A VACCINE IS NOT BLACK WOMEN AND THE “BACK TO SCHOOL” REFUGEES VS. AN ARMS RACE P. 12 THE PAY GAP P. 34 DILEMMA P. 14 AMAZON P. 9
What’s at Stake for Labor? EVERYTHING. BY HAMILTON NOLAN
+ Rebecca Burns reports from inside the eviction crisis OCTOBER 2020 A MISTAKE FROM OUR PAST. A VOTE FOR OUR FUTURE.
“People have been arguing against the Electoral College from the beginning. But no one, at least in recent years, has laid out the case as comprehensively and as readably as Jesse Wegman does.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Wegman is exactly the right person at the right time to take on the Electoral College.” —JEFFREY TOOBIN
“Combines in-depth historical analysis and insight into contemporary politics to present a cogent argument that the Electoral College violates America’s ‘core democratic principles’ and should be done away with.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
New York Times editorial board member Jesse Wegman draws upon the history of the founding era and modern presidential campaigns to make a powerful case for abolishing the Electoral College. In Let the People Pick the President he shows how we can at long last make every vote in the United States count—and restore belief in our democratic system.
AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS, EBOOKS, AND AUDIOBOOKS ARE SOLD
LetThePeoplePickThePresident_InTheseTimes_FullPage_Final.indd 1 8/12/20 1:20 PM VOLUME 44 NUMBER 10
ON THE COVER What’s at Stake for Labor? EVERYTHING. 18
The Big “Back to LABOR Dodging the School” Question Refugees Eviction Cliff Who decides when it’s vs. Amazon A new federal order could “safe” to go back? East African workers tell protect millions of tenants A DISCUSSION WITH LOIS WEINER, JACKSON Amazon enough is enough. from being evicted—but they’re POTTER AND CHANDRA THOMAS WHITFIELD not taking any chances. BY MICHELLE CHEN BY REBECCA BURNS 14 9 26
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 1 No political movement can be healthy unless it has its own press to inform it, educate it and orient it. “ — IN THESE TIMES FOUNDER JAMES WEINSTEIN ” TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOUNDING EDITOR & PUBLISHER JAMES WEINSTEIN (1926–2005)
DISPATCHES FEATURES EDITOR & PUBLISHER Joel Bleifuss EXECUTIVE EDITOR 6 Deported to Death 18 LABOR (ON LEAVE) Jessica Stites EXECUTIVE EDITOR BY ARVIND DILAWAR What’s at Stake for (ACTING) Diana Babineau Labor? Everything. EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Christopher Hass 7 LABOR BY HAMILTON NOLAN WEB EDITORS Miles Kampf-Lassin, Serving Up Solidarity Sarah Lazare BY ALICE HERMAN 26 Dodging the GUEST EDITORS Dayton Martindale, Eviction Cliff Susan Rinkunas 9 LABOR LABOR REPORTER Hamilton Nolan BY REBECCA BURNS INVESTIGATIVE FELLOWS Refugees vs. Amazon Alice Herman, Indigo Olivier BY MICHELLE CHEN COPY EDITOR Bob Miller PROOFREADERS Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, DEPARTMENTS Rochelle Lodder, Lindsay Muscato SENIOR EDITORS Patricia Aufderheide, VIEWPOINT 4 In Conversation Susan J. Douglas, David Moberg, Salim Muwakkil, Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) It’s Not an Arms Race CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kate Aronoff, 12 7 This Month in Theo Anderson, Michael Atkinson, Frida BY SARAH LAZARE Late Capitalism Berrigan, Michelle Chen, Sady Doyle, Pete Karman, Kari Lydersen, Moshe Z. Marvit, 9 By the Numbers: Jane Miller, Shaun Richman, Slavoj Žižek IN PERSPECTIVE Eating Meat CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Dean Baker, Rebecca Burns, Barbara Ehrenreich, 10 In Case You Missed It Jeremy Gantz, Leonard C. Goodman, Mindy 14 LABOR Isser, Naomi Klein, Chris Lehmann, John LABOR The Big “Back to 13 Nichols, Rick Perlstein, Micah Uetricht The Big Idea: EDITORIAL INTERNS Natalie Chun, School” Question Just Transition Elizabeth Janowski, Patsy Newitt, A discussion with Lois Camille Williams, Janea Wilson Weiner, Jackson Potter and CREATIVE DIRECTOR Rachel K. Dooley Chandra Thomas Whitfield DESIGN ASSISTANT Matt Whitt ON THE COVER CARTOONS EDITOR Matt Bors CARTOONISTS Terry LaBan, Dan Perkins CULTURE Photo illustration by Rachel K. Dooley DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Photos via Getty Images Lauren Kostoglanis DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR 34 LABOR Jamie Hendry The Roots of Black PUBLISHING ASSISTANT Caroline Reid CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Rebecca Sterner Women’s Pay Gap IN THESE TIMES BOARD OF DIRECTORS BY CHANDRA THOMAS WHITFIELD M. Nieves Bolaños, Tobita Chow, Kevin Creighan, Dan Dineen, James Harkin, 38 Comics Robert Kraig, Paul Olsen, Rick Perlstein, Margaret Rung, Steven Saltzman, Stacy 40 In Those Times: Sutton, David Taber, William Weaver An Old Refrain: Voter Fraud The work of In These Times writers is supported by the Puffin Foundation.
Our staff and writers are represented by these unions: pms 3015 pms 130
2 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 EDITORIAL Saving Our Collective Soul wenty-two speakers took to about the rioters and criminals spreading may- the virtual stage of the Democratic Nation- hem in Democrat-run cities. al Convention (DNC) and fretted about the Trump said he is there to help: “We will take state of America’s “soul.” Hillary Clinton care of your problem in a matter of hours.” As for wants to “redeem” it, Sen. Bernie Sanders the white supremacists who can’t wait that long, T(Vt.) to “heal” it and Pete Buttigieg to “contest” it. they know they will receive not condemnation but Kerry Washington and Jill Biden wanted to “fight praise from Fox neo-fascists like Tucker Carlson. for” it. Five others, Andrew Cuomo, Colin Pow- Are those fireworks we hear … or gunshots ell and Sally Yates among them, want to “restore” from Kenosha, Wis.? it. And another five want to “battle” for it, in- cluding Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Joe Our national heritage of white Biden, who, when accepting the nomina- supremacy and chattel slavery tion, asked Americans to join him in “the has been on full display since battle for the soul of the nation.” Claims of American exceptionalism the murder of George Floyd. to the contrary, countries don’t have souls. They do, however, have collec- The soul-invoking DNC speak- tive histories. Historian Jon Meacham ers—who ranged from democratic so- used his time at the DNC podium to cialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to describe two Americas. “Seneca Falls conservative former Gov. John Kasich and Selma and Stonewall dwell in the (R-Ohio)—framed the 2020 election as a American soul,” he said. “But so do the impuls- moral choice. They called upon all Americans to es that have given us slavery, segregation and sys- let their better natures shine. temic discrimination.” He asked that we confront Given the horrors of the Trump era, that pitch our history. “Often we’d prefer to hear the trum- for a return to decency may be enough to secure a pets rather than face the tragedies, but an honest Biden victory in November. But we are embodied accounting of who we’ve been can enable us to see beings with material needs, and we need not only who we should be.” roses for the soul but bread for the body. Progres- “Who we’ve been”—our national heritage of sives must insist on old-fashioned material objec- white supremacy and chattel slavery—has been tives like Medicare for All, relief from student debt, on full display since the Memorial Day murder universal child care, a Green New Deal and work- of George Floyd. Yet, as the Republican Nation- ers’ rights. We need concrete measures to protect al Convention neared, the Republican Party ap- Black and Brown citizens from state violence. peared to celebrate the legacy of what some have In a 1967 speech at Stanford University, Martin called America’s original sin. In his RNC accep- Luther King Jr. said: tance speech, Vice President Mike Pence ridiculed [A] riot is the language of the unheard. And what Biden for saying that systemic racism exists in is it America has failed to hear? … It has failed America and that the police had “an implicit bias to hear that the promises of freedom and justice against minorities.” Said Pence, “The hard truth have not been met. And it has failed to hear that is, you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America.” large segments of white society are more con- Accepting the GOP nomination for president, cerned about tranquility and the status quo than Donald Trump did what he does best: gin up hate, about justice and humanity. sow fear: In 2020 and beyond, we need a Democratic Par- If the Left gains power, they will demolish the ty that hears the unheard and fights for justice and suburbs. … We have to give law enforcement, our humanity—a party that speaks to the pain so many police, back their power. … We can never allow are feeling, not one that quiets them with bromides mob rule. … During their convention, Joe Biden for our collective soul. and his supporters remained completely silent — JOEL BLEIFUSS
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 3 IN CONVERSATION
on the streets, along with a No part of healthcare should must insist on a progres- lot of other homeless peo- be a for-profit business. Ev- sive platform. ple, because the city pro- ery single time there is an —Jean Samargia Niemi vided them all with shelter upper-level management Via Facebook while the Democratic elite group and shareholders in- were in town (my word, volved, the profit angle be- Barack Obama’s wing “elite”—because that’s who comes way more important sounds good to me right they were). The city didn’t than patients’ lives. now! The platform is objec- want any of the high-paid —Claire Johnson tively to the left of where consultants in their 5-inch Via Facebook Obama was and Trump is heels having to step over a literal fascist. Let’s beat people on the sidewalk. THIS PARTY SUCKS the fascist and worry about —Laura Sabransky Obama notably left Alexan- the rest later. BOARD UP Via Facebook dria Ocasio-Cortez off his —Emory Thompson YOUR WINDOWS… list of endorsements (“It’s Via Facebook We have a pandemic, more WHAT’S THE HARM? Still Obama’s Party,” Au- than 180,000 dead, cops “Harm Reduction” is an gust). So much for support- What is in the platform and militia killing citizens, interesting approach (The ing incumbents. Obama is matters less than what we fire tornadoes and now a Big Idea, September). We all about his neoliberal leg- the people push for after Hurricane Katrina repeat have to figure out a way acy, backed by the Dem- the election. This is true (“Another Perfect Storm,” to get our lives back, since ocratic platform. Too bad even if the platform has ev- September). Republicans some people will never do such corporatism hurts the erything you want. fail every time. Now we will what they are supposed to. public interest. Only thing —Jim Winhold find out how much Trump In a world filled with nar- is: Trump is worse. Via Facebook has degraded the Federal cissists and me-firsters, we —Dacre Hancock Emergency Management need all the help and ideas Via Twitter CONTROL THE POLICE? Agency (FEMA). Don’t for- we can get. PUH-LEASE. get the $300 unemploy- —Patty Rogover Owens We need a progressive Corruption in the police de- ment benefit came out of Via Facebook platform. I am so damn partments goes deep (“Put FEMA’s budget. tired of middle-of-the- the People in Charge,” Sep- —Genny Lynch SICK JOKES road, we’ll-play-nice pol- tember). Why do police Via Facebook This is what happened to itics. What has it gotten keep killing Black people? the hospital where my sis- the middle class? For- Because they can. Elim- WATCH YOUR STEP ter works as a nurse, too profit healthcare, 1970s inate qualified immuni- I will never forget when I (“Workers Blow the Whistle wages, so-called right-to- ty (the license to kill), the spent a couple of days in on Mass Death,” Septem- work laws and too many psychopaths and the proud the historic area of Philly ber). A big medical group jobs considered “contract racists. Much like our pol- after the 2016 Democratic bought it up. They laid off work.” It’s BS. Obama had iticians, the police do not National Convention (“The people left and right. She his time. I liked him and hide that Black lives mean Future of Homeless Orga- sits in their administra- voted for him, but he did nothing to them. nizing Lives on the Pretti- tive meetings in horror, lis- not move us far enough. —Antini Doucette est Street in Philadelphia,” tening to what they say and Joe won’t, either, but we Via Facebook September). I met a friend their values and priorities. for dinner outside, and she They closed up her psychiat- was sitting with a young ric unit and created a mess. Q TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL guy I hadn’t met before. They have done so much She had just met him on harm to what was a wonder- Tell us what you like, what you hate and what you’d like to the street and was buying ful community hospital. see more of by emailing [email protected] or tweeting @inthesetimesmag, or reach us by post at 2040 N. Milwaukee him dinner. He explained —JoAnn McIntire Ave., Chicago, IL 60647. it was his first night back Via Facebook
