INTERROGATING THE KNOWLEDGE BASED ECONOMY: FROM KNOWLEDGE AS A PUBLIC GOOD TO ITALIAN POSTWORKERISM
MARCO BOFFO
Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in Economics
2013
Department of Economics
SOAS, University of London
https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/17843/1/Boffo_3544.pdf
Abstract
This thesis offers a critique of the reception of the Knowledge-Based Economy concept within both mainstream economics and contemporary Marxist debates. The first chapter analyses how this concept and attendant discussions have recently prompted mainstream economists to provide it with foundations within economic theory and advocate the development of an economics of knowledge. Given the fallacious understanding, within mainstream economics, of knowledge, the economy, and their interaction, the chapter demonstrates the flawed nature of the mainstream version of the Knowledge-Based Economy and the economics of knowledge as judged from the standpoint of any contribution holding different views on knowledge, the economy, and their interaction. The second chapter addresses the reinterpretation of the Knowledge-Based Economy as cognitive capitalism elaborated within Italian post-workerist autonomist Marxism. The latter theorises the preponderance of immaterial labour within contemporary capitalism, and has been recently recast in terms of Marxist economic analysis. Following the persistence of capitalism and the continuing relevance of Marxian analytical categories, the chapter demonstrates how the conceptualisation of contemporary capitalism as cognitive capitalism hinges on a misreading of Marxian value theory and its relation to the economy, and weakened links of the analysis with the politics of Marxism itself. The third chapter investigates issues related to the social ubiquity of networked computers, which is increasingly understood as driving new processes of class formation within capitalism and as instantiating new forms of exploitation considered, under the label of “prosumption”, as simultaneously more pervasive and less alienating. The chapter investigates these issues through the prism of recent work of Italian post-workerist Marxists critical of the cognitive capitalism debate. The chapter demonstrates the theoretical flaws
inherent in both understanding technology as a vector of class formation and the concept of
prosumption, while also deepening the critical understanding of Italian post-workerism
elaborated in the second chapter.
Monday, April 20, 2020
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Marxism and the Critique of Value
Edited by
Neil Larsen, Mathias Nilges, Josh Robinson, and Nicholas Brown
Download the PDF
Marxism and the Critique of Value aims to complete the critique of the value-form that was initiated by Marx. While Marx’s “esoteric” critique of value has been rediscovered from time to time by post-Marxists who know they’ve found something interesting but don’t quite know which end is the handle, Anglophone Marxism has tended to bury this esoteric critique beneath a more redistributionist understanding of Marx. The essays in this volume attempt to think the critique of value through to the end, and to draw out its implications for the current economic crisis; for violence, Islamism, gender relations, masculinity, and the concept of class; for revolutionary practice and agency; for the role of the state and the future of the commons; for the concepts that come down to us from Enlightenment thought: indeed, for the manifold phenomena that characterize contemporary society under a capitalism in crisis.
Materialism and the Critique of Energy
Edited by
Brent Ryan Bellamy and Jeff Diamanti
Download the PDF
Materialism and the Critique of Energy brings together twenty-one theorists working in a range of traditions to conceive of a twenty-first century materialism critical of the economic, political, cultural, and environmental impacts of large-scale energy development on collective life. The book reconceives of the inseparable histories of fossil fuels and capital in order to narrate the historical development of the fossil regime, interpret its cultural formations, and develop politics suited to both resist and revolutionize energy-hungry capitalism.
Examples of the new fields of critical research included in the book range from Marxist-feminism and an energy-critique analysis, test cases for a critique of “electroculture,” an analysis of the figurative use of energies in both political struggle and the work of machines, and the intersection of Indigenous labor and the history of extractivism. Materialism and the Critique of Energy lays the foundation for future study at the intersection of history, culture, new materialism, and energy humanities
Energy and Experience: An Essay in NafthologyBy Antti Salminen & Tere Vadén
Download the PDF
If there is reason to believe that material circumstances such as the ownership of the means of production, geography, or levels of technological development shape society, culture, and experience, then there is reason to believe that the continually increasing input of energy in the form of fossil fuels has had a similar, if not greater, impact on human history. Antti Salminen and Tere Vadén’s Energy and Experience: An Essay in Nafthology is the first book of philosophy to directly address the theoretical and conceptual configurations of our oil modernity. Without surplus energy — the non-renewable, non-human energy of coal, oil and gas — modernity would be completely other than it has come it be. Salminen and Vadén argue that modernity constitutes a historical state of exception — one that cannot be sustained. Energy and Experience unearths the blind spot that energy has occupied in the social thought of a modernity that has too long been self-deluded by its own intellectual capacities to render human beings independent from nature.
