We as workers, especially immuno-compromised and vulnerable workers, are being forced to risk potential exposure to and spread of the Coronavirus while CEO John Butcher can continue working remotely. We should not have to choose between paying for essential food, rent and medical supplies and compromising social solidarity (a.k.a. social distancing) or exposing ourselves to further risks.

As of March 13th, 2020, virtually every major NYC charter school network - including Success Academy, KIPP Public Schools, and Uncommon Schools - has closed down and begun the process of transitioning to remote learning. Additionally, the NYC Council Speaker and the UFT President have called for the closure of NYC public schools. Although we have not yet had a confirmed positive case at DIHS, the reality is that there can exist several cases about which we do not know, as access to testing is minimal and inaccessible for most people. Furthermore, the virus can be incubating and spreading even amongst students and staff members with stronger immune systems who show no symptoms. Teachers and other staff members - many of whom are at higher risk due to age or health conditions - are required to show up to work each day and risk exposure to hundreds of kids who may be unknowingly spreading this virus. As a Health and Science school, it is our responsibility to make proactive, knowledge-informed decisions, and at this moment, that involves shutting down DIHS and transitioning to remote learning. We should follow the lead of other cities' school systems, who have set up provisional systems to provide free meals and other basic services to students in need while schools are closed. Ultimately, by choosing to keep DIHS open, we are doing more harm to our students and their communities in the long run than we are doing to help them in the short run.

Closing Starbucks, during this pandemic of the coronavirus is crucial. The virus itself is airborne, and although washing your hands frequently, and disinfecting the store is helpful, that won’t prevent the spread of said virus. Both customers AND partners are at risk of catching and spreading the virus. At this point in time, there is no way to know who has the coronavirus, due to the limited number of tests. Suspending all business hours, until further notice, WHILE continuing to pay both hourly, and salary workers, would be beneficial to both customers & partners. Most Starbucks locations are strategically placed near hospitals and schools/universities. Although most schools have closed, most hospitals have not, and will not close. This leaves most partners exposed. While Starbucks have put new policies into play, that doesn’t mitigate the entire risk of catching the virus. Partners and Customers can display no symptoms, while still being able to transmit the virus to others. Instead of waiting until a partners has been exposed or catch the virus, closing all stores would prevent anyone from getting the virus. At this current time, partners are on the frontlines, potentially being exposed and spreading the virus, unknowingly. The moral thing to do, would be to suspend business, while paying partners, until there is a grip on the virus.

Hourly workers at the REI Co-Op are at great risk of facing termination should they call in sick during the novel Coronavirus pandemic. REI’s COVID-19 sick policy, revised on March 12, does little to protect its hourly assets from losing their jobs, should employees feel the need to call into work sick not knowing if they’ve contracted the virus or not. In fact, it offers workers so little protection, that there is cause for alarm that employees will be deterred from calling in sick, which could potentially place consumers and coworkers at risk. Most hourly workers at REI work part-time and are not eligible for healthcare or any real benefits. As a result, these employees are unable to afford the cost of seeing a doctor, or a visit to a nearby clinic for treatment, which further places their well-being, their livelihoods, and jobs at risk. Moreover, testing for COVID-19 remains inadequate in the United States. We are asking that REI members and all consumers stand together in support of protecting hourly workers from facing termination due to any company's sick policy, in a time when the novel Coronavirus has gripped our nation and the world with fear. REI is a leader in the outdoor industry and we are demanding that Mr. Artz, the CEO of REI, take the lead as REI’s Chief, to do more to protect its workers nationwide. Other companies will look to REI to see what policies it is implementing around COVID-19, so it is paramount that the policies REI is setting, be exemplary. Patagonia, another highly respected outdoor retailer, closed it stores and website operations at the day’s end on March 13, until further notice, to do its part in mitigating the spread of COVID-19, as well as to protect its workforce from contracting the virus. While operations are closed, all of Patagonia’s employees will receive pay. An extraordinary way for a company to live its values. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it has now been declared a national emergency, it is not unreasonable for us to demand that REI do more to protect its loyal workforce. Until the novel Coronavirus has been contained, we are demanding that REI take these measures to protect hourly workers job security: 1) That all employees who call in sick be excused from work with pay, regardless whether they test positive for the virus. 2) That all sick time taken be excused, without employees having to use any of their accrued sick days or vacation time, retroactive to March 1st. 3) That all employees who are caring for sick family members (regardless if the illness is COVID-19 related), be excused from work with compensation, without having to use any of their accrued sick days or vacation time to cover their absence. 4) That all employees who are parents that need to stay home to take care of their children, due to schools or daycare closures because of COVID-19, be excused from work with compensation, without having to use any of their accrued sick days or vacation time to cover their absence. 5) That no doctors note be needed as proof of illness, because there are simply too many employees who cannot afford a visit to a doctor or clinic for testing. Moreover, accessibility to testing remains inadequate in the United States. 6) That the average weekly hours be preserved for all employees who call in sick, and whose benefits eligibility are determined by the hours they work. Currently, none of these measures are being implemented by REI, even though these were the words our CEO wrote to REI’s membership, in an email about COVID-19 and the actions that REI is taking; “We have modified our paid time off policies to ensure that our employees—including hourly retail employees—who miss work due to illness or to care for sick family members do not suffer loss of income or other benefits.” What this policy actually amounts to is shameful for a cooperative we all love and have grown so loyal to. "Mr. Artz, please revise this policy to reflect the true values of the REI Co-Op."

