RELEASE: Tennessee Workers to State Lawmakers: Demand our Employers Protect us from COVID-19
While lawmakers discuss giving immunity to businesses who sacrifice their workers’ health for profits, workers demand policies that create enforceable workplace protections.
NASHVILLE – As state legislators reconvened today for a second special session to address COVID-19 relief legislation, workers from a number of industries gathered at the Capitol to speak out against provisions in the Tennessee COVID-19 Recovery Act and demand that worker protections be included in any relief efforts passed by state lawmakers.
“It's unconscionable that legislators would return to Capitol Hill to pass COVID-19 related measures without addressing the health and safety of workers,” said Judith Clerjeune, policy and legislative affairs manager at TIRRC Votes, one of the groups that organized the event. “We know we cannot slow the spread of the pandemic in our community without improving conditions for workers, and we've seen firsthand that many employers won't do it on their own.”
The Tennessee General Assembly was called back by Governor Bill Lee for a special session to vote on three bills, one of which is the "Tennessee COVID-19 Recovery Act”, which aims to protect businesses and other institutions from liability should employees become infected with COVID-19 on the job. TIRRC Votes previously released demands for increased worker protections in light of the public health crisis during the legislature’s first special session.
"Neither the Governor nor the legislature have proposed or passed any measures to implement enforceable safety guidelines to protect workers,” continued Clerjeune. “Instead they are giving businesses a green light to maximize profit, ignore OSHA and the CDC’s voluntary guidance, and continue to put their workers in harm’s way.”
Workers from the meat processing, fulfillment, construction, hospitality, and education sectors were represented at the event organized by TIRRC Votes, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), Central Labor Council (CLC), Metropolitan Nashville Education Association (MNEA), A Better Balance, and STAND UP Nashville.
Speakers also highlighted disproportionate rates of infection and death affecting Black, Indigenous, and Latinx workers and other workers of color, including immigrants, due in part to structural racism that has ensured workers of color are disproportionately in jobs deemed essential during the pandemic.
A recorded livestream of the remarks can be found here.
The following are additional statements from workers and organizers:
“Workers are the ones who need protection, not big corporations. Our leaders should be coming together to protect all of us, not just a wealthy few. They should listen to workers on the front line like us, not lobbyists for special interest groups who are still making huge profits while the rest of us struggle to get through.” Jason Freeman, SEIU
"Instead of protecting corporate interests, our state leaders should be providing stronger protections for struggling working caregivers, like quality and affordable childcare, paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, and robust anti-discrimination protections. We have heard from workers across the state who are forced to make an impossible choice between protecting their health or the health of a loved one and paying their bills. Our state's working families, especially workers of color and women, urgently need support.” Elizabeth Gedmark, Vice President, A Better Balance
“We go to work knowing it’s dangerous for ourselves and for our customers. What we’re facing is real and already happening, and we deserve at least as much protection as businesses do for hypothetical potential lawsuits. It’s not just that we feel like we’re on the Titanic and not being offered lifeboats. We’re being asked to keep the party going. It’s not right.” Nora Cooper, Restaurant Worker, ROC United Member
“Jeff Bezos has added $35 billion dollars to his net worth while over 160,000 Americans died. $35 billion would pay the entire Metro Nashville budget for 15 years. The legislature is coming back into session to protect Jeff Bezos. He doesn't need protection, his workers do.” Odessa Kelly, Stand Up Nashville
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).