Advance praise for Energy and Experience:
“Energy and Experience sounds the oily depths of our present human condition. Working the rich reservoirs tapped by thinkers like Mitchell and Negarestani, Salminen and Vadén brilliantly explore how fossil fuels have intoxicated human imagination and warped human knowledge, how they have accelerated time and constituted illusions of distance and separateness not just in popular or political culture but in philosophy as well. Energy and Experience is a nafthological diagnostic manual, a fieldguide to the black sun; it is also a call for rebellion.”
—Dominic Boyer, Director, Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences (Rice University)
“Has God been replaced by oil? Salminen and Vadén argue, yes, in a rousing and provocative manifesto on energy criticism that rereads western oil culture through the philosophies of Marx, Heidegger, Junger, and Bataille. A witty and theoretically challenging book, Energy and Experience examines what it might mean for us to plumb the energetic depths of modern being and knowing while training our eyes on those parts of contemporary culture — those enduring resistances, frictions, and multiplicities — that can provide us with alternatives and focal points to move us beyond the totalizing effects of a culture of global capitalism that rises on and is quite literally fueled by petroleum.”
—Bob Johnson, Associate Professor of History (National University)
MediationsJournal.org
Edited by
Neil Larsen, Mathias Nilges, Josh Robinson, and Nicholas Brown
Download the PDF
Marxism and the Critique of Value aims to complete the critique of the value-form that was initiated by Marx. While Marx’s “esoteric” critique of value has been rediscovered from time to time by post-Marxists who know they’ve found something interesting but don’t quite know which end is the handle, Anglophone Marxism has tended to bury this esoteric critique beneath a more redistributionist understanding of Marx. The essays in this volume attempt to think the critique of value through to the end, and to draw out its implications for the current economic crisis; for violence, Islamism, gender relations, masculinity, and the concept of class; for revolutionary practice and agency; for the role of the state and the future of the commons; for the concepts that come down to us from Enlightenment thought: indeed, for the manifold phenomena that characterize contemporary society under a capitalism in crisis.
Materialism and the Critique of Energy
Edited by
Brent Ryan Bellamy and Jeff Diamanti
Download the PDF
Materialism and the Critique of Energy brings together twenty-one theorists working in a range of traditions to conceive of a twenty-first century materialism critical of the economic, political, cultural, and environmental impacts of large-scale energy development on collective life. The book reconceives of the inseparable histories of fossil fuels and capital in order to narrate the historical development of the fossil regime, interpret its cultural formations, and develop politics suited to both resist and revolutionize energy-hungry capitalism.
Examples of the new fields of critical research included in the book range from Marxist-feminism and an energy-critique analysis, test cases for a critique of “electroculture,” an analysis of the figurative use of energies in both political struggle and the work of machines, and the intersection of Indigenous labor and the history of extractivism. Materialism and the Critique of Energy lays the foundation for future study at the intersection of history, culture, new materialism, and energy humanities
Energy and Experience: An Essay in NafthologyBy Antti Salminen & Tere Vadén
Download the PDF
If there is reason to believe that material circumstances such as the ownership of the means of production, geography, or levels of technological development shape society, culture, and experience, then there is reason to believe that the continually increasing input of energy in the form of fossil fuels has had a similar, if not greater, impact on human history. Antti Salminen and Tere Vadén’s Energy and Experience: An Essay in Nafthology is the first book of philosophy to directly address the theoretical and conceptual configurations of our oil modernity. Without surplus energy — the non-renewable, non-human energy of coal, oil and gas — modernity would be completely other than it has come it be. Salminen and Vadén argue that modernity constitutes a historical state of exception — one that cannot be sustained. Energy and Experience unearths the blind spot that energy has occupied in the social thought of a modernity that has too long been self-deluded by its own intellectual capacities to render human beings independent from nature.