With more cases of coronavirus reported in Wisconsin and Dane County, Governor Evers has declared a state of emergency. The University of Wisconsin has halted all in-person instruction; K-12 schools will close for the next four weeks; sports seasons have halted; and other public gatherings have been cancelled. What will happen with City workers? City of Madison employees have been encouraged to work from home and warned that any personal travel may result in quarantine for 14 days, which will be deducted from the employee’s sick or other leave time. For most City employees, there is no opportunity to work from home: bus drivers, firefighters, clerks, mechanics, parking attendants, and many others have jobs that must be physically present to perform. This means City employees must choose between coming to work sick or potentially losing income or our jobs. Regardless of City Agency, position or union, City workers have a common interest in making sure our employer handles this crisis properly and doesn’t place the burden on the shoulders of employees as we take care of ourselves and our families.

People who work at Chili's deserve paid sick days, especially with the rapid spreading of the coronavirus. As a large chain restaurant, Chili's unfortunately has a troubled history of public health issues, having been sued by customers for salmonella, food-poisoning, among other health-related lawsuits. This is an opportunity for Chili's to finally be on the right side of history by leading the industry along with Olive Garden on public health issues by providing paid sick days to their employees.

People who work at Denny's deserve paid sick days, especially with the rapid spreading of the coronavirus. Denny's disproportionately serves the elderly population, meaning if their workforce contracts the coronavirus, the company has a higher likelihood of spreading the virus to those with weakened immune systems. This is a public health issue! Denny's do your part and follow Olive Garden's lead in providing paid sick days to your employees.

People at Applebee's deserve paid sick days, especially with the rapid spreading of the coronavirus. The parent company is one the largest in the restaurant industry, employing tens of thousands of people with locations all over America and abroad. A significant percentage of their restaurants are franchised with different policies and rules for each store. Corporate stepping in and requiring paid sick days at all franchised & corporate-owned locations is the quickest and most effective way to protect their employees and be a leader in helping curb the spread of the virus.

Grocery workers around the country frequently work while sick as they can't afford to miss a single day of work because companies refuse to pay a living wage. This causes employees further suffering and exposes co-workers, food, and the public to potential infection. Jeff Bezos is the richest man on the planet and is more than able to provide an immediate expansion of Paid Sick Hours to protect Whole Foods employees and the public. Bezos has yet to provide his employees at Whole Foods with anything to cope with the recent outbreak. Bezos even had the audacity to cut healthcare benefits for nearly 2,000 Whole Foods employees at the beginning of the year. What Bezos makes in one day could cover a week of Paid Sick Time for all Whole Foods employees. Some co-workers at Amazon have already been told to work from home and other companies have even taken some appropriate action. Whole Foods needs to take this health crisis seriously and stop worrying about public perception and putting profits ahead of safety. We handle the food everyone consumes, push the shopping carts everyone touches, collect the baskets everyone carries, and count the cash everyone spends. It's time Whole Foods stops endangering its employees and the public. We need Paid Sick Hours NOW. Members of the public can call/email: Patrick Bradley, SOPAC Regional President: 818-501-8484 Rick Bonin, North Atlantic Regional President: [email protected] Scott Allshouses, Mid-Atlantic Regional President: [email protected] Omar Gaye, Northern California Regional President: 770-638-5884 Bill Jordan, Rocky Mountain Regional President: 818-501-8484 Angela Lorenzen, Pacific Northwest Regional President: 425-957-6700 Juan Nuñez, Florida Regional President: 954-489-2022 Matt Ray, Southwest Regional President: [email protected] David Schwartz, Midwest Region Regional President: 312-799-5637 Nicole Wescoe, Northeast Regional President: 301-984-2058 You can and should also call the Customer Service line at: 844-WFM-TALK (844-936-8255) and World Headquarters 512-477-4455 512-477-5566 - Voicemail 512-482-7000 - Fax Tell Whole Foods to take the safety of the public and ours seriously by demanding Jeff Bezos provide us with more Paid Sick Hours: In Solidarity, Whole Worker Organizing Committee

Everyday, I have 20-30 people come into my car - with all their germs. While other workers who are exposed at work have things like paid time off and healthcare, I have no protection. Under recently passed legislation in California, gig companies are supposed to guarantee gig workers access to paid sick days, but the companies have refused to do so. Gig companies, like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, irresponsibly deny their drivers basic protections like paid sick time off. Anyone can get sick from coronavirus, but because drivers like me don’t have paid sick time, I can’t go to the doctor or take time off without losing precious income. If I don’t work, I can’t afford my rent. My choices are either to continue working while sick, just so I can survive to the next week, or not work and fall behind on bills and rent. Drivers are always forced to choose between these two impossible options because Uber and Lyft shrug responsibility for ensuring everyone's safety. Even in the face of a global pandemic where the best protection we all have collectively is limiting exposure and ensuring access to the medical care we deserve, Uber and Lyft are doing what they have always done: creating unsafe and unfair conditions and leaving drivers with the responsibility and expense to deal with the repercussions. As a driver, my whole job is to keep people safe — to get my passengers from point A to point B safely. Right now, I am doing everything in my power to take safety precautions, like wiping down my car regularly, but it's not enough. All workers need and deserve paid time off and healthcare all of the time, but this pandemic shows that we need it especially right now, when our communities are at risk of infection. If these companies are not held accountable to take action immediately, they are putting drivers and all the riders we transport at risk. It’s a potential public health crisis, and companies like Uber and Lyft have a real and urgent responsibility to protect the health of society at large. - Yash A. Driver and leader with Gig Workers Rising

This issue of not informing Lyft drivers is vital because we are the ones at the so called front lines. We pick up passengers at the international airports that bring people from all over the world. We then go home to our families, and if our company that we work for does not take the initiative to put out vital precautions. We are left to fend for our selves to figure out how to protect our selves and still make a living.

While our staff are vaccinated and most are boosted, putting at less risk of hospitalization and death, many of our employees share homes and provide care to those most vulnerable to COVID: children too young to be vaccinated, elders, and immune-compromised loved ones.