Earlier today DC JWJ alongside a coalition of unions, worker justice organizations, and community organizations urged the council to pass the Protecting Businesses and Workers from Covid-19 Emergency Amendment Act of 2020.
We the undersigned unions, worker justice organizations, and community organizations urge you to support the Protecting Businesses and Workers from Covid-19 Emergency Amendment Act of 2020. It is imperative that the DC Council act swiftly to pass this emergency legislation to ensure that the District can begin a safe and strong recovery.
When workers are safe our community is safe. A crucial component of a strong recovery is a sense of safety when DC residents go to work, shop, or dine out. We applaud the Mayor’s decision to require employers to provide face masks but more action is needed. This bill provides a basic set of protections to ensure that every District workplace takes the proper precautions to safeguard community health and the economy.
A safe return to work requires more than masks. In order for our members to feel safe at work they need all of the protections enacted by this law. Our members must have access to hand sanitizer, face shields, and plexiglass barriers when they can not be socially distanced. They also need to know that they are protected from retaliation for asking their employer to provide PPE or refusing to serve a customer who is not wearing a mask. Finally we appreciate that the bill allows both the Mayor and the Office of the Attorney General to carry out enforcement actions.
For many of the District’s most vulnerable workers this bill could mean the difference between health and serious illness. We commend Councilmember Silverman for working with labor on crafting these urgently needed protections and we ask that you join us in supporting the passage of this bill.
Sincerely,
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
Carpenters Local 197
Catholic Labor Network
Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU)
DC Chapter, National Lawyers Guild
DC Federation of Musicians Local 161-710
DC Fiscal Policy Institute
DC Jobs with Justice
DC KinCare Alliance
DC Nurses Association
First Shift Justice Project
Fund for Community Reparations for Autistic People of Color’s Interdependence, Survival, & Empowerment
I.A.T.S.E. Local 22
Jews United for Justice
Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor
Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
LiUNA Local 11
Metro D.C. Democratic Socialists of America
Mid-Atlantic Pipe Trades
National Association of Government Employees
National Employment Law Project
National Writers Union, DC Area Chapter
Nonprofit Professional Employees Union
ONE DC
Restaurant Opportunities Centers of DC
SEIU 1199
SEIU 32BJ
SEIU Local 500
Teamsters Local 639
The Fair Budget Coalition
UNITE HERE Local 23
UNITE HERE Local 25
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400
Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Washington Teachers’ Union