Advance praise for Energy and Experience:
“Energy and Experience sounds the oily depths of our present human condition. Working the rich reservoirs tapped by thinkers like Mitchell and Negarestani, Salminen and Vadén brilliantly explore how fossil fuels have intoxicated human imagination and warped human knowledge, how they have accelerated time and constituted illusions of distance and separateness not just in popular or political culture but in philosophy as well. Energy and Experience is a nafthological diagnostic manual, a fieldguide to the black sun; it is also a call for rebellion.”
—Dominic Boyer, Director, Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences (Rice University)
“Has God been replaced by oil? Salminen and Vadén argue, yes, in a rousing and provocative manifesto on energy criticism that rereads western oil culture through the philosophies of Marx, Heidegger, Junger, and Bataille. A witty and theoretically challenging book, Energy and Experience examines what it might mean for us to plumb the energetic depths of modern being and knowing while training our eyes on those parts of contemporary culture — those enduring resistances, frictions, and multiplicities — that can provide us with alternatives and focal points to move us beyond the totalizing effects of a culture of global capitalism that rises on and is quite literally fueled by petroleum.”
—Bob Johnson, Associate Professor of History (National University)
MediationsJournal.org
AMERICAN PENTECOSTAL COLONIALISM
God, not masks: Magufuli's Tanzania is an outlier on virus response
TRUMP'S AMERIKA IS MORE LIKE TANZANIA THAN IT IS SWEDEN
Dar es Salaam (AFP) - Tanzanian President John Magufuli has called on citizens to turn to God and to keep the economy turning, but as coronavirus cases creep up, calls are rising for the country to take stronger action.
While countries across Africa have imposed curfews, partial and full lockdowns, Tanzania has resisted such measures. Schools and universities have been shut but markets, bus stops and shops bustle as usual.
Magufuli, who called for three days of prayer from last Friday to fight the virus, is one of a handful of world leaders still brushing off the seriousness of the disease.
"This is time to build our faith and continue praying to God and not depending on facemasks. Don't stop going to churches and mosques for prayers. I'm sure this is just a change of wind and it will go like others have gone," Magufuli said at a church in Dodoma last month.
He reiterated his message on Good Friday, last week, saying God would protect Tanzanians from the virus.
Tanzania recorded its first case of coronavirus on March 16 -- and in the past week numbers have leapt from 32 to 147, with five deaths.
African countries have lagged behind the global curve, and many took fast and strict measures to curb movement, however cases are rising across the continent.
"I am not happy about the lack of seriousness by the government, lack of transparency on the data of cases and deaths, and state of denial the president has on the pandemic," an opposition MP, Zitto Kabwe, who is also the leader of the ACT Wazalendo party, told AFP.
- 'Continue producing' -
Kabwe has proposed a partial lockdown of Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and the capital Dodoma, and also a total lockdown of the tourist hotspot and semi-autonomous island, Zanzibar.
However, Magufuli has encouraged Tanzanians to continue working as usual, while encouraging them to avoid "unnecessary gatherings".
"Let us continue working hard to build our nation. Coronavirus is not and should not be a reason for us not working. Farmers should utilise the ongoing rains effectively, industrial owners should continue producing and I don't expect any development project to stop," he said.
"Coronavirus should not be a reason to destroy our economy at all."
The country's economy has already been hard hit as tourists who flock to see its wildlife and beaches, have stopped coming. Tourism is the country's top foreign-exchange earner.
On the streets of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, citizens say they fear the virus and are doing what they can to avoid it while continuing to make ends meet.
"What I normally do is to ensure my passenger washes their hands before getting on the motorcycle. The challenge is that I have only one helmet for passengers, who share it," said Hemedi Masoud, a motorcycle taxi operator.
He and other so-called "boda-boda" drivers park their bikes in a crowded area thronged by petty traders and pedestrians.
"I really fear coronavirus disease and it is risky here but there is no way I can avoid coming. My family needs something to eat and this is where I earn my daily bread," said Masoud.
The government has banned buses from taking more passengers than the number of seats they contain, but this has only created bigger crowds during rush hour.
Like many poor people across the continent -- even in countries which are trying to impose lockdowns -- staying at home would be a grim option for many Tanzanians.
