A Florida Senator Wants to Exclude People With Felony Convictions From the State’s Minimum Wage Increase Jerry Iannelli
How Julie Oliver’s Personal Experiences With Healthcare And Housing Have Influenced Her Run For Congress Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Last Week’s Big Tech Antitrust Hearings Sent An Unmistakable Message: Change Is In The Air For America’s Corporate Giants Sarah Miller
10 Ways To Reduce Our Reliance On Policing And Make Our Communities Safer For Everyone Alex S. Vitale
The Financial Toll of COVID-19 Deaths Organizations in New York City have stepped in to help families with funeral costs and related matters in communities hit hard by the disease, but their money and resources are strained. Bryce Covert
Healthcare In The U.S. Is Still Segregated, So Community Organizations Are Taking COVID-19 Testing Into Their Own Hands Predominantly Black neighborhoods have less access to primary care physicians and healthcare services, at a time when COVID-19 is killing Black Americans at a rate 2.3 times higher than white Americans. Now grassroots organizations are trying to compensate for failures of public health. Akilah Wise
When My Brother Died Of An Overdose, The State Charged Two People With Murder. That Isn’t Justice. You can’t incarcerate a public health problem. It doesn’t make us safer. It doesn’t repair harm. Daveen Trentman
Requiring a Bar Exam in 2020 Perpetuates Systemic Inequities in the Legal System Prioritizing bar examiners’ gatekeeping function during a pandemic and economic crisis means putting aspiring lawyers at risk and making it harder for nonwhite and low-income people to enter the legal profession. Lauren Hutton-Work, Rae Guyse
In Pennsylvania, Overdose Deaths Were Falling. Then COVID-19 Hit. Advocates say the pandemic has exacerbated the overdose crisis in the state by forcing people into isolation and impeding access to treatment. Joshua Vaughn
People In Crisis Need Social Workers, Not Cops Social Workers address crises regularly and without an armed police officer standing in front of us. Often, the presence of an armed officer escalates a crisis that could have been better handled by mental health professionals alone. Vivianne Guevara, Nakia Winfield
The Pandemic Shows It’s Time for an Alternative to American Capitalism The nation has an opportunity to take advantage of this transformative event and pursue an alternative to the current system. David A. Love
Fatal Overdose Deaths Soar In Communities Across The Country Amid COVID-19 Pandemic In Cook County, Illinois, suspected or confirmed fatal overdose deaths doubled over last year in the first five months of this year. Elizabeth Brico
We Need An Essential Workers Bill Of Rights To Make Sure Working People Have The Protections They Need From grocery store workers to nurses, from home care workers to janitors, from teachers to delivery workers to domestic workers -- there is an invisible, undervalued army of people who make our lives possible. Their work is essential, and it always has been. Ai-jen Poo
Defund The Police. Our Lives Depend On It. Safe and healthy communities start with less police and more investment in community services that work. A’Brianna Morgan
In the Middle of a Pandemic, Prisoners at San Quentin Are Punished for Being Sick Prisoners are reluctant to report when they’re feeling sick, because they know they’ll be sent to solitary confinement. Juan Moreno Haines
American Democracy Cannot Breathe Yes, we must radically transform policing in America. But we cannot stop there. We must transform the pervasive systems of economic and carceral injustice that are choking our common life. William J. Barber II, Saru Jayaraman
For Essential Workers, New York City’s Curfew Meant Fear, Harassment, and Arrest Essential workers say curfews put them at risk of police violence, even though they were exempt. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Governors’ Coronavirus Decisions Put People of Color In Harm’s Way As the country reopens, we can’t quickly forget these failures of government, which have disproportionately harmed Black, Latinx, and Native people. David A. Love
As The Trump Administration Restricts Legal Immigration, It’s Expanding A Class Of Vulnerable Guest Workers Farmworker and labor advocates say these workers are among the most exploited in the country. Madeline Leung Coleman
Police Killings Bring Out Tensions Within The Labor Movement Some unions and labor activists are calling for the AFL-CIO to expel police unions. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Video Captures Poor Conditions At Louisiana Poultry Plant Where Prisoners Are Sent To Work Despite COVID-19 concerns, the state’s prisoners are still doing dangerous menial jobs in work-release programs. Jerry Iannelli
Some Of The Hardest-Working Frontline Employees In New Orleans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck Garbage collectors in the city are striking for $15 an hour, hazard pay, and PPE. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Mississippi Has Tested Fewer Than 1% of State Prisoners and Staff For COVID-19 Governor Tate Reeves has touted the state’s testing efforts as ‘aggressive,’ but testing rates in the state’s prisons, where the coronavirus has already claimed at least one life, remain low. Ko Bragg
