• Honor the International Workers Day by standing with the workers in your community

Today, we honor the International Workers Day, and stand with the thousands of workers around the country who are on strike to demand their employers provide them personal protection equipment, safe working conditions, and extended sick pay and benefits during the covid pandemic crisis. We invite you to support your community's workers and stand with them today and everyday.

The need for protecting workers and defending their rights today is more urgent than in recent decades. As covid-19 pandemic rages through communities in our country and globally, the defeating demands of capitalists and the privileged for low wage and essential service workers to go back to work echo through our society.

On the other hand, covid related job losses and business closures, combined with loss of employer sponsored healthcare have led to dire circumstances for many low-middle income earners. Between March 21 and April 18, 3.35 million Californians applied for unemployment benefits, and since February California's unemployment rate has quadruped from 4% to 17%!

Capitalists insist that those essential to our economy are highly paid executives sitting in corner offices, but the pandemic has made it abundantly clear that at times of crisis our families must rely most on some of the lowest paid, most disenfranchised, and least protected workers in our communities.

We, in the Green Party of California believe that all workers must be protected from greed and abuse, defended against harm and illness, and fairly rewarded with the profits their labor generates. All workers must have the ability to belong to an independent, democratic, member-run, labor union as a fundamental human right, because such unions are vital to ensure a more democratic and just society. In addition, ensuring living wages, universal guaranteed healthcare, ample sick leave, family leave, childcare, free college education, affordable housing and other life essentials must be a priority for our government. Learn more about our platform.

As we defend the right of workers and demand full protection for them, let's keep in mind that our worth as humans can never be defined by our productivity, ability, or contribution. Indeed EVERY single piece of our ecosystem's beautiful puzzle is essential and deserving of protection and reverence. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" - Karl Marx

The Green Party of California
http://www.cagreens.org

#MayDay2020
#WorkersRights
#WeAreAlwaysEssential
#PeopleOverProfit