"I don't pray for lockdown in Tanzania because we may escape coronavirus and die from hunger at home. Life has to go on and God will protect us," said Anna John, a food vendor in the city.
Miriam John, who sells shoes, said some of her customers did not want to wash their hands but she has "no option because I need their money."
But opposition leaders say the country needs to take more action to avoid potential disaster.
"No lockdown because he (Magufuli) wants to save the economy and his flagship infrastructure projects. The lives of our people cannot be repaired but the economy can! Lockdown or get locked out!" the chairman of the opposition party Chadema, Freeman Mbowe, posted on Twitter on Saturday.
Some experts have questioned the approach of lockdowns in Africa, where millions of urban poor live hand to mouth, but instead call for solutions such as mass testing or government support to the vulnerable.
Neighbouring Burundi has also allowed life to proceed as normal. Both countries have presidential elections this year, Burundi in May and Tanzania in October.
SEE
http://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/evangelical-gangs-in-rio-de-janeiro.html
God, not masks: Magufuli's Tanzania is an outlier on virus response
TRUMP'S AMERIKA IS MORE LIKE TANZANIA THAN IT IS SWEDEN
AFP•April 20, 2020
Dar es Salaam (AFP) - Tanzanian President John Magufuli has called on citizens to turn to God and to keep the economy turning, but as coronavirus cases creep up, calls are rising for the country to take stronger action.
While countries across Africa have imposed curfews, partial and full lockdowns, Tanzania has resisted such measures. Schools and universities have been shut but markets, bus stops and shops bustle as usual.
Magufuli, who called for three days of prayer from last Friday to fight the virus, is one of a handful of world leaders still brushing off the seriousness of the disease.
"This is time to build our faith and continue praying to God and not depending on facemasks. Don't stop going to churches and mosques for prayers. I'm sure this is just a change of wind and it will go like others have gone," Magufuli said at a church in Dodoma last month.
He reiterated his message on Good Friday, last week, saying God would protect Tanzanians from the virus.
Tanzania recorded its first case of coronavirus on March 16 -- and in the past week numbers have leapt from 32 to 147, with five deaths.
African countries have lagged behind the global curve, and many took fast and strict measures to curb movement, however cases are rising across the continent.
"I am not happy about the lack of seriousness by the government, lack of transparency on the data of cases and deaths, and state of denial the president has on the pandemic," an opposition MP, Zitto Kabwe, who is also the leader of the ACT Wazalendo party, told AFP.
- 'Continue producing' -
Kabwe has proposed a partial lockdown of Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and the capital Dodoma, and also a total lockdown of the tourist hotspot and semi-autonomous island, Zanzibar.
However, Magufuli has encouraged Tanzanians to continue working as usual, while encouraging them to avoid "unnecessary gatherings".
"Let us continue working hard to build our nation. Coronavirus is not and should not be a reason for us not working. Farmers should utilise the ongoing rains effectively, industrial owners should continue producing and I don't expect any development project to stop," he said.
"Coronavirus should not be a reason to destroy our economy at all."
The country's economy has already been hard hit as tourists who flock to see its wildlife and beaches, have stopped coming. Tourism is the country's top foreign-exchange earner.
On the streets of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, citizens say they fear the virus and are doing what they can to avoid it while continuing to make ends meet.
"What I normally do is to ensure my passenger washes their hands before getting on the motorcycle. The challenge is that I have only one helmet for passengers, who share it," said Hemedi Masoud, a motorcycle taxi operator.
He and other so-called "boda-boda" drivers park their bikes in a crowded area thronged by petty traders and pedestrians.
"I really fear coronavirus disease and it is risky here but there is no way I can avoid coming. My family needs something to eat and this is where I earn my daily bread," said Masoud.
The government has banned buses from taking more passengers than the number of seats they contain, but this has only created bigger crowds during rush hour.
Like many poor people across the continent -- even in countries which are trying to impose lockdowns -- staying at home would be a grim option for many Tanzanians.
"I don't pray for lockdown in Tanzania because we may escape coronavirus and die from hunger at home. Life has to go on and God will protect us," said Anna John, a food vendor in the city.
Miriam John, who sells shoes, said some of her customers did not want to wash their hands but she has "no option because I need their money."
