Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hotel, Health Care Workers Protest Working Conditions
San Francisco Chronicle: Hotel Groups Sue San Francisco Over Coronavirus Daily Room-Cleaning Law
Hotel groups are suing San Francisco over a law passed this month that mandates daily, intensive room cleanings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The suit, filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court, seeks an injunction to void the Healthy Buildings ordinance, which hotel groups say endangers workers by exposing them to surfaces that may be contaminated. The groups also allege that the law will financially burden hotels that are already struggling and that it improperly overrides state and federal health guidelines. The daily cleanings are the strictest requirements in the country. (Li, 7/20)
Modern Healthcare: More Than 700 Providence St. Joseph Workers Go On Five-Day Strike
More than 700 healthcare workers at a Providence St. Joseph Health hospital in Santa Rosa, Calif., have started a five-day strike over COVID-19 safety concerns and contract negotiations. The 740 striking workers at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital include nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and medical technicians. They are represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers. (Christ, 7/20)
San Francisco Chronicle: Health Care Workers Begin 5-Day Strike At Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
Hundreds of health care workers began a planned five-day strike Monday at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to protest what union officials said were an inadequate supply of protective gear, benefit cuts and “unsafe staffing levels.” The walkout at Santa Rosa Memorial comes amid a surge of coronavirus cases around the region, state and nation that has retriggered concerns over hospital capacity, supplies of personal protective equipment and staff exhaustion. Across California, 107 health care workers have died from COVID-19 and nearly 20,000 have tested positive as of Sunday, according to state data. (Kramer, 7/20)
Detroit Free Press: Nursing Home, Fast Food, Janitorial Workers To Strike For Black Lives
Across the country Monday, nursing home, fast food and janitorial workers are rallying to strike and demand more from their workplaces for Black lives — Detroit included. Workers at six nursing homes in Detroit will walk off the job to protest the working conditions Black communities have been subjected to during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release. (Dale, 7/20)
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Detroit Free Press: Immigrant Workers Say Safety Neglected, Got Coronavirus During Flood Cleanup
When Marali Rubio arrived in Michigan the last week of May, the immigrant from Venezuela was eager to help the Midland area recover from its flood by cleaning up buildings. But the 50-year-old woman from Florida and others said they grew concerned when they were not provided adequate safety equipment, social distancing rules, and were crowded into hotel rooms, two for each bed. Even without a pandemic, the work conditions were hazardous, but with the coronavirus spreading, it was even more worrisome, they said. Rubio was one of about 200 legal immigrant workers who arrived from Texas and Florida to work in MidMichigan Medical Center — Midland, which had hired a company to bring laborers to clean up their buildings, including a morgue with bodies and body parts. (Warikoo, 7/21)
AP: Washington Judge Upholds Farm Housing Coronavirus Rules
A Washington judge Friday upheld coronavirus-related housing rules for farmworkers, rejecting claims by a union that the state bowed to the agricultural industry and adopted unsafe standards. The Department of Labor and Industries and Department of Health strove to protect workers from a disease about which little was known, Thurston County Superior Court Judge John Skinder said. (7/20)