4 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 IN CONVERSATION
ɯ WHY WE’RE SUING THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LETTER FROM THE EDITOR In These Times has joined a harming the wonderful people It feels like we are holding our breath for the end of 2020. How lawsuit, filed July 23 against of this city we call home. We will the pandemic end? Will our police change? When will the the Trump administration, are proud to stand alongside economy bounce back? What about schools? And what will seeking to prevent the deploy- our fellow plaintiffs, including happen in November? ment of paramilitary federal Black Lives Matter Chicago, Wishful thinking suggests our problems could magically be agents to Chicago. In the con- the #LetUsBreathe Collective solved in a single election. But take a look at this issue’s table of text of the ongoing muzzling and the Black Abolitionist contents and notice the little red “LABOR” label over six stories. of protesters for racial justice, Network. As Aislinn Pulley, of In the cover story (p. 18), Hamilton Nolan looks to the elec- we joined this lawsuit because Black Lives Matter Chicago, tion with an eye toward Biden and the labor movement. For the we believe federal agents puts it: “They are trying to past forty-odd years, labor has continued to suffer losses un- would interfere with our First suppress our righteous an- der empty presidential promises. As Sara Nelson, head of the Amendment rights and our ger, and we will not be sup- Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and a speaker at our on- ability to report on move- pressed. We will continue line 44th anniversary party on September 12, says, “I don’t re- ments for social justice—while fighting back.” ally look to the Democrats for leadership; I look to the labor movement.” Chandra Thomas Whitfield traces the history of gender and racial pay discrimination back to slavery in “The Roots of Black Women’s Pay Gap” (p. 34). It can feel like “doom and gloom, no hope,” she says. Researcher Jocelyn Frye, from the Center for American Progress, offers some perspective. In “The Big ‘Back to School’ Question” (p. 14), teachers and parents discuss the challenges of reopening schools. And in “Refugees vs. Amazon” (p. 9), Michelle Chen profiles an East African worker who has been fighting inhumane treatment at Amazon for the past two years. Through it all, you will find stories of struggle against the status quo, for a better future. We are fighting for our lives and livelihoods. Let these stories energize you. Whatever November holds, the labor movement isn’t holding Diana Babineau its breath. It’s mobilizing. Acting Executive Editor
IN THESE TIMES PUBLISHING CONSORTIUM SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS For subscription inquiries, address changes, back issues or classroom rates, call 800-827-0270 or email CHAMPIONS Grant Abert, Leonard C. Goodman, Collier Hands, James Harkin, [email protected]. Polly Howells and Eric Werthman, Samantha Kooney-Collins and Daniel Collins, ADVERTISING For advertising inquiries, contact Christopher Hass Chris Lloyd, Beth Maschinot, A. Paul Olsen, The Park Foundation, The Puffin Foundation at [email protected]. (Neal Rosenstein, Gladys Miller Rosenstein and Perry Rosenstein), David Rathke, Abby SPONSORSHIPS & PLANNED GIVING For information on Rockefeller and Lee Halprin, Jenny and Trevor Tomkins, The Estate of David Schwartz sponsorships or including In These Times in your will, contact Joel Bleifuss at 773-772-0100 or [email protected]. PARTNERS Elizabeth Brackett and Fred Olson, Nancy Fleck Myers, Leslie Noblitt, Alex Payne, The Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone Foundation, Lois Sontag, In These Times (ISSN 0160-5992) is published monthly Institute for Public Affairs, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Nothing Ellen Stone Belic, The Warner Fund (Kitty and Lewis Steel), The Libra Foundation by the Institute for Public Affairs, 2040 North Milwaukee in this magazine should be construed as In These Times Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647. 773-772-0100. Periodicals supporting or opposing a candidate for political office. COLLEAGUES Theresa Alt and Wayles Browne, The Bella S. and Benjamin H. postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing offices. None of this magazine’s content may be reproduced in any Garb Foundation (Maggie Garb), Ralph Edgar Eakins, Francis Hagan, The Victor and Postmaster: Send address changes to In These Times, P.O. manner, either in whole or in part, without permission of Box 6347, Harlan, IA 51593. This issue (Vol. 44, No. 10) the publisher. Subscriptions are $36.95 a year ($59 for Lorraine Honig Fund (Lorraine Honig), Betsy Kreiger and David Kandel, Terry Rogers went to press on September 2, 2020, for newsstand sales institutions; $61.95 Canada; $75.95 overseas). News- and Stephen Kosokoff, Robert McChesney, Robert Nixon, Judith Rhinestine and Michael from September 29, 2020 to October 27, 2020. The entire stand circulation through Disticor Magazine Distribution Stein, Alisse Waterston and Howard Horowitz contents of In These Times are copyright © 2020 by the Services, at 905-619-6565. Printed in the United States.
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 5 DISPATCHES
ing to the 2019 book Life on the Other Border: Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont, one in seven Vermont dairy workers are Latinx migrants, 90% of whom are thought to be undocument- ed. Because more than 94% of Vermont residents are white, and a significant number of Vermont dairy farms are within 25 miles of the Canadian border, Latinx farmworkers are highly visible and vulnerable targets for ICE. Migrant Justice and other im- migrants’ rights groups success- fully pushed for the passage of the Fair and Impartial Policing policy (FIP) in 2017, to help de- fend Vermont’s undocumented population. In theory, FIP pre- vents local law enforcement from working with federal immigra- tion authorities, with exceptions for public and officer safety. On January 11, Martinez was arrested by Vermont State Po- PHOTO COURTESY OF MIGRANT JUSTICE lice for allegedly driving under the influence. A Vermont State Deported with the organization was fol- Police officer then alerted U.S. lowing the [Immigration and Customs and Border Protection to Death Customs Enforcement] arrest of about Martinez, based on “the a Migrant Justice leader named totality of the circumstances,” BURLINGTON, VT.—Durvi Mar- Victor Diaz,” Lambek says. “Dur- says Adam Silverman, public in- tinez left Mexico after expe- vi participated in and helped to formation officer with the state riencing “intense and violent lead that march, and that was police. Those circumstances, discrimination” as a transgender ultimately successful in getting Silverman acknowledges, were Above: Human rights woman, says Will Lambek, a staff Victor released—and he’s still in simply Martinez’s two previous advocate member with Migrant Justice, a the country and remains a Mi- border-crossing arrests. ICE took Durvi Martinez labor union for dairy farmwork- grant Justice leader today.” custody of Martinez the next day. demands ICE ers. Martinez, then 27, arrived Martinez would have a differ- Martinez was then held in release their in Vermont in 2015 and worked ent fate, one that illustrates how men’s prisons despite being a fellow Migrant on a dairy farm, joining Migrant ICE perpetuates transphobic vi- trans woman, first by the U.S. Justice leader Justice after attending one of its olence and the ongoing Covid-19 Marshals at Northwest State Cor- Victor Diaz on worker assemblies. Soon, Marti- pandemic in the United States rectional Facility in Swanton, Vt., May 1, 2016. nez (they/them) was involved in and abroad—and the complicity then by ICE at Strafford County In March, Martinez was Migrant Justice’s many marches of local police in doing so. Corrections in Dover, N.H. deported and actions in defense of undoc- Martinez became part of John Curtis, a superviso- to Mexico, umented immigrants, the back- Vermont’s indispensable, yet ry deputy with the Marshals, where they bone of Vermont’s dairy industry. extremely persecuted, undocu- says the policy is not to impris- died of Covid. “One of their first marches mented dairy workforce. Accord- on trans people in facilities that
6 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 DISPATCHES THIS MONTH don’t match their gender identi- tween mid-March and mid-April. ty, but “I don’t know the specif- The U.S. Marshals Service says ics on her, or him, or however she it wasn’t aware of any reported IN LATE CAPITALISM identifies,” regarding Martinez. cases of Covid-19 at Northwest ICE failed to respond to In These State Correctional Facility, but Times’ request for comment but the Vermont Department of Cor- ? EMIRATES HAS FOUND THE KEY TO CON- has touted two prison units dedi- rections reports 45 positive tests VINCING VIRUS-WEARY TRAVELERS to cated to trans women. Most trans at the prison as of August 31. An hop aboard their flights: extra insurance! The prisoners, however, are held with administrator at ICE’s Strafford Dubai-based airline now generously includes the general population, where County facility reports two posi- a promise of $1,775 toward a passenger’s fu- neral in case they shuffle off this mortal coil harassment, assault and mis- tive cases as of August 12. as a result of their trip. Forbes treatment have been reported. Whether Martinez contracted says the plan “shows they According to Migrant Justice, Covid while imprisoned in the have empathy for their at some point after March 10— United States, on the forced jour- customers and under- the start of Martinez’s ICE im- ney to Mexico, or while in Mexi- stand the current envi- prisonment—Martinez requested co, Migrant Justice believes the ronment.” Happy flying! a “credible fear screening,” the possibility that Martinez con- first step in the process of seek- tracted Covid outside the United ? IN THE RUSH TO APPROVE A COVID-19 ing asylum from transphobic vi- States does not absolve ICE nor VACCINE, corporate insiders have pocketed olence in Mexico. But before the Vermont State Police. a cool $1 billion, the New York Times reports. Martinez could secure an immi- “Migrant Justice holds ICE re- While unemployment has jumped into double gration attorney, ICE was moving sponsible for Durvi’s death, even digits, hedge funds and investors have made ahead with deportation. Lambek if they didn’t contract Covid in out like bandits, enriching the pharmaceuti- thinks the speed of Martinez’s detention,” Lambek says. “Both cal and medical industries. So far, with no deportation could be linked to the conditions of detention and U.S.-made vaccine nearing availability, the the pandemic. During that time, their deportation certainly led to return on investment has been … not great. ICE was under pressure to reduce their contraction of the disease ? HAVING TROUBLE KEEPING UP WITH PUB- the number of people it impris- and, ultimately, their death. And LIC HEALTH ADVISORIES? You’re not alone. oned because social distancing to the extent that Vermont State The nonprofit activist group Avaaz reports is impossible in prisons. Rather Police were proactively involved “global health misinformation-spreading than release people to sponsors, in alerting ICE to Durvi’s arrest networks” have “generated an estimated 3.8 ICE chose to rush deportations. and transferring Durvi to ICE’s billion views on Facebook” in the past year. At most, ICE gave Martinez 10 custody, in violation of their own That’s way, way more traffic than the sites days to pursue asylum. They were policy—that culpability extends with truthful information. Meanwhile, Face- deported March 20. to the state police as well.” book continues to profit from the increased That fear of Covid-19 was ulti- traffic, even if it leads to people drinking ARVIND DILAWAR is an independent mately realized: On July 1, Mar- journalist. His articles have appeared bleach. But, hey, the free market wants what tinez died of the coronavirus in in Newsweek, the Guardian and Vice. it wants. Mexico. According to Lambek, Martinez was first denied care at ? THE UNITED STATES HAS JUST WIT- a public facility before their fami- NESSED ANOTHER MILESTONE —and no, ly was forced to seek treatment at Serving Up it’s not the 180,000+ Americans dead from Covid-19. Three cheers for a private hospital. Apple, which achieved the As may have been the case Solidarity first-ever $2 trillion mar- with Martinez, critics warn that BOISE, IDAHO—It was raining ket valuation in the U.S. deportations are exporting the lightly June 29 when Geo Engber- Americans may be out of virus to other countries. The son, owner of the Pie Hole piz- work, isolated and in fear United States deported more zeria, convened an emergency of a killer virus—but at than 100 people with Covid-19 staff meeting. He had intended a least we can still celebrate to Guatemala, for example, be- quick conference in the parking together via FaceTime.
