COVID-19 STRIKE DOCUMENT
**Last Updated - April 23 1:00am**
Writers note - Hello, everyone! Thank you for your interest in the document! I apologize for the slowness in updating - my job has been getting more time consuming in the wake of the crisis. I also realized somehow the settings (or a fed idk) were set to private although I set it to public. Truly sorry about that. It should be all set now, please take a look!
Here is a list of all the strikes that have occured, either in whole or in part, due to the conditions exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ve created this document in hopes to inspire those around the world to take direct action, provide resources on how to make that happen, and also to make a list of strike funds and organizations who need support (whether financial or otherwise). If you know of a strike happening nearby or have suggestions/feedback for this living document, please e-mail covid19strikes@gmail.com
Workers of the World, unite!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
**PLEASE NOTE - NATIONWIDE RENT STRIKE PLANNED FOR MAY 1 2020**
The New Inquiry Resource List is so expansive it offers both resources and a current list of rent strikes going on around the world. It would be remiss to copy paste the entire list and not just guide you to the website.
Other actions include:
The Perilous Chronicle in general is a great resource for looking up prison unrest in the USA and Canada beyond being related to the current pandemic.
COMPLETED
Date - March 20, 2020
Demands - Removal of new inmates who tested positive for COVID-19. The protest ended when the sick detainees were moved to a different unit.
Date - March 21-22, 2020
Demands - immediate action for inmates’ health after one inmate began exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
Inmates received some cleaning supplies, masks, and screenings from their action, but are now asking for the release of prisoners over the age of 50, with health problems, with less than a year remaining, and parole violations.
Mayor Bill DeBlasio has said the city will release nearly 400 people from jails to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Date - March 23, 2020
Demands: That all inmates be screened for COVID-19
ICE has removed news access at the facility. It is unclear if the demands have been met.
Start date - March 24 - April 1, 2020
Demands - obtaining migrant detainees release and getting medical attention to reduce their risk of COVID-19 contamination.
As of April 1, the Hunger Strike was suspended and the hunger strikers were released! Check out the hashtag #HungerStrikeLaval on twitter, Solidarity Across Borders, and this google document for more info!
Date - March 28, 2020
Demands - to be released due to COVID-19
A petition for the governor to enact emergency measures for prisoners can be found here
ONGOING
Start date - March 17, 2020
Demands - an end to egregious conditions and inaction by ICE to prevent the spread of COVID-19, releasing ICE detainees
Start date - March 20, 2020
Demands - an end to egregious conditions and inaction by ICE to prevent the spread of COVID-19, releasing ICE detainees
Start date - March 20, 2020
Demands - Improvement in sanitation and protective measures for those incarcerated
Start date - March 26, 2020
Demands - Release of ICE detainees
Start date - March 27, 2020
Demands - 1) Provide humanitarian temporary visa for those inside; 2) Reunite those detained with their families; 3) Stop all deportation and immigration proceedings until the pandemic has concluded.
Start Date - March 30, 2020
Demands - Safety and health measures be taken to protect immigrants
OTHER ACTIONS
PAST/COMPLETED
Date - March 12, 2020
Demands - That the factory be shut down after a worker tested positive for the illness
Date - March 16-17, 2020
Demands - Library prioritize community health, provide paid leave and work-from-home options for all non-essential staff, and that no city employee regardless of job classification would be subjected to economic hardship.
Free Library announced that starting Wednesday March 18, all non-essential Free Library workers would no longer be required to physically report to closed libraries, and all staff would be getting paid in full for the duration of the crisis—including temporary, seasonal, and part-time workers who are not typically eligible for emergency paid leave.
Date - March 17, 2020
Demands- That buses be properly sanitized for the health of drivers and passengers
The drivers won sanitation gear, AND got buses to be free for passengers!
Date - March 17-18, 2020
Demands - paid shutdown of the plants after a few workers were found to have COVID-19.
