COVID-19’s Impact on Union Workers in the US and Services to Vulnerable Populations
On this week’s episode of JustLove, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan talks about the impact COVID-19 has had on union workers and also the changes in services to vulnerable New Yorkers.
Stuart Appelbaum is the President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), a national Union that primarily represents workers in retail stores, supermarkets, food processing plants and supermarkets across the United States. When so many of the workers represented by RWDSU are providing food for all of us under often difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances, Stuart shares the difficulties that workers are currently facing in this crisis, and what lessons we should learn from the COVID-19 pandemic about work itself and the essential importance of the work of low-wage laborers for our society.
Harold Moss is the Division Director of the Beacon of Hope Division of Catholic Charities Community Services which helps a diverse community of individuals who need specialized care. Many of whom are served suffer from mentally ill and are in need of supportive housing, live in transitional shelters after spending decades on the street, are visually impaired, or are in need of short term crisis counseling. Harold talks about the work of Beacon of Hope and how in this time of the Coronavirus pandemic Beacon of Hope has adapted its operations to continue providing the essential services while simultaneously practicing essential safety precautions to protect its staff and clients from COVID-19 infection.
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