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 7 RESIST
KENOSHA, WIS.—Protesters stand in solidarity August 26 with a demonstration against the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, on August 23. No officers have been charged. On August 25, two protesters were killed and a third in- jured by gunfire; a 17-year-old white male has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide. Protests are ongoing as Gov. Tony Evers called in the National Guard. (Kerem Yücel/AFP via Getty Images)
lot behind the restaurant, known When Palmer and fellow work- “We got busy, and we needed to for its steady stream of weekend er Marshall Harris reaffirmed hire more people,” Engberson bar-goers. Given the weather, they would not train new hires, tells In These Times. He adds, “I Engberson ferried the handful of Engberson fired them. treat my employees like family … workers into his trailer. In the weeks since, the Pie and I don’t ever hear from them Earlier that month, workers at Hole workers have organized a that they’re disgruntled about the pizza joint petitioned for an series of pickets in front of the their wages.” Engberson also hourly wage bump. Worried that restaurant. Calling themselves says that, when he used the word Pie Hole was prepared to replace the Pie Hole Workers Union, “scabs,” he was quoting Palmer— them, former employee Kiwi they filed a complaint with the not confirming the new workers Palmer says, she and her cowork- National Labor Relations Board were, in fact, scabs. ers refused to train new hires. alleging the firing was retaliato- The Pie Hole workers have This refusal triggered a conflict. ry and violated their right to par- found support from the Boise In a recording of the trail- ticipate in “concerted activity” chapter of the Democratic Social- er meeting obtained by In These without reprisal. ists of America (DSA), which has Times, Engberson says, “Kiwi, Engberson rejects the claim aided in pickets and connected yesterday you told [the manager] that Palmer and Harris were fired them with DSA’s national Restau- you wouldn’t train new hires, any for organizing and that the busi- rant Organizing Project. scabs. That still how you feel?” ness planned to replace them. Beyond Boise, multiple left-
8 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 eating meat wing labor groups have taken on tarily recognize their bargaining the cause of restaurant organiz- unit. The company then shut down BY THE NUMBERS ing. In addition to its Restaurant operations and laid off everyone in Organizing Project, DSA has col- the cafés. Now, former workers are laborated with the United Electri- campaigning for union recognition 77,047,001,000 cal, Radio and Machine Workers and to be rehired. mammals and birds were of America (UE)—a democrat- “People are so atomized, and the slaughtered for meat ic, rank-and-file union—to advise job they do is so temporary,” says worldwide in 2018 workers on union drives and work- Matthew Soliz, a barista organiz- place actions. Between the DSA ing with Augie’s Union. “I think for projects and UE’s organizing, the people my age and younger, unions of global greenhouse Left has taken a central role in pan- aren’t really a concept, right? Like, 15% gas emissions come demic-era organizing. in talking to my coworkers, the from animal agriculture “We’ve seen a significant up- most common response is, ‘I don’t tick in workers contacting us really know what that is.’ ” times more meat is eaten by about organizing from the restau- Given the challenges, restau- 3 the average American than by rant industry, and in the food ser- rant workers are banding together the average person worldwide vice [and] hospitality sector more across restaurants and across cit- broadly,” UE organizer Mark ies. In Chicago, New Orleans, Den- Meinster says. “Workers are very ver and Boise, restaurant workers of global habitable land concerned about the lack of safety have formed citywide solidarity or- 138% would be needed if the protections regarding Covid, the ganizations. On July 24, workers whole world ate the American diet lack of paid sick leave and the drop around the country marched to de- in income many anticipate as a re- mand expanded benefits from un- wild species are directly sult of serving fewer customers.” employment insurance. 2,267 threatened by farmed animals; This wave of labor activism in “The fact that [DSA’s Restaurant more species are indirectly threatened hospitality has already ushered Organizing Project] is growing is by the crops grown to feed the animals in wins. In March, a coalition of evidence [that] A, we’re not cra- New Orleans service and hos- zy, and B, we’re not alone, and C, of global calories (and only pitality workers campaigned to that there is solidarity that is grow- % 37% of global protein intake) disburse reserves from the city’s ing rapidly,” Harris says. “Inside 18 comes from animal meat, but animal convention center directly into the of five weeks, I’ve gone from never agriculture uses 77% of farmland hands of workers; by April 22, the having done any of this to attempt- city agreed to provide $1 million ing to organize other people.” in grants to workers affected by of deforesta- ALICE HERMAN is a 2020-2021 Leonard the pandemic. Some restaurants C. Goodman Investigative Fellow. 80% tion in the in Philadelphia, where hospitality Amazon is driven workers have organized to end the by cattle ranching subminimum wage for servers and bartenders, have increased wages Refugees vs. bathtubs’ worth of during the pandemic. water is required to But the restaurant industry re- Amazon 50 produce a single pound of beef mains difficult to organize, and SHAKOPEE, MINN.—Hibaq Mo- union shops are still the extreme hamed, a Somali immigrant in minority, with union density in ac- her 20s, has worked for Amazon U.S. meatpacking work- commodation and food service nearly as long as she’s been in the 41,546 ers have tested posi- hovering around 2.1%. United States. In 2016, she moved tive for Covid-19, as of August 21 At Augie’s Coffee, a chain in from a refugee camp to Minneso- Southern California, workers dem- ta, home to one of the largest East onstrated 70% support for the Au- African communities in the coun- less meat has been eaten gie’s Union (represented by UE) try. She soon joined the legion of 3% worldwide in 2020, the biggest and requested the company volun- workers who fuel the state’s main year-over-year drop in decades
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 9 Amazon facility, the MSP1 fulfill- for,” she recalls. She says the standards and a lack of diversity ment center in Shakopee. “This workers were immigrants who among management. was my first job,” Mohamed says. did not speak English fluently. Following initial protests in The Shakopee facility em- Though Amazon says these were 2018, Amazon management sat ploys roughly 1,000 workers to seasonal hires—and were there- down with MSP1’s East Afri- execute Amazon’s highly mech- fore dismissed once their tempo- can workers to discuss working anized work regimen every day, rary stints ended—the seeming conditions—highly unusual for packing orders at a frenzied rate lack of transparency motivated Amazon, which had previously of around 250 units per hour. Mohamed. “I feel like this was avoided such talks with workers. While items zip down a conveyor unfair,” she says. Amazon eventually agreed to belt, the workers are monitored Around 2017, Mohamed and make some accommodations at through an automated system for other East African immigrant MSP1, such as committing man- slowdowns and errors that dam- workers started meeting with agers to meet quarterly with age their performance ratings. the Awood Center, a Minneapo- workers and to respond to com- On top of the pressure to meet lis worker center. Over the past plaints within five days, accord- quotas, Mohamed says manage- two years, East African work- ing to the New York Times. But ment fired “a crazy number of ers have spearheaded walkouts workers have continued to com- workers” shortly after she start- and protests at Amazon against plain that the intense productiv- ed working there. “They are not what they perceive as incompe- ity pressure often leaves them telling us what they fired them tence, inhumane productivity without time for daily prayers and
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ALL THE NEWS THAT WAS FIT TO PRINT— HYPED AND WHAT GOT PRINTED INSTEAD
Courting so-called moderate Protests erupted in Kenosha, Republicans may have failed cata- Wis., after police shot Jacob strophically for Democrats in 2016, Blake, an unarmed Black man, but maybe this time… ? in the back multiple times. Blake is now paralyzed.
Tampa’s new pro-police mural sends an unequivocal message: Bock the Blub. Or Brck the Bluf?
Even Trump may have realized: Do not come for the post office. VITAL
TRIVIAL Even accounting for all the random sociopaths, giving the Covington This month in American dystopia: Catholic kid nearly five minutes California struggles to put out raging at the Republican National Con- wildfires because its prison labor fire vention was a weird choice. crews were released from prison to avoid spreading Covid-19.
Republican congressional candidate After Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis (turned music critic) James Bradley ordered Florida schools open, says the raunchy Cardi B & Megan around 9,000 children tested Thee Stallion song “WAP” makes him positive for Covid-19 in the first two “want to pour holy water” in his ears. weeks of class. IGNORED
10 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 bathroom breaks, despite Ama- zon stating that workers can pray at any time. MSP1 also has one of the highest injury rates among Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Awood has become a hub for the East African worker commu- nity, teaching organizing tactics and building mutual support. Awood operates as a grassroots group and not a formal union, but other unions—including the Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters—have been supporting Amazon work- ers at MSP1 and other facilities. A month after the stay-at- home orders began, Amazon eliminated unlimited unpaid Hibaq Mohamed, a Somali immigrant who works at Amazon’s MSP1 fulfilment center in Shakopee, time off for those who opted to Minn., has helped organize a number of walkouts and protests against Amazon. stay home for health concerns, which triggered a walkout by tested working conditions. Amazon’s labor practices in the more than 50 MSP1 workers. She wrote to Minnesota Attor- public spotlight. The workers also protested what ney General Keith Ellison this Amazon estimates about 30% they said was the retaliatory summer to seek protection under of its Shakopee workers are East firing of two worker activists, Fai- an executive order shielding whis- African, many of whom live in za Osman (who Awood claims tleblowers from retaliation. “Am- the Twin Cities Somali refugee was terminated after staying azon managers have targeted me community, which has struggled home to avoid infection, but was and openly harassed me before,” with racial discrimination and later reinstated) and Bashir Mo- Mohamed wrote, “but increas- socioeconomic hardship. Now, hamed (who was disciplined for ingly during the pandemic.” these bonds have transformed violating social distancing guide- Amazon spokesperson Jen into organizing power. Having lines, which workers say are se- Crowcroft denies such claims built a diverse community of mil- lectively enforced). of retaliation, stating, “We sup- itant workers at MSP1—Somali, Workers’ fears about the virus port every employee’s right Spanish and English speakers were confirmed in June, when to criticize their employer, but alike—Mohamed knows there is about 90 warehouse employ- that doesn’t come with blan- safety in numbers. ees tested positive for Covid-19. ket immunity to ignore internal “We have one goal, and we Bloomberg reported that Ama- policies.” Similarly, Amazon at- can understand each other,” Mo- zon had carefully tracked the tributes Bashir’s dismissal to vi- hamed says. “We have the power Covid-19 infection rate at MSP1 olations of workplace rules and to change policy.” Although the but did not disclose to workers claims Osman still works at Am- company “give[s] us a lot of fear,” details on the number of cases. azon and was not fired. she adds, “[we] still have the Amid rising fears of Covid-19 Mohamed’s allegations reflect courage to fight back and work risks at work, Mohamed was writ- a broader pattern of firings and for the change we want.” ten up in July for taking too much punishment of worker-organizers This article is part of a series sup- “time off task,” Amazon’s term during the pandemic, which has ported by the Economic Hardship for intermittent breaks. But she prompted lawmakers to investi- Reporting Project. contends she had rarely received gate Amazon’s labor practices. any disciplinary write-ups until For now, however, Mohamed’s MICHELLE CHEN is a contributing the management “clearly made outspokenness might protect her, writer for In These Times and co-host
ILLUSTRATION BY MOLLY CRABAPPLE MOLLY BY ILLUSTRATION me a target” after she had pro- as the workers’ uprisings have put of Dissent’s Belabored podcast.
