave. 

Click here to read the full policy document.

TIRRC Votes released the policy demands while the state legislature is back in session working on some COVID-19 related measures, including a bill that would protect companies from COVID-19 lawsuits, even when employees get sick at work. 

“We can't flatten the curve without improving working conditions - and we know many businesses won’t protect employees on their own,” said TIRRC Votes policy and legislative affairs manager Judith Clerjeune. “Our state and local governments must ensure that all employers are implementing the guidance of OSHA and public health experts on how to keep all employees, including immigrants, safe at work. These expanded health and safety protections must go hand-in-hand with mechanisms to ensure employers are complying and employees feel safe speaking up.”

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TIRRC Votes was launched in 2018 to strengthen and expand our democracy by building power in immigrant and refugee communities and advocating for equitable and inclusive public policy. TIRRC Votes is affiliated with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC).

TIRRC Votes