United Auto Workers are collecting signatures for a petition calling for a paid shutdown of the plants during quarantine
Following a number of wildcat strikes bubbling up in auto plants with confirmed cases of the coronavirus, the Big Three automakers announced they will begin temporarily suspending production until at least March 30.
Date - March 18, 2020
Demands: In Milwaukee - a living wage, defined as $15 an hour, 90 percent adherence policy, better equipment and maintenance, transportation compensation of $10 per week, and a voice in how the company is run with union representatives given access to mediate conflicts
In Madison - demanding $15 an hour and a defined, compensated sick leave plan
Date - March 18, 2020
Demands: That the Warehouse be properly sanitized
Update - Amazon has fired Chris Smalls, a management assistant at the facility. A gofundme was been set up for him here.
Date - March 18, 2020
Demands - Calling on the retailer to cease operations or make it easier for employees not to work
Date - March 19, 2020
Demands - Safety and protective gear.
Associated with National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association.
Date - March 19, 2020
By- The Crush Bar Workers Collective
Demands - payment for accrued PTO hours
Date - March 19-20, 2020
Demands - Training on how to prevent the virus from infecting staff, more pay
Update - McDonald’s vows important changes after workers strike
Date - March 20, 2020
Demands - “Citing Coronavirus Safety Concerns”
By - Burgerville Workers Union
Date - March 22, 2020
Demands - $2 an hour raise for hazard pay, two weeks severance in the case of lay offs, and an additional two weeks of paid sick time to allow workers to stay at home if they fall ill.
Date - long running, but they achieved their goal March 22, 2020
Demands - PTO for all workers, regardless of full-time or part-time status.
They won PTO for all workers not just in the Chicago area, but for ALL Amazon employees! Here is their account of organizing.
Date - March 23, 2020
Demands - none explicitly said in the article. All it notes is that they refused to work “citing COVID-19 concerns”
Date - March 23, 2020
Demands - More safety measures and sanitation to be done at the factory
Date - March 23, 2020
Demands - More PPE
Date - March 24, 2020
Demands - shipyard be closed and employees be allowed to go home with pay.
Date - March 25, 2020
Demands - ‘where workers are deemed essential every possible measure should be taken and enforced to protect them’.
By - Sanitation Workers, Represented by Local 249
Date - March 25, 2020
Demands - Protective Equipment, Hazard Pay
Date - March 25, 2020
Demands - The store should be closed for the health of workers and the community.
They were successful in getting the store to close!
Date - March 25, 2020
Demands - Observation of Social Distancing Rules
Date - March 26, 2020
Demands: More supplies to protect the health of workers, County to take over management of the hospital.
The workers have gained some ground, including compensation for exposed workers!
Date - March 26, 2020
Demands - personal protective equipment (PPE), risk and travel allowances, food rations, and insurance
Date - March 26, 2020
Demands - Proper safety equipment and enforcement of distancing rule.
They returned to work after the measures they asked for were implemented.
Date - March 26, 2020
Demands - More sanitization measures to be taken
On March 31, Kroger announced a pay raise and other benefits for workers!
Date - March 27, 2020
Demands - Proper supplies for protection, paid sick leave
Date - March 27, 2020
Demands - talks with management over infection control measures
Date - March 28, 2020
Demands - Increased safety for staff
Date - March 28, 2020
Demands - More measures taken to protect the health of workers
On April 7, GE Appliances agreed to grant IUE-CWA Local 83761 union members $2 extra an hour for working, or they could leave and collect unemployment benefits if they didn’t want to work because of safety concerns.
Date - March 30, 2020
Demands - transparency around who has tested positive for Covid-19, better health measures
Date - March 30, 2020
Demands - For the facility to be closed after a worker tested positive for the virus.
Date - March 30, 2020
Demands - hazard pay of an additional $5 an order, free safety gear (hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and soap) to workers, and paid sick leave to include workers with pre-existing conditions who have been advised by their doctors not to work at this time
Date - March 30, 2020
Demands - Company convert its jet engine factories to make ventilators and utilize its workforce instead of temporarily laying off 50 percent of workers.