Coronavirus Cases Soar For The Navajo Nation As Federal Funding Shortfalls Strain Efforts To Respond ‘This is by far, by far, the biggest impact on our people since our return from the Long Walk in 1868,’ a Navajo Nation leader said. Daniel Moritz-Rabson
South Dakota Governor Doubles Down On Her Anti-Native Reputation By Targeting Tribes’ COVID-19 Checkpoints Governor Kristi Noem’s threat to sue two South Dakota tribes shows the callousness of her coronavirus plan, which seems to encourage exposure and prioritize the economy over the lives of at-risk Natives. Ruth Hopkins
Hospitalized With COVID-19 and Handcuffed for Days After a man incarcerated in a New Jersey state prison was hospitalized with COVID-19, he said he was handcuffed for 36 hours. The cuffs got tangled in his IV, causing it to rip out, he said. “It was so painful. You have no idea.” Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Why Is COVID-19 Hitting Black Communities Harder? Residential Segregation Is a Key Factor. Segregation not only increases individuals' exposure to the novel coronavirus, it also leaves them more susceptible to its effects and limits the quality of care they will receive, experts say. Akilah Wise
Universal Basic Income Is A Path To A More Just Economy. One California City Is Already Seeing Positive Results. The pandemic is making it clear that it’s time to radically rethink the social contract. Amy Castro Baker, Stacia Martin-West
The Case For Universal Healthcare During A Pandemic An overwhelming majority of Americans support the federal government paying all healthcare costs for the duration of the coronavirus emergency. Alison P. Galvani
The Case For A Temporary Merger Ban For America’s Largest Companies Americans overwhelmingly support imposing a merger moratorium on large corporations and private equity firms. Sarah Miller
A Man With Coronavirus Symptoms At Rikers Island Describes His Ordeal ‘I would go to the hospital very often and they wouldn’t do anything for me.’ Kim Kelly
Rep. Rashida Tlaib: The Case For An Emergency Responder Corps As the coronavirus crisis continues to expand, it is clear that America needs a robust assistance program for the most vulnerable, such as the elderly and physically disabled, to ensure they have what they need to survive. The health, safety, and stability of all communities depend on it. Rashida Tlaib
Judges Are Exploiting the COVID-19 Pandemic to Advance the Conservative Agenda A trio of cases in Wisconsin and Texas illustrates how Republican judges are feigning helplessness in the face of a public health crisis while furthering their own ends. Jay Willis
New York City Must Take Action to Ensure the Most Vulnerable Survive the Pandemic The city has created the structural conditions that have engendered disproportionately high rates of infection and death among its Black and Latinx residents. TS Candii, Darializa Avila Chevalier
Amazon Isn’t Doing Enough To Protect Its Workers From Coronavirus, Report Says Warehouse workers say time pressure leaves them unable to properly wash their hands, and have reported an increase in mandatory overtime, which creates crowded conditions. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Emptying Prisons to Prevent the Spread of Coronavirus Will Save Lives on the Outside, Too By letting people out now, we can avoid overwhelming our healthcare system with sick prisoners later. Oliver Hinds
Methadone Rules Requiring In-Person Visits Are Putting Patients At Risk Of Coronavirus For many people across the U.S. who need methadone treatment, sheltering in place during the coronavirus outbreak is impossible. Elizabeth Brico
Transgender Sex Workers in New York City Struggle to Survive the Pandemic Advocates say the “progressive” city has left them to die. Rebecca Chowdhury
A Public Health Focus On Coronavirus Shouldn’t Sideline Overdose Prevention Efforts Recent successes in stemming the opioid crisis could be reversed if public health budgets are cut or the crisis is seen as secondary to the pandemic. Jacqueline Goldman, Brandon Marshall
Black Women Have Long Faced Racism in Healthcare. COVID-19 Is Only Amplifying It. A Brooklyn teacher tried three times to get treatment for the coronavirus. Now she’s fighting for her life. Erin Clare Brown
Grocery Store Workers Are Risking Their Lives For Little Pay They make roughly half the average national income, and they’re at risk of COVID-19 exposure as they continue to work to ensure shelves are restocked and communities fed. Lizzie Tribone
What It’s Like Inside A Miami Jail As Coronavirus Spreads: “This Place Is A Petri Dish For Disease” I am trying my best to take care of myself in the midst of this pandemic, no different from you, no different from any other human being. But it’s impossible to do that at this jail. Anthony Swain
Abortion Providers Fight to Keep Working During the Coronavirus Pandemic Conservative lawmakers are using emergency measures to restrict access to care. Akilah Wise
‘I Feel Trapped’: Treating Drug Use in the COVID-19 Pandemic Social distancing orders are a necessity, but they create a host of new problems for people in treatment for substance use disorders. Alice Markham-Cantor
The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Brought Out Society’s Alarming Disregard for People With Disabilities Politicians and the general public are ignoring the health and safety needs of those with disabilities and chronic conditions. Robyn Powell