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 11 VIEWPOINT
SARAH LAZARE ough national security evalu- ation and clearance” for “all Chinese student visa holders It’s Not an Arms Race taking part in activities related to Covid-19 vaccine research.” ovid-19 vaccine we need more law enforcement. The bill adds to Trump’s trend nationalism—the idea “This is further inflaming na- of racist scapegoating. C that the search for a tionalist politics,” Chow says, U.S. agencies, too, are mak- vaccine is an arms race, win- “and contributing to the in- ing a public show of their efforts ner take all for its own people, crease of all of this infrastruc- to crack down on alleged Chi- even as global infections surge ture and intelligence agencies nese intellectual property theft. past 25 million—is playing out and federal law enforcement On July 21, the Department of along well-worn geopolitical agencies devoted to protect- Justice announced it had indict- fault lines: Russia, China and ing intellectual property rights, ed two people with ties to China even Iran are trying to steal which should not exist.” for alleged hacking related to a U.S. vaccine research, accord- As Baker tells In These Times, Covid-19 vaccine. An FBI press ing to U.S. intelligence agen- any proprietary vaccine search release breathlessly declared, cies, whose warnings dutifully is “almost certainly” slowing “China is determined to use ev- circulate in major media out- ery means at its disposal … to lets. The idea that U.S. com- degrade the United States’ panies and the government economic, technological and should consider the research military advantages.” proprietary is rarely ques- Chow notes that, while this tioned. In popular discourse, fearmongering has escalat- the unconscionable act is to ed during the pandemic, it try to obtain research, while predates the Trump admin- hoarding it is fine. istration. This has led to “the This spin dates to the ear- development of this huge ly days of the U.S. crisis. On wing of the FBI, a whole eco- March 19, the New York Times nomic espionage program, ran a piece titled, “Search for down research. “If there are assuming everyone from Chi- Coronavirus Vaccine Becomes successes,” he says, “you’d like na is a potential spy,” Chow a Global Competition.” Its to know as quickly as possible, says. “That started under the opening line declares, “A glob- as well as failures, so that others Obama administration and has al arms race for a coronavirus don’t waste time on that.” ramped up tremendously.” The vaccine is underway.” President Trump, meanwhile, latest iteration of vaccine na- As Dean Baker, economist has sought to blame China for tionalism has simply contribut- and co-founder of the left-lean- the Covid-19 outbreak as he ed to its growth. SARAH ing Center for Economic and oversees profound domestic cri- Ana Santos Rutschman, as- LAZARE Policy Research, tells In These ses and a surging U.S. infection sistant professor at Saint Lou- Times, “Why on Earth wouldn’t rate. In early July, Trump an- is University School of Law, is an In These we be working together to find nounced the withdrawal of the tells In These Times she is most Times web editor and solutions as quickly as possi- United States from the World concerned with vaccine dis- writer. Her ble?” He adds, “We’re making Health Organization (WHO), tribution. According to the investigative it proprietary rather than say- which he accused of aiding a Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker, pro- reporting has ing, ‘Here’s the knowledge.’ ” Chinese cover-up. vided by FasterCures of the appeared in According to Tobita Chow, On May 21, Sens. Ted Cruz Milken Institute, 207 vaccines The Intercept, director of Justice is Global (and (R-Tex.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) are in development and 29 are The Nation, Al In These Times board member), introduced a bill to “protect in clinical trials as of Septem- Jazeera and the media message suggests Covid-19 vaccine research from ber 1. “Once you develop two Tom Dispatch. that, rather than global cooper- Communist China,” which, in to three candidates and decide ation and information sharing, their words, “requires a thor- who will get them first, that’s
12 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 THE BIG IDEA when nationalism will occur,” resolution included such measures as a Rutschman says. just federal jobs guarantee, it did not specifi- Wealthy countries are ma- cally address fossil-fuel workers, leaving it neuvering quickly to buy up tran•si•tion open to criticism by union leaders. any potential vaccines, pre- noun Bernie Sanders’ version, released lat- er that year, included up to five years of in- emptively ordering hundreds A framework to address the 1. come replacement and free education for of millions of doses. During the livelihoods and needs of the displaced workers. Climate groups, in- 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, workers and communities cluding the Sunrise Movement, also wealthy countries advance- most impacted by the switch advocate income guarantees. These ordered nearly the entire glob- to renewable energy provisions, modeled after the GI Bill, al supply of vaccines, according + Where does this idea are an important step toward win- to a research paper published come from? The superficial ning support from labor. by the National Center for Bio- conflict between saving the technology Information. The planet and saving the economy WHO negotiated with man- has long dogged environ- ufacturers for poor countries, mentalists, but the “way out,” We want [a plan to] mobilize but “the developing world [was according to U.S. labor leader “ left with] limited supplies com- Tony Mazzocchi back in 1993, the economy in a way that pared to developed countries,” is to “make provision for the transitions us off of fossil the paper notes. workers who lose their jobs in As of July 15, more than 150 the wake of the country’s drasti- fuels in 11 years, but also countries had joined (or ex- cally needed environmental protects every single worker pressed interest in joining) one cleanup.” Mazzocchi, once vice international effort, the Cov- president of the Oil, Chemical [and] their ability to have id-19 vaccines global access fa- and Atomic Workers Interna- a job and healthcare. cility (COVAX), co-organized tional Union (later absorbed ” into the United Steelworkers), —NICOLE KARSCH, SUNRISE MOVEMENT ORGANIZER by the WHO, Gavi (funded was responding to chemical by the Gates Foundation, the plant closures and then-new Superfund + Given how 2020 has gone so far, United States and other coun- environmental cleanup programs. If there what are the odds we’ll get anywhere tries) and other groups. Ac- can be Superfund for toxic dirt, the thinking near this? It may not surprise you that, cording to Science magazine, went, there should be one for workers. for all his talk about coal country, President COVAX “seeks to entice rich That vision of labor and environmental- Donald Trump has not weighed in on what a countries to sign on by reduc- ists working together is at the center of a just transition would look like. The new Joe ing their own risk that they’re “just transition.” Biden climate plan, more aggressive than betting on the wrong vaccine his primary platform, at least leaves the con- candidates.” Rutschman says + Is a just transition part of the Green versation open with the potential to create the public-private partner- New Deal? It should be! While Alex- millions of new climate jobs. ship is “imperfect” but “bet- andria Ocasio-Cortez’s landmark 2019 States, too, can take action. Colorado ter than nothing,” because it is passed a groundbreaking just transition at least an “internationalized law in 2019 that guarantees benefits and approach.” So far, the United grants for former coal workers and coal- dependent communities. It’s hard to imag- States has declined to join. ine replicating this victory given state According to Baker, this iso- budgets during the pandemic, but the pan- lationist approach is risky—for demic also emphasizes the importance of everyone. “The implication,” a just transition—as oil demand plummets he says, “is that we are going to and thousands of refinery workers may have people in the United States face imminent layoffs nationwide. die if it isn’t a U.S. vaccine. And The transition is happening regardless. the other way around, we are The question is whether workers and com- prepared to let people around munities will be left behind. the world die—because it is a U.S. vaccine.” ILLUSTRATIONS BY TERRY LABAN
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 13 THIS MONTH: The Big “Back to School” Question
LOIS WEINER AND JACKSON POTTER in the words of Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang. Teacher Unions Redefine For many teachers union ac- tivists advocating for social jus- What Makes Us Safe tice, an “equitable” school is one that can address the full emands for stu- zation of education, boost range of human needs required LOIS dents and educators profits in the educational to educate all children well. D to return to in-person technology sector and erode Children who are hungry and WEINER schooling during the pandem- trust in public schools. on the verge of eviction—or is a member ic are coming from Democrats In response, teachers’ labor living in temporary shelters— of the editorial and Republicans, both claim- activism—widespread and ro- cannot be expected to succeed board of New ing the return is necessary not bust in recent years—continues academically, whether remote- Politics, pro- just to provide high-quality ed- to emerge. Teachers organiz- ly or in person. An equitable fessor emerita ucation, but to save the econ- ing on social media have cam- school, for example, would sup- at New Jersey omy and get parents back to paigned for various scientific port the Black Lives Matter City University work. The narrative conscious- standards to trigger reopen- movement in its call to replace and author of ly exploits the needs of parents ing; #14DaysNoNewCases, for police with counselors, nurses, The Future of Our Schools. who may not have healthcare example, demands that cam- social workers and restorative and who rely on public schools puses only reopen after going justice personnel. It would also to care for and educate their two weeks without Covid-19 support the cancellation of rents children while they work. It pits infections. The Demand Safe and mortgages, a moratorium parents, students, teachers and Schools Coalition wants class on evictions and foreclosures, community members against sizes limited to 10 to 15 stu- and direct cash assistance for one another, using (or ignoring) dents, ventilation that meets the unemployed and those un- scientific data to suit the polit- guidelines from the Centers for able to work. The nation’s sec- ical purpose of moneyed inter- Disease Control and Preven- ond and third largest teachers ests—the bipartisan project of tion, clean and socially distant unions, in Chicago and Los An- JACKSON destroying public schools. school transportation, supplies geles, helped organize protests POTTER When Education Secre- of personal protective equip- against financial targets like tary Betsy DeVos tweets that ment and ample Covid-19 test- the Chamber of Commerce, is a Chi- cago Teachers parents “need real options ing. Activists in dozens of cities the Federal Reserve, the Board Union trustee, for education this fall” and rallied August 3 for these and of Trade and big banks, calling a member of #SchoolChoiceNow—with- other demands, resisting hasty, for interest-free loans and high- the Big Bar- out providing the equipment, underfunded and unsafe re- er taxes on the rich to fund safe gaining Team conditions or funds need- openings that impose harm, school reopenings. and a teacher ed to make schools safe—the especially on low-income stu- The American Federation of at Back of real message is clear. The dents of color. The campaign Teachers (AFT) and the Nation- The Yards Right is using the push to re- #OnlyWhenItsSafe advocates al Education Association (NEA) College Prep. open as a way to intensify the reopening only if it is “equita- have verbally supported some privatization and marketi- ble and healthy for everyone,” of the movement’s demands.
14 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 Jesse Sharkey, president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), speaks August 3 prior to the Occupy City Hall Protest and Car Caravan, orga- nized by CTU and others to halt school reopenings until schools are safe, among other demands. Similar rallies were held across the country.
For example, AFT has endorsed remain mostly unrecognized. beyond the life-and-death risk a union local’s right to strike Powerful elites are willing to their personal health, teach- when necessary to prevent re- to sacrifice the lives and fu- ers’ struggles mark resistance openings that endanger lives. tures of millions of people to to the perpetuation of this un- But both unions have also em- feed their own profits. Even equal, unjust society. braced the push from Wall Street and Silicon Valley for ed- ucational technology to con- CHANDRA THOMAS WHITFIELD trol learning and profit from student data. The pandemic CARES Act, endorsed by both Parents’ unions, encourages funneling limited public education fund- Impossible Choice ing into software for distance learning, controlled by corpo- am among the mil- house, learn from their teach- rations. Ed tech corporations lions of parents around the ers in person, spend time with CHANDRA and liberal think tanks are now I country (and more around friends beyond a laptop screen. THOMAS pushing software for “personal- the world) wondering wheth- My husband and I want that, ized learning” and “social and er to send our children back too. If only it were that simple. WHITFIELD emotional development” that to school. The mere question By August 30 at least 36 is a 2019-2020 Leonard C. collects data that can be used evokes conflicting thoughts states had reported posi- Goodman for profit and surveillance— that usually end in confusion tive cases at colleges and uni- Institute for In- while simultaneously distort- and exasperation. It’s a big deci- versities, adding more than vestigative Re- ing and appropriating ideals sion, one that most parents feel 8,700 cases to America’s to- porting Fellow, about making learning indi- ill-equipped to make. tal. My heart sinks thinking and host and vidual and caring for children’s Let’s be real: This novel coro- of that now-infamous pho- producer of In needs. Though some teach- navirus still stumps world- to of Georgia high school stu- The Gap, an In ers are starting to use their lo- renowned epidemiologists. dents—a state where I once These Times cal and state unions, like the How can parents adequately as- lived—maskless and crammed podcast about Massachusetts Teachers Asso- certain what’s best? My kids together in a narrow hallway, pay discrimi- ciation, to push back against have tearfully intimated on no social distancing in sight. nation and the NEA and AFT positions, more occasions than I care to Predictably, nine students and Black women the dangers of ed tech in re- acknowledge that they want to staff tested positive for Cov- workers.
