Feb 9, 2021
A Matter of Life and Death: Striking in the Era of COVID
by Joe Hill
Difficult working conditions and alienation from our coworkers can make us feel powerless, but we have power when we organize.
I work as a Behavior Technician in Detroit, helping children with autism, ages 2–6, with communication, hygiene, and pre-academic skills. This work is not easy but it can be very rewarding. During the pandemic my coworkers and I have felt especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Our clients are not required to wear masks, because of their unique needs — but our company is unwilling even to provide resources for social distancing. Worse yet, we get no lunch breaks to eat lunch away from the children, which would be an issue regardless of COVID-19.
Morale had been low for months, with a lot of staff turnover. I had been going to Detroit DSA’s Workers Circle for about a month, with the goal of getting some of my 14 coworkers organized to make the basic demand for a scheduled break for lunch.
Then on January 2, a Saturday, our supervisor told us via group text: “Hey Everybody, unfortunately we have a staff member who tested positive for COVID yesterday. The staff was last in the clinic on the 23rd of December — thus we are able to return on Monday. I am currently contacting all of the families and encouraging them all to get tested upon return and I encourage you all to do the same. …”
Almost immediately one of my coworkers responded: “With all due respect it makes no sense to return on Monday. Even if we all get tested, our results will take days to get back, and if the person was last seen on the 23rd there is a strong possibility of someone testing positive, so why risk this by returning?…Returning back to work knowing a co-worker has tested positive will put as ALL, including the children and families in a big pickle!”
Another seconded her: “I have a 75 year old father I am caring after with preexisting health issues and I do not feel comfortable returning without everybody being tested and cleared.”
I backed up what they had said and created a separate group text just for the workers; we started talking about what we would require in order to feel safe. We encouraged each other to take actions to pressure the company to do the right thing. Another coworker had come down with a fever and a cough on New Year’s Eve. I shared an email I sent to HR and two others said they had sent an email as well. We gave each other resources to find free and easy testing sites. Already it was obvious that at least three of us had each other’s backs.
The next day, Sunday, we still hadn’t received any information from HR. Our supervisor had been calling us each individually to tell us all the children’s families felt comfortable returning and that the Center had been cleaned. We should email HR if we weren’t coming in and tell them why.
It became apparent that our supervisors were attempting to “divide and pacify” by communicating different information to each person separately. We were constantly communicating in our group texts about what had been said. We started asking our supervisors for a group Zoom call; instead we were redirected to HR, which had never been active in communicating policies with our center. When we finally did hear from HR later that evening, this is what they had to say:
“Good Evening,
This email is in response to receiving several emails & notifications that several of you are not planning on coming into work tomorrow due to what you are saying was a Covid exposure at the Detroit center.
First of all these are the facts of the situation:
• You did not in fact receive an official notification of any exposure at the clinic from the company because:
◦ The employee who you are referring to has yet to receive a positive comprehensive test. As a company policy we do not accept rapid test due to the massive unreliability of this test.
◦ We are waiting on her results of the comprehensive test.
• This employee was last at the clinic on December 23, this would be 11 days since they have been in the clinic. For this reason, even with a positive comprehensive test result, we would not be shutting down the clinic tomorrow.
You are an essential worker, and we have put protocols & policies in place to keep you all safe. We follow the same procedures for every clinic & every exposure & shut down.
The Detroit Center will be open tomorrow. Anyone who refuses to come into work tomorrow who is scheduled to work, will be written up with a disciplinary action. Furthermore if issues continue, disciplinary action will continue up to termination.
We expect to see you at work tomorrow. Thank you for your understanding & compliance in advance.
HR.”
We didn’t even get the typical HR bullshit that “we understand your concerns.”
Somebody asked in the workers’ group chat, “So what do we do now?” Immediately several of us responded that we would refuse to come in and risk getting written up. Some reported our company to the Health Department. A coworker asked if we could talk with our supervisors via Zoom. In the Zoom call that coworker gave an impassioned speech. We were doing this, she said, because we were concerned about our well-being, the well-being of our families, our clients and their families.
