 | Photo by Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News
April 28, 2020
'No honest pay, no lattes': Coffee employees rally for safe working conditions | | |
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Good morning, it's Tuesday. Here's the forecast and news you need.
Much cooler with some possible rain and storms. Twin Cities highs in the mid-50s with a 90 percent chance of rain and possible thunderstorms in the afternoon. Winds between 10 and 15 mph. Statewide, cloudy with showers for most of Minnesota. Highs from the lower 50s to lower 60s. More on Updraft. | Forecast
The latest battle for workers' rights and safety was at a Caribou Coffee in Roseville. Dozens of workers for the coffee chain, and their supporters, protested the company Monday for saying it has moved too slowly to get protective equipment for employees and needs better safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For its part, Caribou said in a statement it hopes to have masks for all workers by May 4 and boost their pay 10 percent during that month.
The workers' concerns are a piece of widespread workplace safety issues across the U.S. It's an economic crisis cause by the coronavirus, said Eli Edleson-Stein of the worker advocacy nonprofit Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota. "We’re seeing ‘essential workers’ in the coffee industry and fast food who are being paid the same low wages that they always have, and being asked to risk their health , especially when companies don’t provide adequate personal protective equipment or contactless service,” Edleson-Stein said, who said that Caribou's owner, JAB Holdings, is "profiting off of workers' backs and low wages."
More than 26 million people in the U.S. have lost their jobs in the past month, and restaurant jobs like those at Caribou have been hit especially hard. The jobless claims total more than all jobs added in the past decade, NPR reports. "The lack of precedent means we have no idea how far this will go, but our initial hope that claims would drop below 1 million per week by the end of May is now touch-and-go," economist Ian Shepherdson told NPR.
And speaking of labor ... it's almost May Day. With the coronavirus shutting down major gatherings, how're you observing?
Here are the latest coronavirus statistics:- 3,816 cases confirmed via 61,268 tests
- 286 deaths
- 861 cases requiring hospitalization
- 292 people remain in the hospital; 122 in intensive care
- 1,842 patients recovered
Gov. Tim Walz has some big decisions to make this week. His stay-at-home order expires Monday, so he'll have to announce this week whether to continue with the restrictions. Minnesota’s average daily death toll from the virus is doubling in about a week’s time, indicating that the state hasn’t reached the pandemic’s peak — let alone the two-week decline that federal health officials recommend before significantly loosening restrictions.
And testing increases continue to be hampered by "logistical issues." The laboratories and health care providers were still dealing with logistics problems tied to the testing increase, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said, but officials are still shooting to complete 5,000 daily tests by next week.
Minnesota hog farmers face a "very precarious situation." That's according to Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen who said some are having to euthanize hogs now that major regional pork processors have shuttered after becoming centers for COVID-19 outbreaks.
However, the food supply is stable. Consumers may see increased meat prices, Petersen said, and officials are " looking for homes" at smaller processors for 100,00 to 200,000 hogs a week.
"The decision to euthanize animals is very emotional,” he said.
— Cody Nelson, MPR News | @codyleenelson |
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