Tag Archive for: COVID-19 daily update

 

We hosted a forum for the Honolulu Prosecutor’s race candidates. Watch the full recording here: www.facebook.com/uniteherehawaii/live

 

 

Take Action: Call 415-763-5949 and tell the Senate to pass the HEROES Act today to extend the $600 unemployment checks past July 31, protect healthcare and so much more.

 

News:

Hotel Union Unite Here Says Mask Mandates Aren’t Enough for Worker Safety – Skift. 

– Excerpt: “Unite Here’s cleanliness demands are about raising U.S. and Canadian hotel cleaning standards to those in Asian markets like China and Singapore, [D.] Taylor said. ‘Haven’t we learned already about what happens if you cut corners and don’t do the kind of cleaning we’re advocating?’ he added in reference to the rising case count in the U.S.”

 

Hawaii Reports Record 55 COVID-19 Cases In One Day – Honolulu Civil Beat. 

 

Union [construction] Labor Now Required On Big Honolulu Public Works Jobs – Honolulu Civil Beat. 

– Excerpt: “Manahan said he backed the idea because unions stand between workers and ‘unscrupulous’ employers. ‘I really believe in what unions do,’ he said.”

 

U.S. Hotels Push Hard for Industry-Specific Relief Fund From Congress – Skift. 

– The American Hotel & Lodging Association is lobbying for the next relief package to include more PPP money for hotel companies, a relief fund for CMBS loans, tax incentives for abiding by AHLA’s safety protocols and liability protections for hotels against coronavirus exposure lawsuits.

 

Landlords jump the gun as eviction moratorium wanes – The New York Times. 

– Excerpt: “As the number of Covid-19 cases has surged across the country, a disturbing trend has emerged: landlords commencing eviction proceedings even though the coronavirus relief law known as the CARES Act currently protects about 12 million tenants living in qualifying properties.”

 

AP Exclusive: Migrant Kids Held in US Hotels, Then Expelled – Associated Press. 

– The three hotels were all Hampton Inns. Hampton Inn is a Hilton brand, but Hilton does not own or operate any of those three hotels.

 

To Fight Racial Inequality, We Have to Attack the Power of Corporations – Jacobin. 

– Excerpt: “Blackstone’s very business model turbocharged racial inequality: First, snatch up foreclosed homes in black neighborhoods (in the process driving up housing prices and making it harder for families looking to buy their first house). Second, lease them out while jacking up the rent (and skimping out on repairs). Third, hit tenants with late fees and evictions when they can’t keep up with the inflated rents.”

 

Flight attendant linked to cluster at Hawaiian Airlines training program dies after testing positive for COVID-19 – Honolulu Star-Advertiser.  

– Excerpt: “Airline staff members were exposed at the training session where ‘physical distancing was not practiced and masks were optional,’ according to the state Department of Health. Those employees then exposed eight household members who tested positive. An infected person who attended the training session sparked outbreaks at two Oahu gyms with 20 positive cases, the DOH said.”

 

2020 election ballots have started to arrive.  Look for yours in the mail and refer to Local 5’s primary Election endorsement. 

Local 5 union pushes for safety, job security – Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 

– Good article about yesterday’s actions, with quotes from Affron Herring and Eric Gill.

 

Workers call for extended health coverage as the closure drags on – The Maui News. 

– Good article from the Maui News about yesterday’s actions, with very good quotes from Celia Cabal-Arcilla and Eric Gill. There is also something from ILWU.

 

Some Hawaii state senators blast reopening plans – Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 

– Excerpt: “We cannot force people to be tested,” [Dept. of Health epidemiologist Dr. Sarah] Park testified. Those who refuse a secondary COVID-19 test will be “given some guidance, some information and then sent on their way,” she said.

Committee chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, replied: ‘That means they’re roaming about.’

To which Park replied, ‘We don’t have proof that it’s COVID, so we can’t keep them.'”

 

Teachers Unions Look Like the Last Line of Defense in Trump’s “Reckless” School Reopening Crusade – In These Times. 

– With the cynical push to reopen schools, teachers’ unions are in a similar situation to our union.

 

Tourists [worldwide] facing restrictions amid fears of new coronavirus spikes – Associated Press. 

– Excerpt: “And in hard-hit Texas, refrigerated trailers were being rushed in to handle the growing number of bodies as deaths surge in the state. Dr. Ivan Melendez, Hidalgo County’s public health authority, said it’s not uncommon for a deceased COVID-19 patient to lay on a stretcher for 10 hours in the community’s overcrowded hospitals until the body is picked up and put in a freezer.

‘Before someone gets a bed in the COVID ICU unit, someone has to die there,’ Melendez said.”

 

New Resource:

If your child was getting free or reduced-price school lunch during the school year, you are eligible for food purchasing assistance. It’s a one-time payment of up to $360 per child. The Hawai’i Department of Human Services will automatically send benefits to eligible households—you do not need to apply! Read this flyer for more info: {{https://www.unitehere5.org/wp-content/uploads/P-EBT-outreach-flyer-6-30-20.pdf}}

 

News Updates:

Hawaii health department to shut down restaurants and bars flouting coronavirus precautions – Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 

Hawaii health inspectors will begin shutting down restaurants and bars that do not adhere to rules meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Department of Health Food Safety Branch will issue red placards, temporarily suspending the operations of restaurants, bars and other eateries that do not comply with rules that include physical distancing and the wearing of masks. Under state law, health inspectors can temporarily close food establishments that pose a danger to public health.

Gov. David Ige and the state’s mayors will meet again to decide whether to lift the 14-day travel quarantine – Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 

Hawaii officials are still grappling over whether to proceed with reopening tourism on Aug. 1, as coronavirus infections continue to climb.

After a marathon meeting Wednesday, Gov. David Ige, the county mayors and health officials will reconvene today to make a final determination on lifting the 14-day self-quarantine restriction that has largely kept tourists from visiting the islands.

Hiring outlook remains dim, with ‘scarring in the economy’ – The New York Times. 

– Excerpt: “A wide range of indicators recently have suggested that the economic rebound is losing momentum in states where virus cases are rising quickly.”

Supreme Court Says Trump Can Roll Back Access to Birth Control Under the Affordable Care Act – The Intercept. 

– Lourdes Rivera, senior vice president of U.S. programs at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said: “Today’s ruling has given bosses the power to dictate how their employees can and cannot use their health insurance — allowing them to intrude into their employees’ private decisions based on whatever personal beliefs their employers happen to hold.”

– Excerpt: “Access to birth control reduces the number of unintended pregnancies and encourages birth spacing, which leads to better outcomes for mothers and babies. Birth control promotes gender and racial equality and is linked to greater educational attainment and increased earnings for women.”