02/17/21 02/17/ [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is decracy now! pres. biden: i think we should be vaccinating teachers. we should move them up. amy: as president biden backs prioritizing covid-19 vaccines for teachers, we look at the debate over how to safely reopen schools during the pandemic. we will speak to randi weingarten, president of the american federation of teachers, and stacy davis gates of the chicago teachers union, which just agreed to a deal on

reopening schools. then we go to bessemer, alabama, where amazon workers are voting on whether to be become the first unionized amazon warehouse in the country. >> ithe uon waso badwhy arthey doi their tng they can'-- c -- and on >> this is like david d goliat we all know how that story ends. amy: as we speak to sarah jaffe, author of the new book "work won't love you back: how devotion to our jobs keeps us exploited, exhausted, and alone." >> the expectation we are going to love ourobs and do them der all sortof horrifi conditions has taken over the way we think about work today. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report.

i'm amy goodman. at least 23 people have been killed and millions remain without power as a major winter storm sweeps across large swaths of the cotry, briing cord-breing coldnd snow. overwheed and under-prared pow grid in texas unged miions into freezi cold andarkness hureds of thousandalso los wer across pts of aplachia as well as in oregon. this is a resident of denton, texas. >> we had a fireplace and i burned up all of the wood we had . this is sad. this is the sad state of affairs. i wish it were better. somebody has to do some planning after all of this is over and make sure there are alternative sources of energy. amy: texas republican governor greg abbott took to fox news tuesday to blame renewable energy foris state's blackos, saying the green new

deal would be deadly for the u. his comments contradicted texas' own energy department, which saidhe outages were due to "frozen instruments at natural gas, coal and even nuclear facilities." new york congressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez tweeted -- "the infrastructure failures in texas are quite literally what happens when you don't pursue a green new deal." texas set up its own power grid in the 1930's to avoid federal regulation. prisoners in texas, including 1000 women at the fort worth federal medical prison, reported having no heat. in matamoros, mexico, which sits on the border with brownsville, texas, around 1000 asylum seekers who were denied entry to the united states as part of trump's "remain in mexico" policy were forced to face the sub-freezing temperatures inside low-grade tents.

in north carolina, a tornado killed at least three people. the winter storm also disrupted states' vaccination programs, stalling deliveries, and shutting down vaccine sites across texas. in harris county health officials rushed to distribute thousands of doses after storage freezers lost power. president biden held a town hall hosted by cnn in milwaukee tuesday evening where he was questioned by host anderson cooper about vaccine availability. >> which is every american who wants it going to be able to get a vaccine? pres. biden: by the end of july of this year. we came into office, there were only 50 million doses available. by the end of july, we will have over 600 million doses, enough to vaccinate every single american. amy: president biden urged people to support the $1.9

trillion coronavirus stimulus package that house democrats are working to finalize. a house vote is expected at the end of next week. meanwhile, the biden administration extended the federal moratorium on foreclosures through the end of june. biden also extended the window to request mortgage forbearance, as well as sixonths of additional forbearance for homeowners who enroll by the end of june. the naacp filed a lawsuit tuesday against former president trump, rudy giuliani, and far-right groups for inciting the deadly u.s. capitol insurrection on january 6. the lawsuit, brought on behalf of mississippi congressmember and house homeland security chair bennie thompson, says trump and others violated the 1871 ku klux klan act, which is supposed to protect black people and lawmakers from white supremacist violence. naacp president derrick johnson said -- "the insurrection was the culmination of a carefully

orchestrated, months-long plan to destroy democracy, to block the results of a fair and democratic election, and to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of african-american voters who cast valid ballots." france's national assembly approved the controversial so-called anti-separatism bill tuesday, which the government says will strengthen france's secular principles and help counter the rise of militant islamist groups. but critics say the laws unfairly targets muslim communities and could deprive them of their civil rights. among other things, the bill strengthens the government's ability to shut down places of worship and religious schools, and ban what it deems to be extremist religious leaders. the legislation now heads to the senate where it is also expected to pass. french president emmanuel macron joined the heads of state of burkina faso, chad, mali, mauritania, and niger this week via video link for a summit on the mounting crisis in the sahel.

