0.4: COVID-19 Response is Valuing Work!

COVID-19

We were confronted with the history of work in the US, the social and economic justice implications for workplace safety during the 2020-22, COVID-19 Pandemic. While pandemics are not unique occurrences in history, this is the first having documented widespread impact on the US workforce and economy after the DOL/BLS and OSHA were created. The following will elaborate on what a pandemic is and how it is viewed from the perspective of worker safety.

One definition by Wikipedia describes a pandemic as an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of people. Consistent with what is shared by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an influenza pandemic is a global outbreak of a new influenza A virus. Pandemics happen when new (novel) influenza A viruses emerge which are able to infect people easily and spread from person to person in an efficient and sustained way. The United States is NOT currently experiencing an influenza pandemic. There is an ongoing pandemic with a new coronavirus.

The cold and flu seasons are examples of influenza cycles with predictable patterns that have temporary impacts on the workforce and healthcare systems that are manageable. This is likely the reason the influenza season is not referred to as a pandemic and may be considered endemic. COVID-19 is a new virus that has had severe and fatal, emerging, and in many cases unknown future impacts on health outcomes. COVID-19 distinguished itself as an occupational illness because of the burden it placed on the workforce and economy. That burden was revealed as a disconnection between public health efforts and worker health protections.

The CDC addresses our current situation in part as an emergency planning issue…”Because we cannot predict how bad a future pandemic will be, advance planning is needed at the national, state and local level. Whether the planning is for a government entity, a business, school, community-based organization, or healthcare system, all planning efforts should take into consideration (sic) multiple scenarios of a pandemic (e.g. moderate, severe, or very severe) so that they can be ready to respond quickly and take the appropriate measures to continue daily operations.” As has been noted in this review of the history of work in the US, catastrophic events such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Monongah Mine Disaster, and 9/11 Terrorist attack shed light on the importance of emergency planning in protecting workers and the public at large.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps track of data relating to employment, unemployment, and other labor force characteristics. One of the more important statistics recorded are work related injury, illness, and fatalities. Of the three, occupational illness requires acquiring more detailed information and tracking. The pandemic created a special circumstance of occupational illness that resulted in broader impacts to workplace safety and the economy. Consider this fact, there are few places one can think of that are not workplaces. Where ever you have people, there are workers doing work. The CDC current population survey (CPS) has been modified indefinitely to include additional survey questions on the impact of COVID-19 on the US population. COVID-19 was a game changer for labor statistics revealing not only disparities in worker protections but going forward how these protections will be managed in a post COVID-19 world.

Lastly COVID-19 introduced to our lexicon a new classification of workers. “Essential workers” or “Front Line workers”, “Key Workers”, are defined as a public-sector or private-sector employee who is considered to provide an essential service….These workers further designate what are considered essential businesses i.e. businesses and services that provide for continued public health, safety, transportation, childcare, and foodservice. Of these identified, 50% are represented in healthcare and foodservice, keeping in mind that a supply chain must be available to support these services. However despite being deemed essential, these workers, many who are often on lower pay scales and with minimal healthcare protections, were not adequately protected from the virus and suffered disproportionately with severe sickness and at times death. The pandemic exposed the gaps in worker protections all around in that many of the lowest paid workers were also the most likely to be laid off or furloughed during the height of the pandemic. Many were from disadvantaged and underserved communities. Many were racial and ethnic minorities. Social and economic justice issues are still very much a part of workplace safety.

At this time of this writing the US has more than 50% of the population vaccinated for COVID-19. Getting to more than 90% however appears to be problematic as vaccinations and even wearing masks for the unvaccinated has become a political issue. What has gotten lost in the discussion is worker safety. The CDC guidance on wearing masks is simple. Respiratory droplets are minimized with face coverings. Vaccinations protect the most vulnerable to the disease when herd immunity is reached. Protecting the most vulnerable and essential workers will happen when all who can get vaccinated are and until that happens, all who are unvaccinated continue to take the precautions necessary for protecting all workers.