BossFeed Briefing for October 26, 2020. Last Tuesday, a federal court ruling blocked the Trump administration's attempt to exclude 700,000 unemployed workers from food stamps. Last Thursday, undocumented workers across Washington began applying for economic relief from the Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund. Last Friday, a new report by Americans for Tax Fairness found that the collective wealth of billionaires in the U.S. has risen by $931 billion since mid-March. Today, BossFeed returns. Tomorrow is one week out from Election Day — you can view our ratings of candidates for state legislature here. Friday, there'll be a rare Blue Moon. Saturday is Halloween!
Three things to know this week:
Washington State just announced a plan to create new rules to protect the health and safety of outdoor workers from wildfire smoke. The state said that the new rules arose from the realization that "wildfire smoke isn't a short-term issue" — and while that's quite the understatement of a world-historic-existential-threat-to-humanity, it's good to see that they're finally taking this important worker safety issue seriously, as we have urged.
A new report breaks down the political spending of America's top fast food corporations. Republican candidates took in the vast majority of corporate fast food PAC contributions — the top recipient was Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) who, incidentally, also opposes an increase to the minimum wage.
The Selah City Administrator was caught on video removing signs that support Black Lives Matter. He hasn't had an opportunity, yet, to rip out the First Amendment page from his personal copy of the Constitution — but he may want to hang onto it for reference, since an attorney representing the Selah Alliance for Equality is threatening legal action.
Two things to ask:
What else doesn't it care about? Investor Kevin O'Leary, best known for his appearances as one of the eponymous Sharks on America's favorite entrepreneurial show Shark Tank, said this week that "the market just doesn't care" who wins the presidential election. The stock market, it turns out, also can't be bothered when it comes to workers' rights, the environment, and racial equity.
So where exactly are people supposed to go? Police officers in Spokane are issuing criminal citations to unhoused residents camping in city parks, even when there's no shelter space available anywhere in the city. The Spokane City Council President voiced his opposition to this practice because of his concern about the inhumanity of...the city getting sued.
And one thing that's worth a closer look:
As a major second wave of the pandemic sweeps the country, more than 100 million American workers don't have access to any paid sick leave — and that puts everyone at risk, writes Sarah Jaffe in The American Prospect. Workers in Washington have paid sick leave by law, and some places have enacted temporary fixes to expand sick leave eligibility to workers who are typically excluded, like Seattle's emergency sick leave ordinance for gig workers, which took effect this summer. But too many workers still can't afford to stay home when they're sick or need to care for a family member. Since essential workers are the workers most likely to pick up the virus at work, and because their work means they may pass the virus on if they can't stay home, our systemic lack of paid sick leave is a big reason for the abysmal U.S. performance in response to the pandemic.
Read this far?
Consider yourself briefed, boss.
Let us know what you think about this week's look at the world of work, wages, and inequality!