france said it is seeking to avoid an infinite war but did not have immediate plans to draw down its 5100 troops in the west african region. meanwhile, chad says it plans to deploy 1200 troops to combat armed groups associated with the islamic state and al-qaeda. according to one tally, 7000 people were killed due to the sahel conflict last year, while the u.n. warned over two million had been displaced. in spain, the arrest of a rapper over his song lyrics and tweets has sparked protests and fierce scrutiny over the government's control on freedom of speech. pablo rivadulla, better known as -- barricading himself inside a university to avoid serving a prison term for "glorifying terrorism" and insulting the royalty. hasél referred to former king

juan carlos as a drunken tyrant and showed support for the basque separatist group eta, among other charges. this is hasél speaking from inside the university where he was barricaded. >> we have an overwhelming and organized response to the severe attacks from the state or they will keep cutting our most fundamental rights and freedoms. we have to stop this. they may think this does not affect them directly but of course it does. if one of us loses a right, the working class as a whole loses. amy: in response to the public outcry over hasél's case, the spanish government has said it will ease its restrictions on free speech. back in the united states, buzzfeed reports the biden administration has directed homeland security department officials to stop using the terms "alien" and "illegal alien" when referring to immigrants and asylum seekers -- a term immigrant rights advocates have long called out for being dehumanizing and racist. this comes as a new report reveals president biden and other democrats received more

campaign money from leading border security and immigration detention corporations than trump and fellow republicans during the 2020 election season. according to the report by transnational institute, american friends service committee, and mijente, biden received over $5 million from border security executives, while trump got $1.7 million in campaign contributions. in georgia, meat plant workers who rviv a deadly liquid nitrogen leak at a gainesville poultry processing plant last month, say they are being discriminated against and intimidated by the company for trying to file compensation claims and get medical care. six people were killed and nearly a dozen others were hospitalized at the plant, which is owned by the foundation food group. most of the workforce in gainesville's meat processing plants are latinx. in media news, the hedge fund alden global capital has struck a deal to fully acquire tribune publishing, publisher of the

"chicago tribune" and other major publications. jon schleuss, president of the newsguild tweeted -- "a terrible deal for the company, the workers, the shareholders and our democracy. alden is only interested in extreme short-term profits by cutting everything to the bone. they have no long-term plan. #savelocalnews" however, some tribune papers, including "the baltimore sun" and "the capital gazette" will instead be acquired by a nonprofit formed by hotel executive stewart bainum, jr. and renowned palestinian author and poet mourid barghouti died sunday at the age of 76 in amman, jordan. barghouti spent most of his life in exile, writing about his palestinian homeland and the israeli occupation. he married the acclaimed egyptian writer radwa ashour, who died in 2014. in his autobiographical novel "i saw ramallah," in which he returns to his palestinian hometown after an absence of 30 years, barghouti writes --

"the calm of the place of exile and its wish for safety is never completely realized. the homeland does not leave the body until the last moment, the moment of death." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show looking at the state of the nation's schools a year into the covid-19 pandemic. on tuesday night, president biden said teachers should be given higher priority to get vaccines and he pledged to reopen the majority of elementary schools in his first 100 days. biden made the comments at a town hall meeting in milwaukee hosted by cnn's anderson cooper. pres. biden: i think we should be vaccinating teachers. we should move them up in the hierarchy as well. >> your administration had set a goal to open the majority of

schools in your first 100 days. you are saying that means schools may only be open for at least one day a week -- pres. biden: that is not true. that is what is reported. that is a mistake in the communication. what i'm am talking about is i said opening the majority of schools in k-8th grade because they are the easiest to open, the most needed to be open in terms of the impact on children and families having to stay home. >> when you ink that would be five days a week? i'd cope i think we will be close to that in the first 100 days. we have a significant percentage of them being able to be open. my guess is probably pushing to open all summer, to continue like it is a different semester. >> you think that would be five days week? pres. biden: many of them, five days a week. the goal is five days a week. it will be harder to open up the high school for the reasons i

have said. amy: president biden speaking tuesday night. this comes as many school districts across the nation are debating how to safely bring children into the classroom. in chicago, the city has begun reopening schools for the district's youngest students following a fight between the city and the teacher's union over covid procols. meanwhile, the centers for disease control and prevention has faced criticism for saying schools can be reopened safely before teachers are vaccinated. this is cdc director dr. rochelle walensky speaking earlier this month. >> i would also say safe reopeng of schools -- the vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for safe reopening of schools. amy: we are joined now by two guests. randi weingarten is president of the american federation of teachers and stacy davis gates is the executive vice president of the chicago teachers union. we welcome you both to democracy now!

