Relief Is Running Out

During this episode, Leslie is joined by United Steelworkers President Tom Conway(USW), North America’s largest industrial union. 
They’re 1.2 million members and retirees strong in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. They proudly represent men and women who work in nearly every industry there is. 

Leslie and Tom discuss how time is quickly running out for Congress – and specifically the Senate – to pass COVID-19 relief as tens of millions of Americans continue to struggle to make rent payments and put food on the table.  

Unless Congress swiftly passes a stimulus bill:

- Nearly 7 million Americans are at risk of being evicted and without homes as the CDC’s temporary moratorium on evictions is set to expire Dec. 31;
- Millions more will slip into poverty and become food insecure;
- The pause on federal student loans is set to end Dec. 31, meaning loan officers will soon be able to start charging interest again;
- On Dec. 26, 12 million more unemployed people will lose their federal and state unemployment benefits as the remaining $300 weekly bonus as the CARES Act dries up.

There’s a bill ready:

- The House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act back in May – a $3 trillion relief package that would stimulate the economy and help American people stay afloat.
- And last month a record breaking 80 million Americans voted for Joe Biden, in no small part because they know the country needs more help from elected leaders.
 - But the Senate refused to touch the stimulus bill, preferring instead to ram through Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation. 

The House updated the HEROES Act this fall. It would provide crucial assistance to Americans fighting to pay their bills by:

- Funneling aid toward local, state and tribal governments to keep necessary public services up and running;
- Expanding paid sick days, family and medical leave, and unemployment compensation;
- Protecting essential workers by establishing a fund for employers to provide premium pandemic pay;
- Providing COBRA subsidies for laid-off workers;
- Protecting essential workers and helping stop the spread of the virus by establishing requirements for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing
- Extending and expanding the moratorium on certain evictions and foreclosures, which is set to expire Dec. 31 and leave thousands at risk of homelessness
- It’d be especially important for workers because it would require OSHA to establish an infectious disease standard – keeping employers accountable for COVID regulations, thereby increasing workplace safety.

A relief bill like the HEROES Act is not only necessary to repair the economy – it is needed to help our health care workers and stop the spread of the virus.

It would give health care workers the resources they need to conduct COVID-19 testing, track community spread, and fight the infection rate, while researchers and manufacturers work furiously to produce and distribute a vaccine.

There have also been a number of smaller solutions proposed that would at least serve as a beginning point for recovery, but Mitch McConnell continues to stand in the way of comprehensive help.

- Some states are scraping together funds to soften the blow of federal inaction.
- This week Democratic senators pushed to bring back enhanced unemployment benefits.
- And a bipartisan group of Senators put forward a much smaller stimulus bill that Mitch McConnell called, "a waste of time."

If you'd like to call Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Senate office and urge him to pass the HEROES Act, or the smaller bipartisan relief package, his Senate phone number is (202) 224-2541.

The website for the USW is USW.org.  Their handle on both Twitter and Instagram is @steelworkers.