Food workers, organized struggle, and COVID-19
An overview of worker movements in the American food sector in response to untenable workplace conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic
An overview of worker movements in the American food sector in response to untenable workplace conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic
Photograph by Joe Brusky CC BY-NC 2.0
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed which workers are truly essential according to social needs, rather than economic forces. Workers in every sector of the food system, deemed essential, have been pushed to the front lines of the nation's battle with the contagious virus. However, they've often been faced with hazardous working environments, provided insufficient personal protective equipment such as gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer, and given little to no sick leave. Many of these jobs, characterized by low wages, were precarious to begin with. In the face of a disease outbreak, these conditions are downright inhumane.
The low wages and limited protections inherent to these jobs have been created and reinforced through market-driven policy over time. Following the recession of the 1970s, deregulation of industry and free-market policy has increased corporate consolidation in the food system, effectively undermining labor's collective power. Processing, warehousing, and retail in the food sector was transformed by these new economic policies , depressing wages and conditions. New, non-union corporations came to dominate the food system landscape, offering a devastating blow to unionized labor forces . Low wages and meager benefits became commonplace for many working people.
America is currently witnessing the highest numbers of unemployment in our nation’s history—around 22 million (and growing) as of April 16, 2020. Historically, strategic underemployment in the food retail and service sector has had devastating effects on labor’s collective power. Many companies also exploit our immigration system, recruiting and hiring undocumented workers who are more subject to workplace intimidation. Following the deregulation policies of the 1970s , and the 2008-2009 recession that pushed many workers into the gig economy , unemployment, underemployment, and personal vulnerability has limited workers’ ability in the food sector to bargain for rights.
With an underemployed and increasingly vulnerable workforce, employers can easily treat workers as disposable and replaceable. However, in the face of a contagious disease outbreak, the high risks, low wages, and limited benefits of these food sector jobs may not send new workers flocking to replace those who are retaliated against for organizing.
In the midst of a pandemic, food workers may finally have the leverage to gain the rights they’ve always deserved. As demonstrated in this map, food workers are rising to the occasion.Through organizing and collective action, food workers are demanding the workplace conditions, dignity, and wages that should have been theirs all along.
This map will be updated biweekly to reflect new actions and resolutions For more information, or to submit an action, please contact lmzali@indiana.edu