let's begin in new york. randi weingarten, talk about the state of the schools in new york city and what the american federation of teachers is demanding. >> what we are demanding in new york and whawe are demanding in chicago -- am so glad you have stacy on -- is quite similar. there's a protocol of about five things, including prioritizing teachers for vaccines, using testing like the nfl does, like industry does, the way of really ying what is unseen, and then the safety protocols that were in the cdc guidance, including -- chicago and new york have done a good job about this because the unit has pushed it so hard -- including making sure that those who are at risk or who are taking care of people at risk have reasonable

accommodations. so when you have these kind of protocols together and you have safety committees and ways in which you make sure these are enforced, what we just saw in a recent poll released last night is that the people who are in school trusted and trust they're going to be safe. 88% of my membership in this poll we did last week said if we could get these protocols, they will feel comfortable being in school. they know it is important. that includes a 73% of those who are on remote right now. amy: what is happening in new york right now? who is back in school, who is doing remote learning, and what do you see as the timetable? >> what is happening in new york right now is elementary schools -- parents have a choice in all of these districts whether or not they have their kids

in-person or on remote. in new york city, they reopened everything in a hybrid basis, blended basis in september, october and november. in november when the rates started going very high in new york, there was a three week cause and then they reopened in december, elementary schools and special ed and kids with special needs first. so pre-k, elementary, kids with special needs. those kids are back in schools most of the week. this monday and tuesday they will start reopening in new york city middle schools. what they have in new york city, which is the key to this reopening, is that a very wholesome testing program so that 20% to 25% of people every

week -- kids and teachers -- get tested, rapid antigen tests, to see if there is covid transmission in school. and there are real protocols if there is a case. the classroom gets close. if there are cases coming from different waves, the school will get closed for 10 days or so. and that has been what has kept the schools open and transmission down. it is both the protocols the cdc talked about that prevent transmission, but also the testing so that you see it. and finally, and this is what stacy push for heart in chicago and what our leader in new york push for early heart in new york, the vaccinations. over 15,000 new york city school teachers, people who are in

schools first, have gotten our first, some have gotten there second does come of the vaccination. i am really glad president biden last night that teachers should be prioritized. we have tried to do that for the last several months. we have pushed the hard for the cdc to prioritize teachers in schools. we are supposed to be open for in-person learning and we need that extra layer of protection for teachers just like, obviously, for health-care workers and nursing homes. but it has not happened in most places. 24 states to prioritize teachers, but we have not seen that in action as much as we should. amy: stacy gates, the national education association, nea, adjusted a survey. they said 82% of teachers have nothing vaccinated. 70% will feel safer about working in person once

vaccinated. 20% of white educators are vaccinated. 9% of black educators are vaccinated. can you talk abo the significance of this? >> i think the significance of this entire pandemic has fallen along the lines of race, racism, equity and and equity. what we see is the collapse of society at the same time we need the most -- we need the most. for instance, we are having a discussion about reopening schools without understanding what types of schools we are reopening. there is a standard that i think most people are thinking of when they think of schools. they are not thinking of schools on theest side of chicago whose facilities have not been upgraded for generations. they are not thinking of schools on the south side of chicago that have been perpetually unclean because we have privatized our janitorial staff.