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES opening plans and education go back—to actually leave the id and the school temporarily
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 15 INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS 2040 NORTH MILWAUKEE AVENUE • CHICAGO, IL 60647 PHONE (773) 772-0100 • WEB INTHESETIMES.COM
Dear Friend, There’s not much time left between now and the 2020 elections. I won’t pretend to know what the world will look like after November 3. What I do know is that this tumultuous year has laid bare the need for progressive political change. The past few months have been a reminder of the vital role that trustworthy, independent media plays in our society. The health of our democracy, the health of the people and the health of the media are all threatened. In each case, it is up to individuals like you to do whatever you can to preserve the things you hold dear. This means voting, volunteering, marching in the street or simply wearing a mask when in public. It also means supporting the media organizations that you depend on to guide you through this difficult moment. At In These Times, we know we have our work cut out for us in the months ahead. I’m hoping you will contribute to that work with a donation. Whatever the outcome of the elections in November, we will be there to help you make sense of it all. We do not pretend to have all the answers, but we will continue to ask the hard questions, while amplifying the voice of activists, youth and workers who are leading the charge into a better future. Moments like these are when readers need In These Times most. They are also the moments when In These Times needs your support. We are up for the challenge, as long as you have our back. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation now to help In These Times rise to the challenge. You can use the envelope in the center of this issue, or you can make a safe and secure donation online at: inthesetimes.com/support.
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P.S. If you are unable to make a contribution today, we understand, and we hope you’ll consider supporting In These Times in the future. We are all in this together. closed. It’s not quite a ringing lege that boredom and cab- already reported outbreaks endorsement for return. in fever are among our most (multiple infections linked to And those were teenagers. pressing concerns. Millions of the same location or event), Theoretically, they have the ca- Americans are struggling with both involving staff. More cas- pacity to grasp the consequenc- illness, loss of life and loss of es were discovered at other es of a public health crisis. My livelihoods. Many parents—es- schools, after students were rambunctious 8- and 6-year-old pecially low-wage service work- tested preemptively. We have sons? Not so much. Before the ers, disproportionately Black been warned that our in-per- pandemic, we were still work- and brown—have been deemed son start date could be pushed ing on the whole “wash your “essential,” forcing them to the back if cases continue to rise. hands” thing. I am not optimis- front lines. Without schools Ultimately, I agree with this tic they could keep a mask on open, where will their children choice, even if it won’t be easy. for an entire school day. go while they go to work? The Safety must come first. The story of little Kimo- lack of high-quality, affordable Consider, again, the state ra Lynum—“Kimmie” as her child care and related support of Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp family affectionately called systems must be factored into pushed for his state and schools her—adds to my never-end- any decision about closing or to reopen, yet the governor’s ing anxiety. The 9-year-old reopening schools. mansion where he lives remains Florida girl loved to play video My kids’ school district in closed to public tours indefi- games and dance to YouTube Colorado reopened in August, nitely, according to its website, and TikTok videos, just like about two weeks later than “to ensure the health and safety my boys. After a sudden on- usual, and online learning of Georgia families.” set of a high fever and severe will continue at least through Something tells me school stomach pains in July, Kimmie mid-October. At least two K-12 districts should be doing the was misdiagnosed with a uri- schools in Colorado have same. nary tract infection at a local hospital. She was sent home with Tylenol and antibiotics. Less than a week later, she died. A posthumous test de- termined Kimmie had Covid. My heart aches for her mother, Mikasha Young- Holmes, who lost her only child. The preliminary evi- dence suggests younger chil- dren are less likely to become infected, but it is hard to stave off the fear of one of my sons becoming that rare case. Kim- mie was African American, like my family and me. Statis- tically, we are at elevated risk. But I admit I face yet another truth, as do many parents who privately admit it: I am tired. We want back our “B.C.” lives, the ones from “before Covid- 19.” Having kids in school would certainly help. My fam- ily and I have done our best to stay upbeat and creative, but we can only do so many mov- ie nights, paint parties and day trips confined in a car. And I recognize the privi-
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 17 18 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 BY HAMILTON NOLAN What’s at Stake for Labor? EVERYTHING. Unions hope a Biden presidency will reverse decades of anti-worker policies
merica is in crisis. There can be no doubt about that. All of our imme- diate crises—the pandemic and the unemployment and the eco- Anomic collapse and the death spiral of vari- ous public institutions—have lent the upcom- ing presidential election an air of emergency. For working people in America, though, the emergency is nothing new at all. What is at stake for labor in this election is everything. Nothing, therefore, has changed.
Donald Trump and the coronavirus, the Reagan era, economic inequality has the two factors infusing this election with been rising, union power has been declin- urgency, are of recent vintage. But the cri- ing, and global capitalism has been wid- sis for working Americans has been grow- ening the chasm between the rich and
MANDEL NGAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES ing worse for at least four decades. Since everyone else.
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 19 Joe Biden rallies firefighters at a get-out-the-vote event in New Hampshire before the Democratic primary in February. Biden won no delegates in the state, but firefighters’ unions were among the first to endorse the candidate.
Organized labor has been fighting a losing—and Since Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act in sometimes ineptly fought—battle against these 1947, unions have been operating in the frame- trends in every election since 1980. The once-in-a- work of a set of labor laws designed to rob them century catastrophe surrounding the 2020 election of power. The state of those laws today is abys- may be what it needs to finally reverse two genera- mal. The right to strike is restricted, and com- tions of disrespect and defeat. panies have been able to classify large swaths Labor unions, which represent workers in a of their workers as “independent contractors,” workplace, have always included people of all po- who lack the right to unionize. More than half the litical stripes. The labor movement—the broader states in the country have passed “right to work” universe of groups pursuing the interests of work- laws, which give workers the ability to opt out of ing people—will continue to lean left, in the direc- paying union dues, making it extremely diffi- tion that values labor over capital. (Seeing police cult for unions to organize and maintain mem- unions endorse Trump, whose administration is bership. The 2018 Supreme Court decision in the determined to crush labor rights, is an example of Janus v. AFSCME case made the entire public sec- the fact that individual unions and their members tor “right to work” as well, which is sure to eat can act in self-interested ways that go against the into that last bastion of strong union density. The labor movement as a whole.) unfulfilled desire to achieve some semblance of For roughly the past half century, union house- labor law reform has been the primary reason holds have tended to vote Democratic by about a that unions in America have poured money into 60-40 margin, but that margin has fluctuated. In the Democratic Party for decades, despite get- 1980, Ronald Reagan narrowed the gap to only a ting decidedly modest legislative wins in return. few points. Barack Obama took the union vote by Earlier this year, Sharon Block, a former La- 34 points in 2012, but in 2016, that gap shrank by bor Department official in the Obama adminis- half. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, tration who now heads the Labor and Worklife touting his Obama connections and facing an out- Program at Harvard, and labor expert and Har- right incompetent racist, will likely expand that vard professor Benjamin Sachs spearheaded the margin again. assembly of the “Clean Slate for Worker Power”
20 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 It’s critical that in the new administration, “ labor doesn’t just get siloed: ‘What’s the thing we can do to make the unions happy?’ It’s got to be an approach to looking across everything, especially in light of the economic situation.”
— SHARON BLOCK, FORMER LABOR DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL IN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
agenda—something of a union-friendly labor law treat organized labor not as a special interest but platform for Democrats in exile during the Trump as the key to changing our increasingly two-tiered years. That agenda is a fair summation of the la- economy. That point is key to understanding the bor movement’s wish list. It calls for a swath of divide between the part of the labor movement reforms that make it easier for all workers to orga- that supported left-wing candidates like Sen. Ber- nize and exercise power. Its pillars include sectoral nie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D- bargaining, which would allow entire industries Mass.), and those that supported Biden. While to negotiate contracts at once; a much broader Sanders’ backers will speak of his fanatical mor- right to strike; worker representatives on corpo- al devotion to pro-working class policy, Biden’s al- rate boards; streamlined union elections; more la- lies will speak of the personal relationship they bor rights for independent contractors and other have with him. It is the divide between those who gig workers; the end of statewide “right to work” see unions more as part of a greater effort to im- laws; and stronger enforcement of labor standards. prove conditions for all workers, and those who see Biden’s own labor platform, while not quite as radi- them more as a practical tool for members. “Joe cal—it conspicuously does not include sectoral bar- Biden had an open door policy. That was the big- gaining—does include the majority of the Clean gest thing. That was the crux of the relationship,” Slate agenda. Biden’s platform also says there will says a spokesperson for the International Associa- be a “cabinet-level working group” of union repre- tion of Fire Fighters, the first big union to endorse sentatives, which could presumably push his plat- Biden when he entered the 2020 race. “With Joe form even further left. Though Biden was among Biden at the White House, our voice is heard. We the most centrist of the Democratic primary can- get priority access.” didates, the party’s center has moved so much in This transactional, loyalty-centric approach is the past four years that he has the most leftist la- unsurprising for a career politician like Biden, bor platform of any nominee since the New Deal. but it can leave out labor leaders who don’t have While Biden is regarded by many as very pro- such a long history of backing him. Most major union, history has taught the labor movement that unions did not endorse in the 2020 Democrat- its greatest challenge will be getting him to actu- ic primary, preferring to focus on backing who- ally prioritize labor if he assumes power. “I had ever became the nominee to oppose Trump. And the privilege of seeing Joe Biden in action. When Biden—though he has many union allies—is not a he walked into a room where we were discussing crusader, but a politician with decades of strong policy, we knew that the interests of workers, their corporate backing, leading many in labor to won- collective power, and the labor movement was go- der how much he really means what his platform ing to be on the table,” Block says. But, she warns, says. The Biden campaign tried to mitigate that “It’s critical that in the new administration, labor worry by including multiple progressive union doesn’t just get siloed: ‘What’s the thing we can leaders in the Biden-Sanders “Unity Task Force,” do to make the unions happy?’ It’s got to be an ap- which was explicitly set up to unify the left and proach to looking across everything, especially in centrist wings of the party, in part by getting pro- light of the economic situation.” gressive policies into the Democratic platform.
DAVID L. RYAN/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES In other words, the new administration must That task force prodded Biden modestly to the
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 21 What Trump has done with his abysmal “ handling of Covid, and his even worse handling of racism, is to have sobered up everyone that this is an election like no other.”
— RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
left but not so far as to endorse core progressive is now framed in relentlessly practical terms: The ideas like Medicare for All. The unions closest to refusal of Republicans to deal with the pandemic Biden, particularly the firefighters, are opposed and the economic crisis show that only Biden can to Medicare for All because they want to keep the make the government support workplace safe- healthcare plans they negotiated for themselves. ty legislation, protect health insurance and pen- The biggest labor unions often have strong pro- sions, and fund adequate unemployment benefits gressive factions but mostly plant themselves firm- until Las Vegas is back on its feet. ly in the Democratic Party’s mainstream. In fact, “The government really has to provide every- four major union leaders who serve on the plat- thing that the workers need during this pandem- form committee of the Democratic National Com- ic,” Argüello-Kline says. Her union is adapting its mittee voted against including Medicare for All in legendary get-out-the-vote machine for a social- the party’s platform. One was Randi Weingarten, ly distanced era, relying on phone banking, text president of the American Federation of Teachers, messaging and digital communication more than who also served on the Biden-Sanders Unity Task door-knocking and rallies. She’s confident that Force. She says the DNC platform vote was a re- Trump will not carry Nevada. “Everybody in the sult of a prior agreement among those on the Unity country sees how he’s being oppressive to minori- Task Force to vote for its recommendations, in the ties over here. How he’s attacking the Latino com- way you might vote for a union contract that was munity. How he doesn’t want to have anybody in imperfect but the best you could get. this country who doesn’t look like him,” she says. The wretchedness of the Trump administration “We know workers never have an easy road.” has pushed unions to view the election as a matter Across the country, unions that typically would of survival. “What Trump has done with his abys- be spending the summer and fall months focused mal handling of Covid, and his even worse han- on electioneering are forced to balance that with dling of racism, is to have sobered up everyone the work of triaging the needs of members fac- that this is an election like no other,” Weingarten ing very real life-and-death situations. The Retail, says. “That this election needs to be won by Biden Wholesale and Department Store Union represents to make sure that our democracy, as imperfect as front-line retail workers who have been subjected it is, stays in place. … Yes, it’s aspirational about to widespread layoffs that now appear to be per- how we need to do better. But it’s also very primal, manent. It also represents poultry plant workers in about what the stakes are right now.” the South who have continued to work throughout The brutal realities of the pandemic mean that the pandemic with desperate shortages of protec- many unions are forced to focus on their imme- tive equipment. It is hard to tell whether the work- diate needs more than on long-term ideological ing members or the unemployed members of the goals. In the February run-up to the Nevada cau- union face more danger. Stuart Appelbaum, the cus, Joe Biden and the other Democratic primary union’s president, has been a member of the Dem- candidates battled to win the endorsement of the ocratic National Committee for decades, but he powerful Culinary Union, which has organized has never dealt with an election year that combines the state’s casino industry. (The union ultimate- such dire circumstances for workers with such lo- ly did not endorse, and Bernie Sanders won the gistical challenges to mobilize them to fight. caucus.) Less than two months later, the unem- If there is any silver lining, it is that the value of ployment rate for the union’s members was close unions is clearer than ever before. Their public pop- to 100%. Geoconda Argüello-Kline, the union’s ularity is near a 50-year high. Trump’s cartoonish secretary-treasurer, says the presidential election class war lent the Democratic primaries a strong
22 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 Boston teachers protest reopening schools without a districtwide pandemic safety plan in place August 19. The American Federation of Teachers, which endorsed Joe Biden for president in March, helped organize the event.
