Frontline Worker Stress, Solidarity Harvest & More

IN THIS EDITION:

• Frontline Workers Struggle with COVID-Related Anxiety & Financial Stress
• The Wealthy Need to Pay Their Fair Share to Prevent Layoffs
• Support Museum Workers Organizing a Union
• 18th Annual Solidarity Harvest Was the Largest One Ever
• A Brief History of Maine Postal Unions

Frontline Workers Struggle with COVID-Related Anxiety, Lack of Paid Leave & Financial Stress

[caption caption="Members of AFT Local 5093 who work at Bangor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center." align="center"][/caption]

As cases of COVID-19 cases surge across Maine, outbreaks have recently occurred at the Lewiston Fire Department, Bath Ironworks, the Huhtamaki mill, several schools and other workplaces. Clinician Amy Davenport Dakin, who treats first responders for the Professional Fighters of Maine, says she has seen a major spike in anxiety and depression related to the COVID pandemic. This is exacerbating existing cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma that are common in the profession.

“Stress and anxiety are through the roof. I’m definitely seeing more sleep problems, agitation, and irritability,” said Davenport. “It’s difficult for many of them to adapt to changing COVID rules and expectations around exposures and quarantines. Some are torn between having to choose between protecting their family or being exposed in the workplace. It’s also very difficult being isolated in the station and avoiding congregating and holding community dinners.”For many frontline union workers, it’s not only been incredibly stressful putting themselves and family members at risk of COVID transmission, but the lack of sufficient paid leave policies at all workplaces for workers needing to quarantine are also taking a financial toll. Davenport said a number of fire fighters she treats have had to quarantine, but have used up earned sick time and don’t qualify for workers compensation because they weren’t infected on the job. And if they were infected on the job, she says it can be difficult to prove that they were in order to be eligible for workers' comp. The pandemic has been especially stressful for health care workers. Serina DeWolfe, a staff representative for the American Federation of Teachers, says her members who work in nursing homes are already underpaid, but when they need to quarantine because a patient or co-worker gets infected they lose a lot of money in wages, particularly for members who have been quarantined multiple times. Unfortunately, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act allowed health care providers to be exempt from from its mandatory two weeks of earned paid sick leave for workers who need to be quarantined or take care of a family member. Current stimulus proposals in Congress also allow health care facilities to exempt their employees.“I can’t believe that in the middle of a pandemic these are the workers that Congress is carving out of the paid sick leave,” said DeWolfe. “These are the people who are risking their lives to take care of our parents in nursing homes and they can’t even pay them to be quarantined when caregivers are exposed to the coronavirus?”

The Wealthy Need to Pay Their Fair Share to Prevent Layoffs

Maine is currently facing a COVID-induced $255 million revenue shortfall in the current budget and another $400 million shortfall in the coming two-year budget if Congress doesn’t pass a new stimulus package. With funding drying up from the CARES Act, state lawmakers could consider devastating cuts to public services and mass layoffs of public sector employees. But while the working class faces further austerity cuts and unemployment, pandemic profiteers have made out handsomely. In the first six months of the pandemic alone, billionaires saw their wealth grow by $931 billion. Clearly, there is plenty of money in this country to fix our budget problems and ensure workers keep their jobs and are protected. 

However, with time running out and COVID cases continuing to spike, we can’t expect that Senate leaders will agree to a deal that provides the level of funding support and protections needed during this crisis. It’s time to consider raising revenue on the state level. Former Governor LePage’s 2011 tax cuts primarily benefitted the wealthy and left a $400 million revenue shortfall. That foregone revenue alone could fix our biennial budget problems if we simply returned state tax rates on the wealthy to 2010 levels. 

Support Portland Museum Workers Organizing a Union

Workers at Portland Museum of Art are organizing a union to improve their jobs, raise pay, and improve the Museum that they love for everyone. The workers have received their ballots for their union election this week and must return them to the National Labor Relations Board by December 21st. The Labor Board will count the ballots on December 22nd. This has been a hard fought struggle as management continues to wage an anti-union campaign against their organizing effort. These workers need encouragement and support from the broader community.  

Will you write a quick personal note of support to these workers organizing a union?  Please email a note of encouragement to: MainePMAUnion@2110uaw.org. Words of support go a long way! And please like the the PMA Union's Facebook page!

Solidarity Harvest Was the Largest One Ever

Food AND Medicine and the Eastern Maine Labor Council just had their biggest Solidarity Harvest ever, delivering over 1,400 Thanksgiving meal baskets to Mainers who have fallen on hard times. The event, which is co-sponsored by the Southern and Western Maine Labor Councils, was incredibly important to many Maine families who have been laid off due to the pandemic. Over 50 unions, faith groups and other organizations came together to purchase food from local farms and put together the food baskets which had enough food to serve roughly 8-10 people a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

This year, union members delivered the baskets to a number of families of members in our Unemployment Assistance group, who were extremely grateful. “Thank you so much for the box. It means a lot! Definitely made my day!” one member told us. Another said, “My son was excited that the turkey weighed more than his sister!"

To support the Solidarity Harvest click here to make a secure online donation!

A Brief History of Maine Postal Unions 

Maine postal unions have a long proud history of collective struggle going all the way back to the turn of the 20th Century. The Letter Carriers were the first postal workers to organize and tried unsuccessfully to form a national union at least three times before founding the national union in 1877. By 1911, the Maine State Association of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Maine State Branch of the United National Association of Post Office Clerks had formed to protect and enhance their interests.

In the beginning, NALC focused on forcing postmasters to honor the eight-hour day law and won a 1893 Supreme Court decision that compelled management to pay $3.5 million in back overtime pay. Then in 1970, postal workers participated in the largest wildcat strike in U.S. history. At the time, full-time postal employees earned about $6,200 to start, and workers with 21 years of service averaged only $8,440. Many relied on food stamps to get by. The illegal work stoppage led to the passage of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, which guaranteed collective bargaining rights for postal employees, but not the right to strike. Bangor postal employees joined with union members from across the nation in a protest march from the Washington Monument grounds to the headquarters of the U.S. Postal Service that year.