WE WON’T SACRIFICE WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. DEMAND A SAFE RETURN TO WORK
ACTION ONE: CALL YOUR SENATORS
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WYDEN AND MERKLEY:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
Reopening businesses without proper workplace protections will cause illness and death for workers and their families, and increase the spread of the coronavirus in our communities. I am asking the Senator to demand that the Senate version of the Heroes Act include protections for workers and accountability for businesses. I am also asking him to actively support the Every Worker Protection Act. Thank you.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS
Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here.
SAMPLE SCRIPTS FOR REPRESENTATIVES:
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
For Blumenauer, Bonamici and DeFazio: Reopening businesses without proper workplace protections will cause illness and death for workers and their families, and increase the spread of the coronavirus in our communities. I want to thank the Representative for voting for the Heroes Act. And I am asking him/her to actively support the Every Worker Protection Act and to continue to demand protections for workers and accountability for businesses. Thank you.
For Schrader and Walden: Reopening businesses without proper workplace protections will cause illness and death for workers and their families, and increase the spread of the coronavirus in our communities. I am disappointed that the Representative voted against the Heroes Act to provide COVID-19 relief. I am asking that he put his constituents first. He must support the Every Worker Protection Act and insist that all economic relief packages include protections for workers and accountability for businesses.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
ACTION THREE: HELP REGISTER VOTERS FROM YOUR HOME
Organizing for the 2020 election has gone VIRTUAL!
- Find virtual events at http://swingleft.org/
- Host a virtual letter-writing party! Get started here: http://swingleft.org/p/virtual-letter-writing-party
- Sign up for training and call info here.http://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/263614/
BACKGROUND:
Donald Trump, who got a doctor’s note to avoid the draft, says “the people of our country should think of themselves as warriors.” Most Republicans agree. Trump sees good economic numbers as vital to his reelection. Wealthy corporate donors are worried only about their bottom line.
Researchers have warned that reopening businesses too early could cause thousands of additional deaths. Reopening without proper protections for workers will increase that danger exponentially. Exchanging those protections for the empty rhetoric of calling workers “warriors” and “heroes” is cynical and morally bankrupt.
- Companies like Kroger and Amazon are already ending hazard pay.
- Workers who refuse to return to workplaces they feel are unsafe out of concern for their health face job loss and loss of unemployment benefits.
- Republicans in Congress are seeking to slash federal unemployment benefits to force workers back to hazardous workplaces while seeking to shield companies who cause workers to fall ill from legal liability.
- Trump even attempted to deny federal benefits to National Guard soldiers assisting on COVID-19 front lines by ending their deployment one day short of eligibility.
Many people are suffering economically during this pandemic. The answer is not to sacrifice workers, but to support them.