pro-union flavor, and the workplace inequality ex- al agencies being forced back into the office before posed by the pandemic has only sharpened the rec- the pandemic is under control. ognition of the need for workplace protections. “We “For us, this election isn’t about party affiliation. heard more talk about unions and support of unions It’s not about the daily outrages from Twitter. It’s than we’ve heard in any other campaign that I can about our very livelihoods. It’s about our rights and remember,” Appelbaum says. “There is more of a our lives at work,” says Everett Kelley, president of recognition in the Democratic Party now and in the 700,000-member union. “The issues that our society as a whole as to the importance of work- members are facing are really the same issues that ers having a collective voice. I remember when Bill face labor as a whole—our members just work in Clinton was first elected, and I’d go to union meet- a sector where the Trump administration has the ings where people would say, ‘Is the president ever widest latitude to implement its anti-labor policies. going to mention the word union?’ That’s not a ques- But there’s no doubt that they want to export their tion we have now.” union-busting playbook from the federal govern- That, of course, is no guarantee that things will ment to the broader public and private sectors.” work out in unions’ favor. The right wing’s long at- tack on organized labor has sapped some of the basic ability of unions to exercise power. No em- ployees have been more directly subjected to that ll of the money, email blasts attack than the workers of the federal government and virtual getting-out-the-vote that itself. The American Federation of Government unions are engaged in on behalf of the Employees has butted heads with the Trump ad- Democratic Party will, if successful, re- ministration incessantly over issues such as the sult in millions of mail-in ballots. And all lack of paychecks during the government shut- of it will be worthless if those ballots are down, efforts to take away collective bargaining Anot delivered and counted properly. Saving the rights from hundreds of thousands of employees post office—and, who knows, perhaps democracy
SCOTT EISEN/GETTY IMAGES at the Defense Department, and workers at feder- itself—is a job that has fallen in the lap of the labor
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 23 The American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers demonstrate in Miami on August 25 to save the U.S. Postal Service from Trump administration cuts, all while expecting record mail-in ballots this election cycle. Both unions have endorsed Joe Biden for president.
movement. Unions have been key players in pub- and lower wages and benefits for the workers,” says licizing the threat to the postal service. They have Mark Dimondstein, head of the 200,000-member rallied political support behind postal workers and American Postal Workers Union. “This is certainly the popular institution as a whole. What may have the fork in the road of whether we’re going to have a been seen as just another underfunded govern- public institution that belongs to everybody, serves ment agency a few years ago is now an avatar of ev- everybody and is the source of good, living-wage erything wrong with Trumpism. union jobs—or a privatized, broken-up gig econo- The U.S. Postal Service is, like many other in- my postal service.” stitutions, facing a pandemic-induced loss of revenue. It is also the target of the Republican Party’s long-term desire to privatize mail deliv- ery and allow corporations to take over its opera- ith tens of millions of tions. Add to that the president’s apparent desire Americans unemployed, a deadly dis- to sabotage the postal service before the election ease raging and an incumbent pres- to prevent mail-in ballots from being counted, ident who appears not to care very and suddenly, the humble post office finds itself much about either crisis, unions and at the center of a nation’s sense that the entire their allies find themselves pushed government may be teetering on the edge of irre- Winto a familiar corner: Fight like hell for the less- trievable corruption. than-ideal Democrat—mainly because there is “Privatization usually means three things. It no alternative. Joe Biden is an imperfect ally. His means higher prices for the consumer, less services, record is business-friendly, and his labor platform,
24 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 We have to look at a Biden victory not as “ an end to our work, but a beginning. The history of this country is, it’s always been the people and the movement, including the working class movement, that has created change in Congress. Not the opposite way.”
— MARK DIMONDSTEIN, THE HEAD OF THE AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION
though strong in theory, is not as aggressive as world toyed with the theory that the way to meet those of some of his primary rivals. Labor move- the moment was to cater to the minority of “white ment veterans remember 2008 well, when the working class” union members who felt left be- Obama administration swept in with promise hind and embraced Trump. That approach was al- but failed to deliver on the Employee Free Choice ways flawed—Trump’s base is the upper, not lower Act, which would have enabled “card check” or- class—and subsequent events have rendered it a ganizing (a method of forming a union with a moot point. The labor movement has loudly allied simple majority vote) and was labor’s main (rel- itself with Black Lives Matter and pledged to join atively modest) wish. Biden is selling himself as the fight for social justice. Living up to that pledge Obama’s successor. It is up to the labor move- means making a choice to oppose Trump. If he is ment to ensure that a Biden administration does reelected, organized labor should expect to be one not take them for granted. of many targets of his vindictiveness. “We have to look at a Biden victory not as an end All of which points to the fact that neither elec- to our work, but a beginning,” Dimondstein says. tion outcome will mean automatic salvation for “The history of this country is, it’s always been the working people. The past 40 years of history dem- people and the movement, including the working onstrate that. Control of the White House has gone class movement, that have created change in Con- back and forth, but through it all, the rich have got- gress. Not the opposite way.” ten richer, the wages of working people have stag- That, in fact, is the task that the labor move- nated, union density has declined and labor law ment—shrunken, battered and divided though it has remained broken. The worst-case scenario for is—should be pouring most of its energy into, even the labor movement is to see more of the same. now. Union density in America has fallen by half “I don’t really look to the Democrats for lead- since the early 1980s. Barely one in 10 workers are ership; I look to the labor movement,” says Sara now union members. That existential decline must Nelson, the head of the Association of Flight At- be turned around, or labor will never have enough tendants and one of labor’s most prominent pro- power to win the economic and political gains that gressive voices. “And we have the power to change working people need. No new president can do this this right now if we choose to do so. That power is for the labor movement—they can only remove not an appendage of the Democratic Party. It’s our some barriers to make it easier for the movement labor. It’s our solidarity,” she says. “As long as we to do it for itself. outsource our power to politicians, we are never, Biden looks strong in the polls, but there is no ever going to get what working people need.” certainty about what lies ahead. Few union lead- ers want to engage seriously with the question of As a 501(c)3 nonprofit publication, In These what happens if Trump wins. The answer is al- Times does not oppose or endorse candidates for ways some variation of “Just keep fighting.” But political office. another four years of Trump would be grim, and surviving it would require a ferocious turn toward HAMILTON NOLAN is a labor reporter for In
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP VIA GETTY VIA IMAGES KHANNA/AFP CHANDAN radicalism. After 2016, some factions of the union These Times.
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 25 s another month of rent came due September 1, tenant organizers were DODGING greeted with a rare bit of good news. The Trump ad- ministration announced a sweeping moratorium on residential evictions — THE — through the end of the year, providing an unexpected 11th-hour reprieve to mil- lions of renters who had EVICTION CLIFF run out of options. It is a stunning move A new federal order could protect millions from a president who be- of tenants from being kicked out of their gan his career in a family business synonymous homes—but they’re not taking any chances. with housing discrimination—and an unmis- takable pivot meant to draw voters’ attention Aaway from the Trump administration’s disas- BY REBECCA BURNS
26 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 PHOTO BY CHASE CASTOR outside City Hall in Kansas City, Mo., in October 2019. October in Mo., City, Kansas in Hall City outside Tenant the of Advocate, Office anew including rights, of Above: tonomous Tenants been Union, urging which has Au Chicago-based the with organizer an shall, for months,” this protections like says Jake Mar to pay effort made best rent. their to covered, be pear attest they’ve long as they as year per ap $99,000 tenants who less make than but for now, court, likely challenged in be all will of actionThe CDC’s kind to this take authority spread togency stop measure the of Covid-19. move emer the an as date. The agency justified to protection eviction farthest-reaching sents the Prevention and (CDC), Control Disease repre advance November of the election. Covid-19 of the pandemic in mishandling trous “Housing organizers have been fighting for have been fighting “Housing organizers The order, Centers bythe issued which was for Members of KC Tenants rally for a tenants’ bill bill atenants’ for KC of Tenants rally Members - - - - - would be unprecedentedwould histo be modern U.S. in end bythe of 2020. of eviction Thatrisk outcome peopleat be could 29 million that than warned Covid-19 the Defense and Project Eviction gram Pro Security Financial Institute Aspen by the areport states, 30 more in than restarted ings ment proceed payments evictions and expired end at the of December. face “eviction cliff” an of renters millions still have nail, and fought tooth Republicans other which Trump and action, eral fed it’sthat further Without victory. atemporary for tenants.”ry to Trump. avicto is must not attributed This be People’s group grassroots tional “But it Action. forghuveer, na director the campaign housing families,” to working says offering Tarahis Ra celebrate moratorium as eviction national the Black from Lives Matter protests. strength drawing campaigns—sometimes organizing ing hous own of their growth seen the tivism—have of ac kind forFlorida—places not this known City,sas Mo., upstate New York central and places Kan like And rise. on the are buildings takeovers rent and of vacant strikes unions, hotbeds activism—tenanthistoric of housing New York Calif., Oakland, Chicago— like and cities gentrifying for In action. clamoring and ants’ movement strength been has gathering officials.” ocratic most it Dem more effectively than kicking to be road, it’s the down Trump seems that frightening “ gency powers to offer broader relief to tenants. state’sthe emer his use moratorium and eviction our communities.” of aspect on every impact lasting and astating dev the separation, family the transience, of the Great the Depression, terms in tudes larger than magni something through living togoing be we’re become homeless, of eviction at Ithink risk people of “But the evenlegal counsel. if athird volunteerfense tenants to with connect Project who foundedattorney Covid-19 the De Eviction play aColorado says out, Zachsis Neumann, will crisis. financial 2008 the homesout of their after people were 10 million forced Around 2 million. 1929 wake of the at the to up Wall crash in Street people number of unhoused put the ry. Estimates to extend Gov. Pritzker Illinois J.B. Democratic While the CDC’s the can the While order kicking just is In August, August, In advocates other and however,Raghuveer stress, to been quick has Trump administration “The ten pandemic, anational of the start the Since It is impossible to predict how this current cri It current impossible is to how predict this as as $600 weekly federal unemploy federal weekly $600 OC TOBER 2020 =
IN THESE TIMES IN THESE ------
27 A PATCHWORK OF PROTECTIONS Before the pandemic, nearly half of U.S. renting households spent more than a third of their income on rent, and 40% of U.S. adults reported they couldn’t cover a $400 emergency. When the U.S. unemployment rate hit 15% in April, it was obvious that rent pay- ments were going to be a problem. More than 40 states and territories did act to limit or stop evictions, according to Emily Ben- fer, a visiting law professor at Wake Forest Uni- versity who has been tracking the orders in a publicly available spreadsheet. But to date, almost none of these moratori- ums had halted all stages of the eviction pro- cess, leaving many landlords free to file new court cases against tenants, proceed with hear- ings or seek enforcement of past eviction or- ders. Simply educating tenants about how to navigate the maze of partial protections has required a herculean effort from legal aid organizations. According to Benfer, the CDC’s September 1 order prevents landlords from pursuing evic- tion cases for non-payment of rent until Janu- ary 2021. This a key public health intervention, Benfer says. “The CDC’s emergency action is critical to protecting public health and preventing the spread of the virus both in and across states,” she adds. “Eviction increases the risk of Covid-19 and results in long-term poor health outcomes.” However, the moratorium does nothing to prevent tenants from racking up thousands of dollars in back rent and fees owed, nor does it help homeowners and small landlords who depend ready happening,” Tara Raghuveer says. on rental income to pay their mortgages. While the federal moratorium opens the “While this is an extremely important measure, door to criminal penalties of landlords who vio- without rental assistance to cover the mounting late it, it also remains to be seen how rigorously debt, it will only delay eviction, shift the harm to the order will be enforced. Existing protections small property owners, and result in devastat- didn’t save Sara Cruz, 27, from losing her home ing consequences,” Benfer says. “Congress must in August. Cruz says she was already living quickly bolster this necessary public health inter- paycheck to paycheck before the pandemic, vention with rent relief to sustain the housing mar- working as a server in Vero Beach, Fla. She lost her ket and finally end the eviction crisis.” job in March. Despite qualifying, she has yet to re- The CDC order also continues to allow evictions ceive assistance from Florida’s unemployment sys- for reasons other than non-payment of rent, such tem, one of the slowest in the nation. Cruz found a as lease violations, leading to fears that landlords local agency willing to cover her rent but says her will find ways to skirt the moratorium. landlord refused it. “We know that landlords will find ways to evict In July, Cruz was served an eviction notice. Un- and retaliate against their tenants because it’s al- der Florida law, one of the harshest in the nation
28 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 Nearly half of Black and Hispanic renters were unsure they would be able to pay August rent on time, a figure twice as high as that of white renters.
