Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Demands For Hazard Pay, Protective Gear: Instacart Workers Call For Nationwide Strike As Risks Increase
The New York Times: Instacart Shoppers Plan To Strike Over Coronavirus Protections
Workers for Instacart, a tech company that delivers groceries and other household items ordered through an app, plan a nationwide strike on Monday, maintaining that the company has not provided them with supplies to protect them from being infected during the coronavirus pandemic. It is unclear how many might strike. The company has approximately 200,000 shoppers, with plans to add 300,000 over the next three months. The shoppers are independent contractors who can work as little or as much as they want. (Taylor, 3/28)
The Associated Press: Instacart Workers Seek Strike As Jobs Get Busier, Riskier
A group called the Gig Workers Collective is calling for a nationwide walk-out Monday. They’ve been asking Instacart to provide workers with hazard pay and protective gear, among other demands. Instacart said Sunday it would soon provide workers with a new hand sanitizer upon request and outlined changes to its tip system. The group said the measures were too little too late. While some workers say they intend to join the strike for at least a day — or have stopped filling orders already for fear of getting the virus — other, newer workers are content to have a paying job at a time of mass layoffs in other industries. (Olson and Anderson, 3/29)
NPR: Instacart, Amazon Workers Plan To Strike Over Safety Concerns
The online grocery business is doing well during the coronavirus outbreak. Workers from Amazon and Instacart are asking their companies to do more to keep them safe during the pandemic. (3/30)
ProPublica: What Happens If Workers Cutting Up The Nation’s Meat Get Sick?
Here’s what has happened in the meatpacking industry in the last week alone: A federal food safety inspector in New York City, who oversaw meat processing plants, died from the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. A poultry worker in Mississippi, employed by America’s third largest chicken company, tested positive for the virus, causing a half-dozen workers to self-quarantine. Another worker in South Dakota, employed by the world’s largest pork producer, also tested positive. (Grabell, 3/28)
WBUR: 'Essential' Status Means Jobs For Farmworkers, But Greater Virus Risk
Thousands of farmworkers are now carrying a new document with them on the road, in case they get stopped. Barbara Resendiz got hers last Friday, together with her paycheck. The small card explains that the Department of Homeland Security considers her job to be part of the nation's critical infrastructure and that she needs to get to work, despite California's order to shelter in place. (Charles, 3/27)
The Wall Street Journal: Trash Industry Braces For Potential Deluge Of Coronavirus Waste
As coronavirus spreads across the U.S., the trash industry is girding for a potential rise in infectious waste while grappling with concerns about workers’ exposure to the pathogen. The U.S. is looking to China, where daily medical-waste volumes jumped sixfold in Wuhan as more people contracted the virus, prompting the government to deploy dozens of portable waste-treatment facilities. Chinese officials recently said medical-waste facilities in 29 cities were at or near full capacity. (Chaudhuri, 3/30)