these are things that should be added to the context of cdc guidelines. cdc guidelines are only as important as they can be implemented in places that have the resources to implement it, places that have administrative fortitude and a workforce that are willing to enforce it. guidelines are one thing. the implementation and the enforcement are quite another. in chicago, we have a hard time believing under mayoral control that we would have the type of enforcement of these guidelines all by itself because we have not seen that -- again, it won't be until the end of our contract until we have a nurse in every school. there is not a social worker in every school. when i hear people talk about kids need be in school because of all of the things that our schools provide, well, you need to come to chicago and see what our schools have and

don't have an struggle with the educators, the school clerks, the clinicians, coordinators that are trying to make that happen in chicago. we thought for a nurse and every school and for air conditioning in schools. we'll have four schools on the west side that have a librarian. it is not just the context of opening schools, it is reopening schools safely with the resources necessary to keep people safe. amy: stacy, the chicago teachers union and the chicago public schools have reached an agreement last week to reopen elementary and middle schools amidst the pandemic by early march students who have been learning remotely for 10 months will be back in the classroom. what is key to understand about this agreement and the tense negotiations that took place between the union, the school district, and mayor lightfoot? where did parents and teachers, parents and students come down in the negotiation

>> one thing i would like to dispel is there's a separation of parents and teachers. i am a high school history teacher with three children in the chicago public schools, as are many of our colleagues in the chicago public schools. this false narrative that parents and teachers are on opposite sides is ridiculous. number two, this was a discussion about the inequities of the pandemic. if we are looking at chicago right now and looking athe communities in it as it goes because chicago still so very segregated, that were ravaged under covid-19 and we look at the distribution of vaccines in chicago, and the same community, we see inequities. when we look at the chicago public schools and how our schools are funded in the city, we see that same and equity. -- inequity.

the struggle is based on glect and defunding and de-prioritization. again, why would i trust you to have my back in a pandemic when i was not able to trust you to have my back in nonpandemic times? this boi down to a legacy of mistrust because we have been de-prioritize. chicago public schools under mayoral control closed 50's goes that educated black students. in a pandemic that is killing black people three times more than white people, why would you have infrastructure of trust? you have to rebuild trust in the confidence of the individuals that will be attending these school communities, going as i these buildings, as well as showing where the resources have been implemented and also maintaining the implementation of those resources. we are in a pandemic.

i don't think it is unreasonable for people to have an expectation that you pulled together in the same direction and that you have safety as the uniting factor. amy: i want to read a quote from chicago mayor lightfoot that was recently interviewed by "the new york times." she said -- "i understand that the notion that we would lock teachers out was disturbing to all. it should be. but it should also be disturbing when teachers say, 'i don't care what you say. i don't care what you do. i'm not going to abide by the contract or the rules that have been set for my place of employment'." lightfoot said, "that's chaos." stacy davis gates, if you cod respond? >> i don't think there is a response to that post up for the likes of me, i don't know why any politician would harbor ill will and provoke fights with teachers, paraprofessionals, school clerks, coordinators, social workers, counselors,

librarians. i don't understand that. furthermore, the members of the chicago teachers union in coalition with parents and students across the city has struggled together. they have struggled to get support. they have struggled together to keep cops out of schools and to get nurses and social workers inside of schools. to bring the issue of housing and security to the forefront and fight for housing for our students who do not have permanent housing. so this concept that we are not partners is simply another misleading action, statement from the mayor of the city. amy: and if you can talk about the importance of organizing and striking. right now in this period during the pandemic, the most effective way you see to keep the schools safe and to bring everyone back together? >> the most effective way is going to have to be with

democracy. chicago has needed an elected school board for very long time. our mayor ran under that. she has so far get to deliver. democracy provides very important set of checks and balances for stakeholders across the board to direct. number two, you ha to have a labor union that is committed to the common good struggle. and that we as educators provide a commonood, therefore we should be at the core pushing for all of the things that our into deep needs while it is the people we serve. there is no separation. humanity basically forces us to provide the type of housing stability, the fight for justice in health care, the fight for the full resourcing of our school communities, but -- our neighborhood community's as well. look, chicago has undergone a

seismic shift since 2012 went our union with parents, grassroots organizations, students said that chicago students deserve more than what they have been given. and right now we're continuing to manifest that type of organization, that fight, that advocacy were all people in the city get to win, not just the few who can buy it but the many who need it. amy: before you go, stacy, i would ask about careless, the former president of the chicago teachers union who recently passed away at 67 yea old. she ha been battling brain cancer. she stepped down from her position at ctu due to her health four years later. this is karen lewis on democracynow in 2010. >> the system is broken. it has not basically changed