But opposition leaders say the country needs to take more action to avoid potential disaster.
"No lockdown because he (Magufuli) wants to save the economy and his flagship infrastructure projects. The lives of our people cannot be repaired but the economy can! Lockdown or get locked out!" the chairman of the opposition party Chadema, Freeman Mbowe, posted on Twitter on Saturday.
Some experts have questioned the approach of lockdowns in Africa, where millions of urban poor live hand to mouth, but instead call for solutions such as mass testing or government support to the vulnerable.
Neighbouring Burundi has also allowed life to proceed as normal. Both countries have presidential elections this year, Burundi in May and Tanzania in October.
SEE
http://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2019/12/evangelical-gangs-in-rio-de-janeiro.html
WHO director says politicians who have 'had an easy ride in life' don't understand the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic
Hilary Brueck,Business Insider•April 20, 2020
The director-general of the World Health Organization, audibly near tears, pleaded with world leaders not to use the virus as a political tool to drive a wedge down party lines.
"Whoever has whatever ideology, whether that person is from left or right or center, they should work together to fight this virus, to save these real people," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Tedros said maybe it's the case that some politicians "don't understand" the deadly implications of their actions: "Maybe they're lucky. They may not understand it. Maybe they had an easy ride in life, so they don't understand what this means."
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Well over 165,000 people around the world have died from the novel coronavirus.
But on Monday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged political leaders around the globe not to forget that each of those numbers stands for a person's life, that they were, "the mother of somebody, the father of somebody, the daughter of somebody, and the son of somebody," before they died of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
He suggested any leaders who are dismissing the pandemic must have had "an easy ride in life, so they don't understand what this means."
An emotional Tedros, audibly near tears at moments, once again pleaded with world leaders not to use the virus as a political tool to drive a wedge down party lines.
"Whoever has whatever ideology, whether that person is from left or right or center, they should work together to fight this virus, to save these real people," Tedros told reporters, during a virtual press conference streamed from Geneva.
"Please work together. Don't use this virus as an opportunity to fight against each other or score political points. It's dangerous. It's like playing with fire."
Tedros, who is originally from Eritrea, a country which was at war for 20 years until 2018, looked back on his own experiences dealing with needless death and suffering during the conference.
"When I think about the losses of lives, it reminds me of my own experience," he said. "These are real people dying and I'm just warning people who may think that these are numbers. They're not numbers. These are people."
Hilary Brueck,Business Insider•April 20, 2020
People hold placards supporting then-candidate for the post of Director General of World Health
Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a rally in front of the United Nations offices on May 23, 2017, in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
The director-general of the World Health Organization, audibly near tears, pleaded with world leaders not to use the virus as a political tool to drive a wedge down party lines.
"Whoever has whatever ideology, whether that person is from left or right or center, they should work together to fight this virus, to save these real people," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Tedros said maybe it's the case that some politicians "don't understand" the deadly implications of their actions: "Maybe they're lucky. They may not understand it. Maybe they had an easy ride in life, so they don't understand what this means."
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Well over 165,000 people around the world have died from the novel coronavirus.
But on Monday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged political leaders around the globe not to forget that each of those numbers stands for a person's life, that they were, "the mother of somebody, the father of somebody, the daughter of somebody, and the son of somebody," before they died of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
He suggested any leaders who are dismissing the pandemic must have had "an easy ride in life, so they don't understand what this means."
An emotional Tedros, audibly near tears at moments, once again pleaded with world leaders not to use the virus as a political tool to drive a wedge down party lines.
"Whoever has whatever ideology, whether that person is from left or right or center, they should work together to fight this virus, to save these real people," Tedros told reporters, during a virtual press conference streamed from Geneva.
"Please work together. Don't use this virus as an opportunity to fight against each other or score political points. It's dangerous. It's like playing with fire."
Tedros, who is originally from Eritrea, a country which was at war for 20 years until 2018, looked back on his own experiences dealing with needless death and suffering during the conference.
"When I think about the losses of lives, it reminds me of my own experience," he said. "These are real people dying and I'm just warning people who may think that these are numbers. They're not numbers. These are people."
Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has his temperature taken as he arrives at Ruhenda airport in Butembo, to visit operations aimed at preventing the spread of Ebola and treating its victims, in eastern Congo, Saturday, June 15, 2019.AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro
This isn't the first time the director-general has gotten, by his own telling, "emotional" during a WHO press conference.
Earlier this month, Tedros mentioned he's received death threats while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic response because he is black, and said "I don't give a damn."
Tedros did not mention Trump by name on Monday, but instead suggested that "cracks between people, between parties, is fueling" COVID-19.
"Without national unity and global solidarity, trust us, the worst is yet ahead of us," he said.
Tedros' comments came just a day after Trump applauded US protesters who formed crowds over the weekend, in fierce opposition to their own state lockdown orders, which are aimed at stopping coronavirus transmission by keeping people far apart.
"I watched a protest and they were all six feet apart. I mean, it was a very orderly group of people," Trump said at the White House on Sunday. "Some governors have gone too far. Some of the things that happened are maybe not so appropriate."
Governors, both Republican and Democratic, vehemently disagreed with the President's statements Sunday, which are not backed by sound public health advice about how to control COVID-19, nor are they consistent with the White House's own advice about how to best control the outbreak, by avoiding social gatherings during this time.
Tedros, who trained as an immunologist before moving on to serve in politics, as an Ethiopian minister of public health and foreign affairs, became the first person from Africa to lead the WHO in 2017.
"I know the tragedy that comes from disease, from pandemics, from war, from hate, equally from poverty," Tedros said. "To keep quiet and not say what I see is wrong."
In a thinly veiled dig at world leaders who are using the crisis to score some political points, like Trump, Tedros said maybe it's the case that politicians simply "don't understand" the implications of their actions.
"I know war. I know poverty. I know how people really are influenced by all this," he said. "Maybe for people who don't know this, maybe they're lucky. They may not understand it. Maybe they had an easy ride in life, so they don't understand what this means."
This isn't the first time the director-general has gotten, by his own telling, "emotional" during a WHO press conference.
Earlier this month, Tedros mentioned he's received death threats while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic response because he is black, and said "I don't give a damn."
Tedros did not mention Trump by name on Monday, but instead suggested that "cracks between people, between parties, is fueling" COVID-19.
"Without national unity and global solidarity, trust us, the worst is yet ahead of us," he said.
Tedros' comments came just a day after Trump applauded US protesters who formed crowds over the weekend, in fierce opposition to their own state lockdown orders, which are aimed at stopping coronavirus transmission by keeping people far apart.
"I watched a protest and they were all six feet apart. I mean, it was a very orderly group of people," Trump said at the White House on Sunday. "Some governors have gone too far. Some of the things that happened are maybe not so appropriate."
Governors, both Republican and Democratic, vehemently disagreed with the President's statements Sunday, which are not backed by sound public health advice about how to control COVID-19, nor are they consistent with the White House's own advice about how to best control the outbreak, by avoiding social gatherings during this time.
Tedros, who trained as an immunologist before moving on to serve in politics, as an Ethiopian minister of public health and foreign affairs, became the first person from Africa to lead the WHO in 2017.
"I know the tragedy that comes from disease, from pandemics, from war, from hate, equally from poverty," Tedros said. "To keep quiet and not say what I see is wrong."
In a thinly veiled dig at world leaders who are using the crisis to score some political points, like Trump, Tedros said maybe it's the case that politicians simply "don't understand" the implications of their actions.
"I know war. I know poverty. I know how people really are influenced by all this," he said. "Maybe for people who don't know this, maybe they're lucky. They may not understand it. Maybe they had an easy ride in life, so they don't understand what this means."
As Latinos lose jobs, remittances to their relatives in Latin America dry up
TRANSMISSION BELTS*** OF (MOBILE) CAPITAL IN THE AGE OF IMPERIALISM
Carmen Sesin, NBC News•April 20, 2020
MIAMI — Herminio Rodriguez could not send money to his family in Guatemala this month, after the Miami Beach restaurant where he was working closed several weeks ago.
Now Rodriguez, 41, worries about his parents and his son back home, who depend on the monthly remittance he sends to buy food and medicine.
“I couldn’t even pay rent this month,” Rodriguez said, “and we need to keep a little bit of reserves so we can eat.”
