Welcome to the Weekly Roundup for the week of July 6. If you’ve gone anywhere near the news this week, you’ll know that the South and West are spiking and states from Florida to California are reversing course and even considering new lockdowns. The new outbreak is heavily affecting a younger population and now deaths are starting to rise again as ICUs from Houston to the Imperial Valley are over capacity. While this is certainly more than simply an employment issue, many outbreaks are occurring at places of work, whether it’s a bar or a meat processing plant. So, today how employment decisions are affecting the food supply chain and highlight an important new tool for workers. We will also discuss new research on coronavirus and pregnancy.
How Many People Died for Your Dinner?
As Cesar Chavez once said, “The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.” Farm work is hard work, and in many parts of the world, performed by some of the most vulnerable, and it’s never been more true than now as the country scrambles to maintain working supply chains within the food system. However, as a detailed investigation by reporters at Buzzfeed demonstrates, these imperatives have resulted in dangerous and deeply negligent business practices by some of the nation’s largest food suppliers, from Tyson to the apple industry of the Yakima Valley. At processing facilities and farm worker dormitories, the response to huge outbreaks have been uneven at best, with companies failing to inform employees of fellow workers’ illness. This is a powerful work of investigation and well worth the read.
New Tool To Track OSHA Complaints
Strikewave, a newsletter founded in 2018, has developed a new OSHA Complaint Tracker, which aims to help workers remain informed about employment violations at their jobs, in their industries, and at the national level. Users can investigate particular sectors and view detailed complaints displayed in a handy map interface. Strikewave will continue to update the tool as information about the more than 6,000 coronavirus-related complaints become available.
The Effects of Covid on Pregnancy Become Clearer
A new report from ProPublica reveals that the CDC’s updated guidelines on the effects of coronavirus on pregnancy are not as benign as first asserted. The CDC research shows that “expectant mothers with the virus had a 50% higher chance of being admitted to intensive care and a 70% higher chance of being intubated than nonpregnant women in their childbearing years.” Along with other major risks, ProPublica reporter Nina Martin notes that the data gaps in the CDC’s study is almost more of a problem. Essential information, such as whether a person had pre-existing conditions, for 75% of pregnant women was missing and hospitals were failing to keep detailed records of patient admission.