since the 1900s -- 1800s, for that matter. and as a result, it has never been able to absorb real innovation. and the problem is it's just a lot easier to test, test, test children. our curriculum has narrowed in chicago. if you look at the average day for an elementary school kid, it's reading, reading, reading, reading, reading, reading, math, math, math, reading, reading, reading, reading, math. i mean, kids are bored to tears. they're hating school at an early age. there's no joy. there's no passion. and the results show that. amy: that is karen lewis in 2010. your thoughts on her passing in her significance as former head of the chicago teachers union? >> obviously, with her passing -- i not oy miss a great leader, i miss a friend, someone who cared for me, generously gave me an opportunity to work in this movement and to be

powerful in this movement. number two, i think her significance is that she had shifted the trajectory of the expectations of everyone in the city of chicago. nationally, she is triggered from the west coast of the east coast of the northern part of the southern part of our country. as a black woman, she walked in her power. she defended like children. she lifted up black parents. she gave us an example of how you feed a coalition, distribute power, and provide a bellwether, if you will, for leaders who are committed to social justice. amy: i want to thank you so much, stacy davis gates, executive vice president of the chicago teachers union, and randi weingarten, president of the american federation of teachers. next up, amazon woers voting on the first unionized amazon

warehouse in the country. ay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: he was arrested on tuesday for insulting spain's former king. his arrest sparked massive protests in barcelona and other cities. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. amazon workers in bessemer, alabama, are continuing to vote on whether to become the first unionized amazon warehouse in the united states. the national labor relations board has mailed ballots to nearly 6000 amazon workers who will decide whether to join the retail, wholesale, and

department store union. voting will continue until march 29. workers are demanding stronger covid safety measures and relief from impossibly high productivity standards that leave many unable to take bathroom breaks. the intercept is reporting amazon is paying a consultant with ties to the koch brothers $3200 a day to thwart the unionization drive. amazon is also requiring workers to attend anti-union captive audience meetings. one amazon warehouse worker , joseph jones, spoke to democracy now! authese meetings. >> they were trying to get as outraged over thamount snt on vehicles. i raise my hand and -- no one talksecause they open it up for questions, but who is going to speak out to the company unless you just don't ca? my question was, so let me

understand your position. you want me be outraged at the facthis unnpent $140,000 on qualified his news expenses iteems you're shong us, but jeffezosakes $150,000 every single minute of every single day but i'm supped to beutraged athis? are, ah. yes, are y mad? [laughter] it is crazy. amy: on tuesday, amazon's founder and outgoing ceo jeff bezos surpassed elon musk to become, once again, the world's richest person with a wealth of $191 billion. meanwhile, new york attorney general letitia james sued amazon on tuesday for failing to adequately protect workers during the pandemic. in the lawsuit, james argues -- "amazon's extreme profits and exponential growth rate came at the expense of the lives, health and safety of its frontline workers."

we go now toessemer, alabama, where we are joined by two guests. jennifer bates is a worker at amazon's bessemer warehouse who has been part of the union drive from the beginning. michael foster is an organizer with the rwdsu -- retail, wholesale, and department store union. he is also a poultry worker at a chicken plant in alabama. upwards of 80% of the bessemer workers are black and the majority are women. we welcome you both to democracy now! jennifer, let's begin with you. you work under the plan. we're so glad to speak to you right now. talk about why you are organizing. what are the conditions in the plant? >> the reason why we are organizing is we need an even playing field. some of the conditions are being ignored by human resources, long work hours with only two breaks, long walks upstairs and

downstairs. we have plenty of elevators in the building, but they were only used for merchandise. you can put the merchandise on the elevators, but we have to send it upstairs and go through the back halls liket a hotel and take the stairs up to the floor that we are taking it too. so there are a lot of health issues. another thing with the covid-19, they told us -- they would advise this those who have it or work near them, so they've not done well without. is like working out. you have intense workout for nine hours, but you'll get to our breaks within a 10 hour span. we want to be heard. we want to be treated like people and not ignored will we have issues. people are getting fired without having an opportunity to speak their side.

