As millions of Americans apply for unemployment benefits, the coronavirus pandemic has brutally laid bare the extent of US’s inequality between the super rich and the rest of the country
It is also the differences in the quality of jobs and the social protections that come with them.
Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, said: “It has drawn into focus those disparities in a way that it’s not just about jobs, it’s not just about wages. It’s about health and working conditions and access to health insurance. All of these things highlight that there’s two different societies in this country. Because of rising inequality, more people are vulnerable.” To Gould, the crisis has been deepened by companies shedding responsibility. “Part of this is about employers not taking responsibility for people that should really be on their books, whether or not they’re gig workers, contract workers, self-employed workers. Those people are actually employees and they should be treated like employees,” she said.
Pat “Duke” Dujakovich, the president of the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO union confederation, said large numbers of his members were suddenly put out of work and now face an uncertain future with many of them losing their healthcare coverage in the middle of a national medical emergency. Many of those workers lost their health insurance at the time they might most need it, with bills for coronavirus treatment potentially running into the tens of thousands of dollars. Laid-off workers are eligible to continue their coverage under a government scheme called Cobra. But Dujakovich said many would not be able to afford it. “I’m still trying to figure out how someone who just lost their job manages to scrape together $800 or a $1,000 a month to maintain those Cobra benefits,” he said. There is no way I have found for a person who is unemployed on their own to try to get healthcare in America. It just doesn’t exist. And so the only way is through employment.”
It is also the differences in the quality of jobs and the social protections that come with them.
Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, said: “It has drawn into focus those disparities in a way that it’s not just about jobs, it’s not just about wages. It’s about health and working conditions and access to health insurance. All of these things highlight that there’s two different societies in this country. Because of rising inequality, more people are vulnerable.” To Gould, the crisis has been deepened by companies shedding responsibility. “Part of this is about employers not taking responsibility for people that should really be on their books, whether or not they’re gig workers, contract workers, self-employed workers. Those people are actually employees and they should be treated like employees,” she said.
Even those who still have jobs are vulnerable to inadequate protections.Gould said more than a quarter of private-sector workers in the US cannot claim paid time off for sickness.. That, she said, puts large numbers of people on low pay at increased risk of Covid-19, because many of them have little choice but to go on working, even if they show symptoms, increasing the likelihood of the virus spreading.
“This virus exposes a vast inequality between the professional sector, white-collar workers, who are able to weather this at home with much less risk, have paid sick days if they need to take it, have health insurance,” said Gould. “And then there is another class of workers that has far fewer protections. Those that are more likely to be exposed because of their jobs, more likely to get sick, more likely have adverse consequences from getting sick because of rising inequality, because they don’t have paid sick days or health insurance.”
Gould said this goes some way to explain why African American communities have been so badly hit. Many black workers have jobs that make it difficult to isolate while minority communities also endure higher levels of medical conditions – diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure – that make people more vulnerable to coronavirus. African American communities also have a harder time obtaining good healthcare.
“Even if they’re OK to go to work, and they’re healthy and strong, they could still be bringing home that disease to elderly family members or to family members that are at higher risk with heart conditions, with their asthma or whatever it might be.”
American workers are particularly vulnerable because they have neither the welfare safety nets afforded by France or Germany, nor the public healthcare of the UK and Canada. The rise of outsourcing, contract work and gig economy jobs has seen ever increasing numbers of workers exposed to sudden economic shock, whether because of a financial crisis or a pandemic. Coronavirus has challenged claims of a strong underlying economy when so many American workers lack the resources to cope with even a brief period without work. A Federal Reserve survey last year said four in 10 workers would struggle to find $400 in an emergency, with out-of-pocket medical expenses presenting a particular hardship.Pat “Duke” Dujakovich, the president of the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO union confederation, said large numbers of his members were suddenly put out of work and now face an uncertain future with many of them losing their healthcare coverage in the middle of a national medical emergency. Many of those workers lost their health insurance at the time they might most need it, with bills for coronavirus treatment potentially running into the tens of thousands of dollars. Laid-off workers are eligible to continue their coverage under a government scheme called Cobra. But Dujakovich said many would not be able to afford it. “I’m still trying to figure out how someone who just lost their job manages to scrape together $800 or a $1,000 a month to maintain those Cobra benefits,” he said. There is no way I have found for a person who is unemployed on their own to try to get healthcare in America. It just doesn’t exist. And so the only way is through employment.”
Dujakovich said that while those at the top are better able to insulate themselves from coronavirus, he told a told a meeting of national AFL-CIO leaders that they will not be able to avoid its consequences.
“I said right now the bankers don’t give a fuck about working people, but they’re going to give a fuck about us very shortly. When we stop making car payments and house payments and rent and all of those things, because working people have to prioritise,” he said. “When the first pay cheque is missed and the second pay cheque is questionable and the third pay cheque is really questionable, then you have to kind of think of things as to what can kill me first. I need to feed my family this week.”
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