As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the country, working people are looking for ways to join together to form a union in our workplaces and negotiate for strong health and safety protections. The AFL-CIO is launching a new Am I Safe at Work? web tool to raise awareness of what a safe workplace should be and how a union can help achieve those goals.
The web tool contains fundamental information to empower workers to identify key COVID-19 risks in our workplaces, provides tools to join together with co-workers for better safety protections and guides workers on how to contact a union to help negotiate with an employer for safer working conditions.
“No one should be at risk of acquiring COVID-19 because they are working tirelessly to provide necessities for their family and our country,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “Working people have organized to fight for safer working conditions for decades, forming unions to win protections and save lives. This web tool will help workers demand safer workplaces as the federal [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] fails to hold employers accountable. We will do all we can to help keep all workers safe, but federal OSHA needs to issue an enforceable, emergency workplace COVID-19 standard.”
This pandemic has particularly affected women and people of color. From nurses who take care of the sick to teachers and meat processing and transit workers, every day working people are risking our lives. One of the goals of this online resource is to provide information that can save lives.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the AFL-CIO has been at the forefront of fighting for safer workplaces across our country. Once again the labor movement is stepping up, sharing key tools and resources to help workers come together and demand change during this pandemic. This site is a critical tool that empowers workers to fight for COVID-19 and other safety protections and prevent the spread of the coronavirus.