amy: commutes by what amazon is doing about this effort, the united states -- the unionizing effort? you're in the midst of about that goes on for several weeks. if in fact amazon workforce votes for the union, it will be the first time in -- an amazon warehouse has been unionized in the country. >> yes. they're having classroom teaching seminars, what i call them, with the slideshows, talking about why we should not have a union and don't let anyone come in and get between our relationship. that put flyers on the back wall of the bathroom stalls are we used to have updated -- you know, things going on in the company. now it has been read as with things of why we should not vote for the union. they're coming to our

workstations where we are working at,'s can us about the reasons why you're going to be called an outsider if you don't vote yes. and what they do their money is gone lavish vacations about nice cars. they're coming to us and even some of the younger people are afraid. th were for the union but now because of the meetings they were put in, they are afraid they're going to lose their insurance or some of the leadership are walking around telling people if you vote for the union amazon will shut down so tre won't be any jobs here. amy: i want to bring michael foster into this conversation. you work at a neay poultry plant, but you are a union organizer with rwdsu. both you as well as jennifer are part of this drive to unionize

amazon's warehouse. you call it a david versus goliath struggle. explain. >> just like the story that we all know of combat amazon has been -- became one of the biggest industries in our world right now. azon is a very powerful -- one of the most profitable businesses in the united states righ now. so amazon has a lot of authority going on right now. and we as the union are trying to take on amazon under a right to work state, gives you the perfect image of david and goliath. amy: now, we heard something about -- a traffic light right by the warehouse that amazon asked the city to change because

when people stopped at the red light, there were union organizers out there urging the workers going into the plant to vote yes on the union. can you talk about this, michael? >> yes. i am personally one of the guys that beadown on the block and speaking with was on workers as they go in and out at this particular traffic light. we had the privilege to be able to talk to them on the traffic light stops. we had the opportunity to talk to them. but as soon as they get the urge to roll down the window come the light turns green. we cannot even say two words t each other. it stopped a lot of our conversations and engaging with amazon employees. amy: in the lead we talked about amazon paying a consultant with ties to the koch brothers,

something like $3200 a day to thwart the unionization drive. the consultant russell brown and head of our dvd labor that helps maintain a union-free workplace. your thoughts on this? >> i think what amazon used, this tactic they are using, with this guy coming in making $3200 a day to me is one of the most verb things i have heard of. to me, if amazon was concerned about their people and their people had shown they want a union and have a voice to speak out -- if amazon care anything about their employees, they would t come uagainst them with this type of tactic. this tactic is been processed in

a people's minds. it has been hammered into people's minds. i have people calling and asking me can they do something because they don't want to go to these meetings. these meetings are mandatory. they are hammering in their mind, changing their thoughts, putting fear in their mind, if you ask . there is something that amazon is striving to do. i think it is their intention to provide fear into their minds so they will not in a union, so they will not have a voice, and allow amazon to continue to do what they're doing right now. amy: the issue of amazon flooding the warehouse with workers to expand the number in the bargaining union, can you talk about the challenge of this? >> oh, man, it was a big challenge. we had already submitted the vote. if you look on the website ce

amazon said they built a new facility in bessemer for 1500 workers. so amazon went on a hiring spree that is unheard of in the united states to dictate the percentage of the numbers that we had to have -- because we had to have 30% of the total number in order to submit -- to be able to have a vote. amazon done this after we had submitted this. we only had a day or two time to go back out and try to get more cards. we don't know what specific number we needed. all we knew is we had to go out and get more people to be able to sign authorization cards. and with the blessing of god and is working hard and praying, he allowed us to achieve that goal. amy: jennifer bates, it is fascinating that this unionizing

effort that could be the first unionized warehouse of amazon in the country is happening in what is known as an antiunion south, a majority black workforce and majority black town, most of the workers are women. the significance of this? >> well, i really did not think it would be this significant. starting out, we were nervous at first. but understanding now how it would change history, it will be a big impact because it looks like amazon is choosing a lot of low-income communities. and i think because of that, it brgs a lot of light and this will be one of the first amazon facilities that people remember from this day forward. and then it is black history. amy: can you talk about the schedule of the vote, how long two people have to vote?