Another coworker mentioned that she already had two strikes and asked if she would be fired for not showing up tomorrow. I immediately said that if she was fired, they could expect my two weeks’ notice. I wanted to let our supervisors know that we were united and that any retaliation would have consequences. Again our supervisors redirected us to HR and were unable to answer any of our questions.
A key step towards keeping our resolve was immediately having a FaceTime call amongst ourselves to debrief. We laughed, we got fired up, and we confirmed that we were united. It was not lost on my coworkers that an exclusively white management was telling its workforce of almost exclusively women of color to get back to work or else.
Everyone who sent an email to HR on Sunday received an identical “personal” email reiterating that we must work the next day. We knew they were sending this cookie-cutter response because we were sharing everything with each other. After researching the Michigan Department of Health website I composed another email for HR:
“Hello ****
I hope you are well.
Another coworker who was in the facility on the 30th has come down with a fever and a cough and is waiting on the results of their PCR test. I have still not received my PCR test results. We do not feel safe returning to a facility where half the occupants are maskless and there is no social distancing, without negative PCR test results. 1 in 1000 Americans died of COVID-19 in 2020 and I want to reiterate that many employees and clients live in multi-generational homes with at-risk family members. I know at least one client has asthma and is in an at-risk category as well.
We want to work, I care about the kids as much as anyone else at (our company) and it’s not easy to take the hit out of my pocket. …We are being asked to risk our health and well-being for this work. Please give us the peace of mind to know our workplace is safe. We would like both clients and staff to receive a negative test result before returning to work or receiving care. I know I speak for at least 5 other Behavior Technicians who feel the same as I do.
We have asked for this Preparedness and Response Plan during at least two of our monthly meetings and have not received one.
Could you provide me with our facility’s COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan?
Who is the COVID-19 Safety Coordinator for the Detroit location?
Are we considered an Outpatient Healthcare Facility?
Have you reported this potential workplace infection to the Wayne County DHHS?
Is it company policy to disregard a positive result from a rapid test and not tell the potentially exposed employees and clients? If so, can I see this written policy?
Have you ever accepted a negative rapid test for anyone exposed to COVID-19?
Unfortunately at this time I do not feel it is safe for me to return to work. I am willing to take whatever disciplinary actions that entails …”
The next day, Monday, 11 of the 14 Behavior Technicians did not show up to work. We kept in communication with each other throughout all of it.
Tuesday 8 of the 14 did not return. By that evening all of our coworkers had received a negative test result, including the coworker with a fever and a cough over New Year’s. On Tuesday we finally received the company’s Response Plan.
We also received an apology from HR — full of excuses and caveats but it felt like a victory. None of our coworkers were disciplined in any way for refusing to return to work till we were tested, and I consider that a major victory.
Another victory, a week later, came when MIOSHA said it would investigate the center for violations. Management and HR came into the center with what felt like their tail between their legs, as they measured the distance between workstations. Our supervisors seemed a little more concerned about people receiving breaks as well.
Despite these victories, the climate of this company is still toxic. It is crystal clear that management does not care about the well-being of its workers and it’s questionable whether they care about their clients. Since that first week in January four of my coworkers and a supervisor have put in their notice.
I like to think those workers are leaving with their heads held high, knowing they stood up for themselves, their clients, and their communities, and that they will carry that pride and these lessons with them to the next place they work.
We are better protected when we are collected and together we can influence the conditions of our workplace. This experience has given me that much more faith in the strength of an organized workforce. Solidarity now, Solidarity forever.
Joe Hill is a pseudonym.
The Detroit Socialist is produced and run by members of Detroit DSA’s Newspaper Collective. Interested in becoming a member of Detroit DSA? Go to metrodetroitdsa.com/join to become a member. Send a copy of the dues receipt to: membership@metrodetroitdsa.com in order to get plugged in to our activities! Detroit DSA’s Workers Circle meets biweekly on Sundays at 5PM.
