Elizabeth Warren's Newest Plan? Protecting Essential Workers Amidst The Coronavirus Pandemic

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17) have a plan for that.


On Monday (April 13), the lawmakers released a proposal for a 10-point critical Workers Bill of Rights," which is designed to protect essential workers while in the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Washington Post, as plenty of Residents of the
U.S. Practice social distancing and work from house, and millions withstand furloughs, layoffs, and reduced. Hours, millions more are still are working at hospitals, grocery stores, and warehouses.


“Nearly 60 million Residents of the
U.S. Are still working to keep our internet running, to deliver our groceries, to create ensure we have electricity, and to care for the sick. In an age of automation, we are reminded of the dignity and importance of work that isn't remote,” Rep. Khanna mentioned in a press release. “This crisis needs to open our eyes to the value of workers who are usually invisible, and we need to give them the pay and advantages they deserve.”

The proposal goes in back of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act to ensure more protections — like higher wages, universal paid sick leave, and job security — are given to all frontline workers, including independent contractors and gig workers. It would also require employers to tell their personnel if any of their coworkers have contracted the coronavirus; make sure that the higher wages given to the key wages are retroactive to the begin date of the pandemic; safeguard collective bargaining agreements; protect whistleblowers who report unsafe work conditions; make sure all employees, regardless of their immigration status, are insured and help workers find child care.


“Essential workers are the backbone of our nation’s response to coronavirus,” Sen. Warren mentioned in the press release. “We have a responsibility to create ensure important workers have the protections they require, the rights they are entitled to, and the compensation they deserve. The next relief package must put all workers front and center — nevertheless it must also specifically include the policies in our Crucial Workers Bill of Rights.”


The proposal also calls on Congress to pass a bill set forth by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), which provides 14 days of paid sick leave and 12 weeks of paid family member and medical leave. "And we must make sure that President Trump isn't allowed to arbitrarily exclude workers to roll back these protections," the press release read.


Moreover, the proposal will require employers to stop misclassifying workers as independent contractors or freelancers, a long-standing attempt by bosses to avoid supplying advantages and protections to all staff. And, lest we forget, this is a Warren plan, so it does make a point to hold agencies accountable: It also calls on Congress to make sure that taxpayer dollars are going to the workers, and not prosperous CEOs, prosperous shareholders, or the President’s cronies." That requires requiring CEOs to personally certify they are in compliance with worker protections so that they can be taken to court and face civil and criminal penalties if they never abide by worker protections.


This plan comes at a time in which pressure is building between businesses and their workers, including employees at Instacart and warehouse workers at Amazon who are striking across the country for better working conditions. Such moves have not been without their retaliations: Amazon fired a New York warehouse worker who organized a protest, ostensibly due to a lack of safety precautions; meeting notes later showed Amazon also tried to smear Chris Smalls. Union representatives, and New York state's attorney general, argue that there must be more protections in place to safeguard all personnel, including those who pick to protest their employers.