According to Cruz, in central Florida, you “have the rich, and then you have the people who serve the rich.” She adds, “until the econo- my is back on track, they should not be allowed to be kicking people out.” Following her eviction, Cruz connected with Organize Florida, which runs one of the larg- est grassroots voter registration operations in the state. The group has been flexing its mus- cle to stop evictions. In addition to joining a statewide push to cancel rent and mortgage payments, Orlan- do-area housing organizers are joining the call from Black Lives Matter to defund police de- partments, says Vanessa Keverenge, an orga- nizer with the group. Activists are targeting the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which has for renters, tenants must respond in writing with- requested a $15 million budget increase for 2021. in five days or face a default judgment. Cruz says “That money could be going to help people at she did, but a police officer came to her door with imminent risk of eviction,” Keverenge says. “We’re an eviction order the next day. While even fil- being told there’s no money, when the money’s ing evictions potentially violates Florida’s state- right there.” wide order, compliance varies widely depending on jurisdiction. Cruz used the rental assistance her landlord rejected to secure the first available BUILDING TENANT POWER apartment she could find, leaving behind many of her belongings. She says she has no idea how The looming wave of evictions is ex- she’ll pay for September. pected to hit communities of color especially hard. Data from the Census Bureau’s Household Above: James “Quadafi” Shelby (left) and Jenay Manley Pulse Survey suggests nearly half of Black and “evict” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson in April as the eviction Hispanic renters were unsure they would be able cliff looms, especially in states like Missouri, without a to pay August rent on time, a figure twice as high
PHOTO BY CHASE CASTOR pandemic eviction moratorium. as that of white renters. The risk is especially
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 29 acute for Black women, who in 17 states already faced eviction at double the rate of white renters, according to an analysis from the ACLU. “I don’t think we can talk about Black lives mat- tering without talking about eviction,” says Jenay Manley, a member of the housing rights group KC Tenants in Kansas City, Mo. Manley, who is Black, says she and her two children have struggled fi- nancially during the pandemic after she left an abusive relationship. “We need to talk about Black lives mattering before the point where we are bru- talized or killed by police,” she says. Manley was one of two KC Tenants members arrested and charged with trespassing during a July 30 action. The group successfully shut down eviction hearings, which had resumed in Jackson County after a two-month pandemic pause. Since launching in February 2019, KC Tenants has grown into a formidable force in local politics. After helping make housing a central issue in lo- cal elections in the spring, the group capped off its first year with the passage of a groundbreaking tenants’ bill of rights in the Kansas City Council. It establishes a new Office of the Tenant Advocate and expands protections against discrimination and retaliation by landlords. As the Covid-19 crisis began in March, the group helped form the Coalition to Protect Mis- souri Tenants, comprised of about 50 communi- ty, labor and faith organizations from across the state. Demanding a ban on evictions, foreclo- sures and utility shut-offs, as well as suspension of rent and mortgage payments for the duration of the crisis, the coalition staged a series of ac- tions targeting Republican Gov. Mike Parsons. In April, protesters lined up along the shoulder of Interstate 70, stretching from Kansas City to St. Louis, and posted signs every five miles reading, “Governor Parsons is killing the poor.” In May, they marched to the governor’s mansion and posted their own eviction notice. KC Tenants member Tiana Caldwell, 42, was among those initially scheduled to appear in the Jackson County eviction court July 30. A two- time cancer survivor with congestive heart failure, Caldwell pays about $300 in out-of- pocket medical costs each month. Caldwell fell
Outside the Bronx Housing Court in New York on August 10, Yudy Ramirez (top left) and Mariatou Diallo (bottom left) join a rally to cancel rent and protest evictions. Neither can presently afford housing. More than 57 million Americans have filed unemploy- ment claims during the pandemic, benefits that (even
if received) fail to cover basic household costs. PHOTOS BY ANGELA WEISS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
30 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 behind on rent after she and her husband were had she taken the landlord’s advice, she might furloughed in March. have lost a judgment by default. As soon as the eviction moratorium expired in Caldwell believes her experience belies guidance May, Caldwell’s landlord filed to evict. Caldwell, from state and local elected officials, who have her husband and their teenage son had already called for landlords and tenants to negotiate in spent six months without a home following a 2018 good faith in lieu of formal eviction moratoriums. eviction, when Caldwell was too sick to work. The “They’re telling us to make arrangements with prospect of repeating the ordeal was gutting. our landlords, but the landlords aren’t being hon- In June, Caldwell’s husband returned to his job est,” Caldwell says. as a maintenance worker and their long-delayed Caldwell says she’s heard scores of similar sto- federal stimulus checks arrived. They were able ries from renters who call the KC Tenants hotline. to work out an arrangement with their landlord A group of about 15 volunteers fields as many as to pay $4,000 in back rent and fees, in exchange 200 calls a week, connecting desperate renters for dropping the case. They scraped the money to- with legal representation, mutual aid and com- gether by their June 30 deadline. munity support. Caldwell talked to one tenant But in July, Caldwell received a court summons. who had come up with back rent, only to be evict- She called the company that owns her home and ed for a minor lease violation. In another call, a was assured she had nothing to worry about. single mother described being sexually proposi- Caldwell attended the scheduled video hearing tioned when she told her landlord she had lost her anyway, only to discover her landlord was seek- job and was unable to pay. ing the money she had already paid. The case was “We decided as a group that we’re not going to dismissed after Caldwell produced receipts—but throw anyone away,” Caldwell says.
Community members suggest making the country an “eviction-free zone” outside the Bronx Housing Court in New York on August 10.
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 31 duced a bill endorsed by KC Tenants, Orga- nize Florida and dozens of other grassroots groups that would suspend rent and mortgage Many tenant organizers payments for the duration of the crisis, with landlords and mortgage holders receiving fed- eral aid to cover their losses if they agree not argue that, in the midst of the to evict tenants without cause, among other conditions. For landlords who want out of the pandemic, even a massive housing market, the bill would create a fund for nonprofits, public housing agencies, coop- eratives, community land trusts and local gov- rental-assistance fund would ernments to acquire their properties. The bill has not yet attracted widespread sup- be inadequate—likely with port in Congress but is inspiring progressive state legislators. long delays and leaving out In July, Democratic New York State Sen. Julia Salazar and Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou in- troduced a new bill to cancel all rent and certain undocumented immigrants mortgage payments, after a similar bill faced opposition from Democratic leadership. In this and vulnerable groups. version, landlords would be required to show they are experiencing financial distress to con- tinue collecting rent, says Rebecca Garrard, campaigns manager for housing justice at Citi- zen Action of New York, a grassroots group. “We don’t need a public bailout of billionaire CANCEL THE RENT Wall Street landlords in New York,” Garrard says. “We hope that this approach will signal to Temporary protections cannot sub- other states and the federal government what pos- stitute for further federal action, desperately need- itive solutions could actually look like.” ed to prevent communities from hurtling over the The push gathered momentum from grassroots eviction cliff. While the Democratic-controlled organizers in Ithaca, N.Y., which in June became House of Representatives passed a $100 billion the first city to pass a resolution calling for rent rental assistance fund—as part of May’s HEROES cancellation—though the measure requires action Act and as a standalone bill—it’s dead on arrival from the state to take effect. in the GOP-controlled Senate. While it was previously “unfamiliar terrain” By halting evictions, President Donald Trump upstate, “tenant organizing has really bloomed,” went a step further than his Democratic opponent Garrard says. “If there’s a positive, unintended Joe Biden, who in August released a statement urg- consequence of the pandemic, it’s that there’s a ing Congress to enact an emergency housing pro- fierce energy from tenants to mobilize and de- gram, but offered few specifics. Biden’s running fend each other.” mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), had called According to Genevieve Rand, a member of the more specifically for a one-year eviction ban and Ithaca Tenants Union, that energy evolved out of has introduced a bill that would fund legal repre- an active network of workplace organizing. Rand sentation for tenants facing eviction. worked at a cafe prior to the pandemic and formed a Many tenant organizers argue that, in the midst union in May 2019. She then helped organize week- of the pandemic, even a massive rental-assistance ly meetings with other service-sector employees to fund like the one supported by Democratic leader- talk about wages and local working conditions. ship would be inadequate—likely with long delays As in many other cities with a high concentra- (similar to unemployment assistance) and leav- tion of low-wage service workers, Ithaca now has a ing out undocumented immigrants and vulnera- high unemployment rate—and a brewing eviction ble groups. crisis. Rand herself faces eviction. But the Ithaca The best solution, they say, would be to just Tenants Union has been expanding exponentially. cancel rent. “Every single person” who was involved in the In April, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) intro- workplace organizing network has taken part in
32 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 VALERIE MACON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES moratorium. eviction an evensist, with may per warn organizers that eviction of illegal locks on someone’s tothe change kind home—the spread groups other word a landlord planned that a day’sonly Tenants DC the notice after Union and 50 people moreshowedCounty, Md., than upwith George’s Prince to In protect tenants. August and homesphysical July and blockades in of courts street.” out tossed neighbors be on the ready,”ting says. “We’re Rand not to going let our power. send in they amessage to those “We’re get moratorium. eviction tension of the New York ex an Gov. Cuomo announced Andrew lords entering. from day, The same Democratic ablockadestaged to prevent land and attorneys about 50 members Tenants Ithaca of the Union says. protests, Rand Black and Lives Matter tenant organizing both 21. August courthouse Angeles Los the outside pandemic, the during payments rent and evictions of protest in on, carries band A mariachi In Chicago, the Autonomous the Tenants Chicago, In Union, leastAt a dozen nationwide groups other staged to but Rand, steps, according small These are reopened, courts housing local as 6, August On
- - - - These Times to editor acontributing is and Chicago in lives She Post the in appeared has writing whose nalist BURNS REBECCA Project. Reporting Hardship Economic the by was supported This story rights.” tenant each their every knows sure and legislation, legislateeviction to cancel rent make and der,” cause’ for ‘just says. “Pursue Jake Marshall or CDC the gaps in the by bridging justice housing byTrump on housing. flanked outmust do more to avoid unthinkable—being the say self-styled progressivebut organizers leaders moratorium, extension an eviction ofin Illinois’ The resulted action mid-August. in court eviction outside aplaza city’s the occupying took turns cago Teachers groups community other Union and Chi of America, Socialists Democratic Chicago “Democrats should prove to commitment their , the Intercept , the . is an investigative award-winning jour , ProPublica Illinois OC TOBER 2020 USA Today USA and Huffington =
IN THESE TIMES IN THESE In In - - - - .