Date - March 30, 2020
Demands - compliance with national safety measures
Date - March 30, 2020
Demands - Increased safety measures for staff
Date - March 30-31, 2020
Demands - Protective Equipment for the Coronavirus Outbreak, no more delivering junk mail
The workers got their workspaces sanitized and a change in the junk mail delivery policy
Date - March 31 2020
Demands - Safer working conditions, more pay
Date - March 31, 2020
Demands - Guaranteed paid leave for all workers who isolate or self-quarantine, reinstatement of healthcare coverage for part time workers, Increased FSA funds to cover coronavirus testing for all team members, hazard pay, adequate sanitation equipment, paid shut down of workspaces where a worker has tested positive for COVID-19
Date - March 31, 2020
Demands - Paid time off
Date - March 31, 2020
Demands - Hand Sanitzer and Protective Equipment
Date - April 1, 2020
Demands - Personal Protective Equipment for All Workers, Any Worker Out on COVID-19 Related issue gets paid by the company, Hazard Pay for all, and Residents who test positive to be moved to an isolation unit to prevent spread of the illness.
Date - April 1, 2020
Demands - transparent about the virus and immediately close and clean the warehouse.
Date - April 2, 2020
Demands - More PPE
Date - April 2, 2020
Demands - Transparency around who is infected at the facility and paid leave policies, for the facility to be shut down
Date - April 3, 2020
Demands - to know if they had come into contact with some who tested positive, Pilgrim's Pride to close the plant for two weeks to deep-clean and sanitize and give workers the chance to self-isolate
Date - April 3, 2020
Demands - more protections against the Corona Virus, including plexiglass for baristas
A week after the sickout, Heine Brothers’ told employees that they would receive $3 more per hour as a “COVID-19 bonus” for eight weeks starting Monday as a result of help from Congress’ CARES Act. This was in addition to extra safety precautions that were previously announced.
Date - April 5, 2020
Demands - More protections against the coronavirus
Date - April 5, 2020
Demands - More Nursing Staff
Date - April 6, 2020
Demands - Adequate personal protective equipment and time and a half hazard pay
Date - April 6, 2020
Demands - clear communication about health risks, and that the company take proper responsibility for the health of its workers - including professional cleaning and disinfecting of the plant and paid sick time to prevent possible spread of the virus.
Date - April 6, 2020
Demands - more PPE for doctors
Date - April 6, 2020
Demands - safety on job sites, including PPE and social distancing measures.
Date - April 7, 2020
Demands - $5 of hazard pay per order, 14 days of paid sick leave for all workers regardless of whether they’ve received a positive coronavirus test, personal protective gear for all gig workers, and a return to a clear, commission-based pay model.
Workers would also like customers to boycott the app on April 10!
Date - April 8, 2020
Demands - Full Pay in the case of a restaurant shut down, masks, gloves, soap, $3 an hour hazard pay and that restaurants do more to keep them safe.
Date - April 11, 2020
Demands -
Date - April 13, 2020
Demands - More protective equipment
ONGOING
Date- March 25, 2020. Ongoing
Demands - Suitable protection from COVID-19, solution to water shortages. Very recently, doctors ended a strike for better salaries and working conditions
Date - April 21 -24, 2020
Demands - calling on Amazon to “immediately close down” any facilities with Covid-19 cases and provide testing and two weeks of pay for workers during that time. They are also demanding paid sick leave and asking Amazon commit not to retaliate against associates who speak out. Workers are also requesting the elimination of quotas that require employees to scan a certain number of items and pack a certain number of boxes per hour.
UPCOMING
Date - May 1st, 2020
Demands - more PPE, more accessible sick pay, better training, more social distancing in stores
OTHER ACTIONS
ACADEMIC AND TUITION STRIKES
Date - Delivered to Dean on March 26
Demands - A full year of additional funding for research projects.