it began last week, the voting. >> they have until march 29 to get all of the ballots in. amy: march 29 to get all of the ballots in? michael foster, can you talk about why you see the union organizing here is a racial justice issue? i'm looking at a piece in wired that talks about the history of your union are to be dsu, the unit having black leadership since its founding in the 30's, time when some unions excluded like workers, members organized alongside martin thinking junior during the 1963 march on washington and 1968 come union became the first to secure a contract designating king's birthday a paid holiday. >> yes, ma'am. it is something i am proud of. this is mostly a black union

right here. bessemer amazon is mostly black and the city of bessemer is more percentage of black. i think if you look, the city of bessemer is one of the poorest cities in alabama. and i believe amazon knows this because they have the initiative to say we are paying you $15 an hour and that is about minimum wage and you should be happy about that because they're offering a little bit more money than some of the places around here, they feel like that gives them the means to continue to keep the press on the african-americans i think. we have a saying that we think are people should have a living wage, not a minimu wage.

people are tired of just paying their bills and just barely making it the next week when you are working at a facility that is owned by the richest man in the world. you working at facility in the last three months, have accumulated $90 billion and none of the employees received anything for this. i like to tell the employees all the time that amazon is just a building. you guys are amazon. without you guys, there is no amazon. and i think by them coming into city like this, they feel like they could take advantage of these people because they've take advantage of their means of having money, their living means. amazon is not here to help them. the rwdsu, we're here to not

only bring a better environment to the amazon workers, but to a community as well. we want to get out into the community. they could help family members they have also. amy: jennifer bates, your message to the richest man in the world, to the ceo of amazon, jeff bezos? >> i don't have a message to him, but because i know that he knows very well what is going on , he has madmillions of the backs of low-income people. he already knows, and i heard the video that he spoke at, we don't need anyone to come between us -- he already sent us a message that we are already giving you a comtitive wage.

so it doesn't look like he was to have a stance on working conditions. so for years -- just finding out last week there other amazons who have been complaining as well. he very well knows what is going on and he does not want to move the chains. amy: this plant opened at the beginning of the pandemic in march? >> yes stub amy: jennifer bates, thank you for being with us, worker at amazon's bhm1 fulfillment center in bessemer. and michael foster, poultry plant worker, union member and r member organizer withwdsu. when we come back on as we speak to sarah jaffe. her new book, "work won't love you back." stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "what's mine is yours" by sleater-kinney. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. as congress debates whether to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, fast-food workers in 15 cities held a black history month strike tuesday as part of the fight for 15 campaign and to emphasize the "crisis among black communities who have faced generations of low pay and insufficient protections on the job." these are some of their voices. >> my name is mark lopez, from detroit, michigan. i'm a fast food worker at mcdonald's. i am on strike today for $15 an hour. >> i am a member of mcdonald's and a member of pfeiffer 15.

i have it with the organization for six years. i am pregnant with a baby on the way and i already have two kids. i can't take this no more. there were times when i do not have a break. i came in on my day off. the highest check i ever got was $291. i can't take it no more. i need $50 an hour -- i need $15 an hour. >> 16 years old, person working in fast food. pressure on the job. i did not understand what was going on. i learned to put an armor on, smile and befriend with my customers.

but this armor gets heavy when you can't pay your bills. amy: that last voice, taco bell worker erica hunt at a fight for $15 protest in wisconsin on tuesday. for more on how fast food workers, teachers, nurses, gig workers, and many others are organizing to improve their conditions, we are joined by sarah jaffe, longtime labor and economic justice reporter who writes about all of this in her new book titled "work won't love you back: how devotion to our jobs keeps us exploited, exhausted, and alone." her feature in the new issue of "the nation" is headlined "first, nurses saved our lives -- now they're saving our health care." you are following our first discussion about the teachers unionsighting for safe workplaces for kids to return to around the country, to their schools, and then we talked about this first time union vote organizing effort in bessemer,