33 CULTURE
The Roots of Black Women’s Pay Gap An excerpt from In The Gap, a new podcast by In These Times
ugust 13 marked Black pay transparency and more. Full episodes Women’s Equal Pay Day, the are available wherever you listen to pod- day into this year that Black casts and at inthesetimes.com/podcasts. women in the United States have to work just to catch WHITFIELD: Let’s face it. Economic up to what their white, non- and employment opportunity has always Hispanic male counterparts centered around race and gender from were paid the previous year. day one. For many Black women in the In 2020, despite huge gains in educational labor force, that has meant battling the Aattainment, Black women still make only double whammy of being both Black and 62 cents on the dollar. The pay dispari- a woman in America. ty is estimated to cost them more than Both during and well after slavery, $946,000 in lost wages over the course Black women have most often been of a 40-year career. pushed into caretaking and service jobs, Journalist Chandra Thomas Whit- a trend that persists. In fact, today, near- field investigates this pay gap in our new, ly a third of Black women work in the 12-episode podcast series, In The Gap, service sector, especially jobs like child featuring everyday Black women and ex- day care, hotel housekeeping and home perts sharing personal experiences and health aides. And that’s compared to just insights on the impact that pay discrim- one-eighth of white men. This is the kind ination has on their lives and livelihoods. of work that requires a lot of responsibil- “The statistics were just so daunting ity, but offers very little in terms of pay. and sobering—I learned that I probably Researcher Jocelyn Frye, from the Cen- have been a victim of the gender pay gap ter for American Progress, says the pay myself,” says Whitfield, who is Black. “I discrimination Black women face in the was shocked at some of the numbers. It’s workforce today is merely an extension of not just isolated incidents. It’s really a longstanding racist and sexist beliefs in widespread systemic issue that needs to this country. be addressed.” The following excerpt is from the sec- FRYE: Thank you so much for having me. ond episode, “Roots,” which traces the It’s great to be here. origins of the pay gap to slavery. It has been edited for length. Other episodes ex- WHITFIELD: The statistics are pretty so- plore the “motherhood penalty,” the role bering. Black women have always had the of labor unions in the fight for equal pay, highest levels of labor market participation
34 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 of any group of women, regardless of age, mari- FRYE: We can’t talk about Black women’s ex- tal status or presence of young children at home. periences in the workplace without under- Black women continue to be disproportionate- standing first how we view work and how we ly represented in service jobs and low-wage do- view the work of Black women. If you look his- mestic jobs that involve cooking, cleaning and torically, we have viewed work differently de- caregiving. Simultaneously, we’re often deval- pending on who’s performing it. Historically, ued as mothers and wives in American society. men were perceived as doing “the real work.” You say this all has direct ties to the days of Women were in the home and certainly doing enslavement. hard work, but it wasn’t viewed as work in the same way. It was devalued. It was what women ILLUSTRATION BY ELIANA RODGERS were supposed to be doing.
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 35 There was a view that Black women, coming FRYE: “Horrific” is an understatement. We all out of our history of slavery, were “best suited” to know, unfortunately, that terrible history of being basically be doing work for white families. They sold and bartered and brought to this country as were always viewed as being in service of the pre- property. So the very earliest history in this coun- vailing white majority. White women were put try is dependent on a view of Black people—and up on a pedestal to be revered, but at the same particularly Black women—not as people, not as time, they were certainly not respected as doing citizens, but something to be owned. Black wom- real work that was compensated to the same lev- en’s bodies were viewed as merchandise. And they el as white men. So that has its roots in how we were used to produce more merchandise, right? have viewed women and people of color, and Black And as a result, Black women’s feelings, their au- women stand at that intersection of racism and tonomy, their personal goals, their desires, their sexism that is very much embedded in our histo- families, were rendered invisible. It’s important ry as a nation. because as we talk about these issues today, we And that history is relevant today. When you still have those concerns, and it’s rooted in that. think about the trajectory of work for Black wom- en, they were always expected to work, right? And WHITFIELD: How would you say this evolved they were expected to do it for little or no wages over time as we got into the abolition of slavery? and often in the process ignore their own personal family realities. So that history informs biases and FRYE: The post-Civil War era and Reconstruc- stereotypes about who Black women should be in tion—on the one hand, there were theoretically the workplace. new attitudes and opportunities for Black women and Black men. But what’s in people’s heads and WHITFIELD: Let’s bring this back even further. hearts and minds doesn’t just disappear overnight. What was the climate like for Black women dur- The new world still had very few opportunities ing slavery? for Black women. They were still primarily do-
“For us to build power, we need to be able to tell our own stories.”
EDDIE CONWAY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Marshall "Eddie" Conway, a former member of the Black Panther Party, was an internationally recognized political prisoner for over 43 years.
THEREALNEWS.COM
36 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 ing mostly domestic work. And so there were still It’s important for us to recognize that the pro- these types of jobs that were essentially caring for tections we sometimes hold dear don’t actual- other, typically white, families. It wasn’t like Black ly cover people in the same way. The minimum women could adopt what people call a “tradition- wage for tipped workers, who are disproportion- al family”—where they would stay at home and ately women and often are women of color—they the breadwinner, the husband, would go out and get a much lower wage than what people think of work. Black women were still working because the as the minimum. broader economic environment was one that re- As we think about solutions, we have to make quired both people to work. sure those solutions actually are intentional about the impact on Black women. WHITFIELD: I know that was a big If we are going to talk about things topic that came up when the mov- like greater pay transparency, then ie The Help came out. I was torn, but we need to make sure the informa- when I did see it, I really thought tion we’re getting actually gives in- they did a great job of showing what sight into what Black women are you’re talking about. You’re seeing Vi- earning and not just women writ ola Davis’ character having to teach large. We need to engage employers her daughter to do all these things at in understanding what’s going on home while she, meanwhile, was at a in their workplaces, specifically for white family’s home, polishing silver IN THE GAP is available Black women. Their wages are tied and taking care of their baby. now wherever you listen to to their ability to move out of jobs podcasts Black women have done historical- FRYE: Right. The irony, and I think ly and into higher paying jobs. And the reality, of the experience of Black women is if we’re not actually measuring that—if we’re that they often are caught at these crossroads. We not holding employers accountable—then that tell ourselves one national narrative, but if we ac- change won’t happen. tually look beneath it and look at the unique expe- riences of Black women, we see a different story. It WHITFIELD: To be honest, this work can be a lit- is hard sometimes to watch and think about Black tle disheartening. Like doom and gloom, no hope. women who were doing mostly domestic or labor Just, everything’s against you. But we don’t want jobs, and it can be demoralizing at times. But it’s to leave it with that. What is the hope we can walk also incredibly inspiring, and it shows the resil- away with? ience and the perseverance of Black women who struggled in a very different way during times that, FRYE: I think the hope and the inspiration is that for many of us, are simply unimaginable. Black women are the hardest-working people I If you don’t understand the history, then you know, and they continue to accomplish things don’t understand why the attitudes that Black that nobody has ever expected them to do. When women confront are different than white women you look back historically at where Black women and Latinas. Our history is deeply rooted in that have come from, the truth of the matter is nobody experience of slavery. should have survived. You couldn’t have written CHANDRA a more horrific story, but we’re here and we are … THOMAS WHITFIELD: Also, Black women have routine- WHITFIELD ly been excluded from many worker protections— WHITFIELD: Oh, are you quoting The Color Pur- is a 2019-2020 protections under the New Deal, minimum wage, ple on me? [Laughs] Leonard C. Good- overtime pay, collective bargaining. man Institute FRYE: Really, really. And we’re thriving and sur- for Investiga- FRYE: And perpetuated by our own institutions viving and succeeding. Should we create policies tive Reporting and government. For example, some of the prog- that create a level playing field, that acknowledge Fellow, and host and producer of ress made around overtime, minimum wage— the multiple oppressions that Black women expe- In The Gap, an some of those protections were not available to rience? Absolutely. When people talk about the In These Times jobs that were disproportionately performed by resistance and who’s leading the charge for wom- podcast about pay Black women, such as homecare workers. And en, it is often Black women. And it’s Black women discrimination that inequity was not fixed until President Obama not just for Black women—it’s Black women for all and Black women came into office. women. It’s Black women for society. workers.
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 37 COMICS
RUBEN BOLLING
38 IN THESE TIMES + OCTOBER 2020 COMICS
MATT LUBCHANSKY PIA GUERRA
MATT BORS
OCTOBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 39 THESE TIMES THOSE TIMES PERSON COMMUNITYAN OLD REFRAIN: VOTER FRAUD etween the Republican Par- ty and Donald Trump, it’s hard to say which is more responsible for boost- THIS MONTHing voter suppression into outright election sabotage. But it is useful to remember upon whose watch the LATE CAPITALISMGOP learned how to suppress turnout among voters who are poor, Black, Latino, Asian American, Native or disabled in Border to defeat Democrats. In a May 2007 story, “The Fraudulence of Vot- er Fraud,” I reported on the Bush administration’s purge of U.S. attorneys, fired on the pretext of fail- ing to prosecute voter fraud (which never actually occurred). I wrote: Arkansas, Bush fired a sitting U.S. attorney in order to appoint Rove protégé Tim Griffin. … WHEN REPUBLICANS TALK ABOUT VOTER FRAUD In Washington, [he] fired U.S. Attorney John they are referring to illegal voting by individ- McKay [who] had refused to prosecute al- uals, as opposed to vote fraud—systematic leged voter fraud. … On March 6, McKay tes- attempts to steal an election by an organized tified before the Senate that after the election group of partisans. … On Feb. 15, 2005, the Republicans pressured him to open an inves- Above U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee tigation. He said his office had examined the and below: issued a report, “Putting an End to Voter allegations of voter fraud and decided there White House Fraud,” which said, “Voter fraud continues was not enough evidence to pursue a case. Deputy Chief of to plague our nation’s federal elections, di- “Had anyone at the Justice Department or Staff Karl Rove at luting and canceling out the lawful votes of the White House ordered me to pursue any an April meeting the vast majority of Americans.” matter criminally in the 2004 governor’s in the Roosevelt … Lorraine C. Minnite, a professor of po- election, I would have resigned,” McKay told Room of the White litical science [and expert on voter fraud] at the Seattle Times. “There was no evidence, House, in the May Columbia University [writes]: and I am not going to drag innocent people 2007 issue of In The exaggerated fear of voter fraud has a These Times. in front of a grand jury.” long history of scuttling efforts … [Minnite] has read through the reports to make voting easier and more god bless you, mr. vonnegut [of fraud. She said], “As I delved into it, I may 2007 Why Women inclusive, especially for margin- Hate Hillary was faced with the question: ‘Why do peo- Fair versus alized groups in American so- Free Trade ciety. With renewed partisan ple think there is a lot of fraud when there vigor, fantasies of fraud are be- isn’t any real evidence?’ I think people are ing spun again to undo some of being manipulated by politics, which takes the progress America has made the form of these reports that are dumped on lowering barriers to vote. the public. It is as if you get a big enough pile … It appears that, under [Deputy maybe you will convince people that the vol- Chief of Staff Karl] Rove’s direction, ume of fraud is quite large and that we have
the bush administration’s “Complex 2030” a serious problem.” plan is reviving the nuclear threat the White House has been plan- PLUS:
real IMAGES NGAN/AFP/GETTY MANDEL Greg Palast and Joel Bleifuss tell the ning to use U.S. attorneys to fan Someone has learned Rove’s lessons well. story behind the U.S. attorney purge national fears of voter fraud. … In — JOEL BLEIFUSS
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