Did the Corona Virus Crisis Turn the Everyday Workplace Into Modern Day Slavery?

There’s an alarm bell that’s been ringing nationwide and our government officials are barely listening. The Corona virus has been spreading in processing plants and nursing homes nationwide. Though this is happening as we speak, our government is forcing workers of these places to continue to work without a guarantee that they will be working in a safe environment. The Trump administration currently has an executive order in place to keep processing plants to stay open nationwide, even if a place of employment has a large amount of positive Corona virus cases.

Trump expects employees to work in fatal environments with no adequate testing in workplaces

Trump is doing all he can to keep down nationwide testing so that the number of positive cases won’t rise. He thinks that high numbers will make him and his administration look bad. He’d rather not test any employees and he has shown it. For example, the Trump administration promised to have adequate testing for all staff and employees at all nursing homes nationwide. To date, the amount of testing at nursing has yet to rise. This was just another one of Trump’s empty promises.

Our government is preventing as many employees from getting tested as possible

Medical experts, such as Anthony Fauci, have stated many times that another way that Americans can contain the virus and keep it from spreading is to have most Americans tested. This can be done in workplaces, schools and any other places where there are large gatherings.

Though this recommendation has been clearly expressed by Trump and other members of his administration, there still has yet to be a plan put in place for massive testing. Dr. Fauci stated during a Senate hearing on May 12, 2020, that mass testing is the only way he will feel confident that re-opening the country will not cause a massive second wave of infections and deaths. However, the Trump administration and some governors want to “re-open” immediately so the economy can come back sooner.


Wealthy business owners are threatening employees to work in fatal workplaces

Some of the owners of processing plants haven’t taken any measures to ensure that their workers are safe. The owner of Tesla even threatened his employees that if they did not show up for work that they would lose their benefits. This threat applied to his employees with underlying conditions as well. He didn’t care about the fear his workers had-he cared about profits. Forcing someone to perform labor under stressful and abusive conditions should be considered to be modern-day slavery to every American.


The President only cares about the economy booming so he can win re-election

Most blue-collar employees live paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to miss many days of work. The Corona virus is deadly and employees should never be forced to go to work under a potentially fatal environment. The lack of nationwide testing and the fear of the unknown has made many blue collar employees feel ill at ease to continue working. The government and employers should not expect someone to risk their life for a paycheck if they do not have to. Nobody, not even the President, has the right to demand any American to risk their life for money, while at the same time doing absolutely nothing to keep them as safe as possible.

In other words, the President and business owners are forcing individuals to work themselves to death so that the wealthy plant and nursing home owners can continue to make a profit. They expect these people to work without even caring if they live or die. Since a good economy is the only way this President thinks he can win re-election, he cares about nothing but getting people back to work as soon as possible-even at the expense of a life.


Conclusion

The greatest part of America is the opportunities it has, especially when it comes to making a living. White and blue-collar workers are important to our country and economy. Without most of these workers, our lives would not be the same. Imagine if there were no police officers to protect you, no firefighter to put out a fire in your home and no worker to process and package the food we eat. We could literally die of a fire or starvation if not for these individuals. The least our government can do is care about these workers enough to protect them in their workplaces and make them feel safe. After all, there is no such thing as a company making money without their employees. In other words, workers are a business’ most precious assets-employers should act accordingly!