alabama, at an amazon warehouse. your thoughts on jobs right now? >> i think he much everyone's job has gotten a lot worse in the last year. whether you are like me and ddenly trapped in this tiny little box here that you see me in pretty mucfor 10 hours a day every day or you're like fast food workers were amazon workers you were just talking to who have to go into a work life knowing that workplace has just gotten a lot more dangerous. i think we are all realizing how muchorse things can get. it is making some of those workers more willing to stand up and speak out when it is not just that it is a bad grinding, slow, miserable job but also a bad, grinding,low miserable b that can kill you now. amy: you talk about the irony of the term "amazon fulfillment centers." >> is interesting because now we are expected, like i write about in the book, to find fulfillment

from our jobs. but when it comes down to it, we don't work because we are bored and need something to do with our day. we work, like the last worker was saying, because we have bills to pay. when that work is not covering the expenses that people have to feed their families, it really big disconnect. we are still expected to show up most of what that last worker was saying about putting on that armor every day so striking. you do. remember from my time working in the service industry, to push all your feelings down and put on that smile. amy: you right in your book, describe the evolution of the labor of love. >> i traced this in the book to the history of women's unpaid home a the creive artist.

both are assumed to be not work at all. as the decline of industrial labor through outsourcing, automation, through changes in the shape of capitalism, what we got instead was much more work like the people you're talking about, this amazon workers, the fast food workers, like the nurses and other health care workers i wrote about whose job is to keep us going, during the "essential work" we heard about in the pandemic, work that often requires you to show up and put on that smile, that requires you if not actually enjoy it, at least pretend and project the image u are enjoying it in order to go to work. it is literay a change like the shape of the economy what jobs people are doing. but that spreads into things like the amazon fulfillment center where the narrative we hear over and over again is we

go to work and in order to find fulfillment, then even the amazon billboard that i saw the other day off theew jersey turnpike this is of a go get a job littering smiles" is like, well, the conditis that worker was describing in the warehouse in alabama, don't sound terribly fulfilling for like they would ma me smile. amy: how about teachers now being asked to risk their lives to go back to school? of course, have nurses doing the same thing, risking their lives every day and they're not only fightings to save their patient, but now the health care system, changing it. >> i write the book the ultimate labors of love and we have decades, centuries of expecting them to make up for all of the gaps and the social safety net just by loving the kids they teach more and more and more. we are seeinright now the real return of this demonizing teachers rhetoric in yet another

way. because teachers are not willing to march back into overcrowded, underfunded schools that have not had repairs. in philadelphia, there were talking about strapping a box fan to a window to create ventilation to the virus supposedly would not spread a new school buildings that are overcrowded. in los angeles, think the last time we spoke i was in l.a. for the teacher strike and they we fighting to get class sizes down from 45 students in a room that is supposed to house 20. u cannot socially distance with 25 kids in a room, let alone 40 of them in a room that is supposed to have 25. the very things that teachers have been demanding that would have made the schools more safe to reopen in the first place, they are now getting blamed for not being able to solve that problem. it is this ongoing expectation that teachers can somehow with pure motivation and love and care overcome all of these

obstacles that we have put as a society in their way. amy: and nurses. >> absolutely. nurses who have been fighting sinc t beginning of the pandemic just to get enough masks and downs to keep them safe while trying to save lives. in between, the nurses unions like national nurses united, new york state nurses association, have been the loudest voices in this country saying, again for decade that weeed a real national health care system that would actually prioritize public health. because this pandemic has taught us we are only as well as the last person to get vaccinated, the last person get heah care. amy: thank you, sarah for being with us, longtime labor and economic justice reporter. our new book, "work won't love you back: how devotion to our jobs keeps us exploited, exhausted, and alone." that does it for our show. happy birthday, neil shibata! democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who

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i spend a lot of time in montreal. it really is, together with copenhagen and barcelona, one of my favourite places on the planet, a home away from home. but i still have a problem putting my finger on what makes this city so great. through the centuries, montreal has found itself at a global crossroads where nations, cultures and languages have met, or were fiercely defended. now, it's as though montreal is a city that spends a lot of time wondering about itself. i wouldn't call it an identity crisis, more of an identity mélange. this city faces real urban challenges. the people here will tell you that they have the worst potholes on the planet.