Elections 2020Race and EconomyMake Me Smart DailyFast-Track VaccinesMy Economy

Loading...

0:00
0% played
Stand up for nonprofit news & help us reach our $150k stretch goal! GIVE NOW
Stories Tagged as

Essential workers

COVID-19

Proposed cuts to New York City subway could make life worse for many

by Kristin Schwab
Aug 31, 2020
Service reductions would hurt essential workers most. The system is seeking a federal funding bailout.
In Manhattan, the subway serves fewer riders than before the pandemic, and the transit authority is suffering financially.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

Essential workers pressured by mental health issues

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Aug 14, 2020
Over a fifth of essential workers have contemplated suicide, according to a CDC report.
A pharmacist working in protective gear. A CDC report shows that mental health issues are plaguing many essential workers.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Parenting in a Pandemic

Home child care workers unionize in California

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jul 29, 2020
Workers hope to strengthen an industry that has become even more precarious.
Child care workers are some of the lowest paid in the country.
iStock/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

Who should pay for hazard pay?

by Kristin Schwab
Jul 24, 2020
Companies have mostly stopped paying it. Now, local governments are stepping in.
An employee at work in the meat department of a Florida supermarket. Such workers are considered essential and are taking risks during the pandemic but are not highly paid.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Race and Economy

Thousands of workers are walking off the job to "Strike for Black Lives"

by Nova Safo
Jul 20, 2020
Among the demands are better treatment of employees of color, a $15 minimum wage and more personal protective equipment.
Organizers say the pandemic has worsened socioeconomic inequalities, and they want corporations and politicians to do more to address the problem.
Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

How the virus devastated workers in a Brooklyn neighborhood

by Jasmine Garsd
Jul 13, 2020
Brownsville, where 80% of residents are Black, had an infection rate in May that was more than twice the New York City average.
Workers at Brownsville's Collective Fare assemble donated to-go meals. Many residents of the neighborhood are essential workers and more exposed to risk.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

Densely populated Massachusetts city sees high rates of COVID-19

by Simón Ríos
Jun 23, 2020
According to the ACLU, 4 out of every 5 workers in Chelsea are considered essential.
Emergency medical workers check a patient who was in isolation experiencing worsening COVID-19 symptoms in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Scott Eisen/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

You’ve got questions. We help you answer them.

Support nonprofit, independent journalism that makes you smarter.

Invest in Marketplace
Race and Economy

For essential workers, curfews add new stress

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jun 3, 2020
Workers already worried about staying safe are now trying to figure out how to get to and from work without violating curfews.
Generally, people are allowed to break curfew to go to and from their jobs, but the disruptions of the last week have only added to stress.
Bridget Bennett/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

NYC's overnight subway shutdown leaves essential workers stranded

by Kristin Schwab
May 6, 2020
Many low-paid New Yorkers rely on the subway to get to and from work. Now, a daily halt to operations for four late night hours is complicating their commutes.
A commuter wearing a face mask rides the subway. The nightly closure for cleaning is causing problems for some essential workers in New York.
Scott Heins/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
COVID-19

How long should companies give hazard pay?

by Kristin Schwab
May 5, 2020
Most businesses, especially small ones, don’t have a disaster plan for a global pandemic.
Grocery store workers probably didn’t sign up for their jobs thinking they’d be putting themselves in danger, and neither did owners. Above, a worker stocks items in a California grocery store in March.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE