Dear friends,
An important piece of local legislation — Intro 339 — will reach the floor of city council today for a vote. By expanding the definition of employer to include those who employ domestic workers, this law would provide workers with long overdue human rights protections against discrimination in the workplace. In addition, domestic workers would be covered by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is awaiting a vote in the US Senate (like everything else).
Please call Corey Johnson at 212-788-7210 and your own council rep now to urge them to pass Intro 339!
The shortage of care workers throughout the US is getting worse. The long-term shortage is looming (for those planning to get old) and the immediate problem is cause for alarm:
More than 800,000 older and disabled people who qualify for Medicaid are on state waiting lists for home care. Agencies serving private-pay clients are turning away business.
Low wages and inadequate benefits are the drivers of this shortage. This reality, which affects both the quality and availability of care, is putting more pressure on families and causing economic distress for care workers.
Sign this petition to support legislation to strengthen and expand access to Medicaid home- and community-based care services, and provide better pay and benefits for the direct care workforce.
Use the script provided to call on Senators for a fair wage for every worker.
“the courthouse door has been barred to New York’s landlords” “for more than sixteen months and counting.”
Putting a moratorium on hold means resuming evictions, in this case. The moratorium ends on August 31, which is near enough at hand. Meanwhile, the rent relief promised to New York tenants and landlords has been very slow to materialize.
The governor announced staffing increases on Monday to help process the claims of landlords and tenants awaiting relief. Finally! Imagine if we did not routinely wait until a problem is a crisis before actually addressing it.
The planet continues to overheat, flood, and burn, placing the life and health of every living thing in peril. Recently, a young person I love wrote:
I have been stuck in the cycle of: getting old is scary > will i get to get old > the climate crisis will end us all > we will get sick while it's happening > getting old is scary
Register for an Aug 3 webinar to learn more about defunding climate chaos.
Sign this petition to end government support and private financing of fossil fuel projects.
This week is the 31st anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The law has never been more important because the pandemic has
created a new class of disabilities for so-called “long-haulers,” people who experience debilitating chronic symptoms after recovering from COVID-19. Scientific American warned of a coming “tsunami” of long COVID-related claims. “Some people have trouble breathing problems long after they have left hospitals,” reads a May 2021 study published in the scientific journal Nature. “Others lose their sense of smell or have trouble thinking clearly. Some people with COVID-19 experience strokes or become diabetic. Weeks of treatment in intensive care can mean that a person never returns to their former health because of damage to the brain, heart or lungs, for example.” About 1 in 5 COVID-19 patients leave hospitals with a new disability, according to the study.
The president Joe Biden announced earlier this week that the federal government would recognize long-term COVID-19 as a disability; this is important since the law does not include a comprehensive list of disabilities.
Okay, this has been a rough morning, with existential crises just piling up. Since the ADA had its anniversary on Tuesday, we will channel the spirit of Tuesday and end with an inspiring story:
A middle school drama teacher and her partner were eagerly awaiting the birth of their child and wondering how he would be able to take the baby for a walk since he is a wheelchair user. The teacher approached a colleague, who teaches a course called “Making for Social Good.” With her permission, he turned the problem over to his students. The students designed an apparatus for attaching an infant car seat to a wheelchair. Conveniently, the project was due before the baby.
See the WheeStroll design and a photo of the parent and child it was designed for!
After removing herself from competition to protect her mental health, Simone Biles could be heard cheering on other athletes — both her teammates AND competitors from other countries — in the stadium this morning. Let’s watch her and learn.
Hang in there, people. Mask up in public places, smile anyway (because we can see a smile behind a mask), and be gentle with yourselves.
with love,
L