“The economic part is affecting us both here and there,” he said.
As Latinos throughout the U.S. grapple with job losses and lockdowns, many are no longer able to provide for relatives back home. The sudden end in remittances sent to Latin America each year is affecting the well being of families and crippling the economies of developing countries.
Many of those who send remittances often work in the service industry and have been let go or furloughed from their jobs in hotels, restaurants or cleaning companies, without pay. Those who are undocumented cannot apply for unemployment.
According to the World Bank, global remittances reached a record high in 2018, the last year for which figures are available. The flow of money to Latin America and the Caribbean grew by 10 percent to $88 billion in 2018, mostly due to the strong U.S. economy, where most of the money originates.
In many countries, remittances account for a significant portion of their gross domestic product. In Nicaragua and Guatemala they account for around 12 percent, and in El Salvador and Honduras, around 20 percent.
Mexico receives the most remittances in the region, with about $36 billion in 2018, up 11 percent from the previous year.
'How are we going to do this?'
Mexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, asked Mexicans in the United States not to stop supporting their relatives back home. He said February set a record in remittances to Mexico.
“Tell your countrymen to not stop sending help to their families in Mexico, who are also going through a difficult situation,” he said at a recent news conference.
In Miami, Edmundo Tarín, who emigrated from Mexico, heard about López Obrador’s statements and said: “How are we going to do this? I can’t even pay my rent.”
Tarín has always sent money to his brother, who depends on the monthly stipend to pay rent and buy food in Mexico City, where he lives.
TRANSMISSION BELTS*** OF (MOBILE) CAPITAL IN THE AGE OF IMPERIALISM
VITAL TO THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES AND DEVELOPMENT NOW EASILY
SHARED VIA MOBILE PHONE PAYMENTS
Carmen Sesin, NBC News•April 20, 2020
MIAMI — Herminio Rodriguez could not send money to his family in Guatemala this month, after the Miami Beach restaurant where he was working closed several weeks ago.
Now Rodriguez, 41, worries about his parents and his son back home, who depend on the monthly remittance he sends to buy food and medicine.
“I couldn’t even pay rent this month,” Rodriguez said, “and we need to keep a little bit of reserves so we can eat.”
“The economic part is affecting us both here and there,” he said.
As Latinos throughout the U.S. grapple with job losses and lockdowns, many are no longer able to provide for relatives back home. The sudden end in remittances sent to Latin America each year is affecting the well being of families and crippling the economies of developing countries.
Many of those who send remittances often work in the service industry and have been let go or furloughed from their jobs in hotels, restaurants or cleaning companies, without pay. Those who are undocumented cannot apply for unemployment.
According to the World Bank, global remittances reached a record high in 2018, the last year for which figures are available. The flow of money to Latin America and the Caribbean grew by 10 percent to $88 billion in 2018, mostly due to the strong U.S. economy, where most of the money originates.
In many countries, remittances account for a significant portion of their gross domestic product. In Nicaragua and Guatemala they account for around 12 percent, and in El Salvador and Honduras, around 20 percent.
Mexico receives the most remittances in the region, with about $36 billion in 2018, up 11 percent from the previous year.
'How are we going to do this?'
Mexico's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, asked Mexicans in the United States not to stop supporting their relatives back home. He said February set a record in remittances to Mexico.
“Tell your countrymen to not stop sending help to their families in Mexico, who are also going through a difficult situation,” he said at a recent news conference.
In Miami, Edmundo Tarín, who emigrated from Mexico, heard about López Obrador’s statements and said: “How are we going to do this? I can’t even pay my rent.”
Tarín has always sent money to his brother, who depends on the monthly stipend to pay rent and buy food in Mexico City, where he lives.
Image: Guatemala (Moises Castillo / AP)
“This situation has limited us. We’re doing bad, very badly,” Tarín said, who was laid off from his job as a cook in a restaurant.
Manuel Orozco, an economist with the Inter-American Dialogue, said the drop in remittances is not only from the U.S., but from other Latin American countries as well.
"The distinction is important because in the past four to five years, we have seen significant growth in Latin American migration to other Latin American countries," he said.
'I am everything to my parents, and it's my responsibility'
The Caribbean and Latin American countries that have seen the most emigration are Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The dependence on remittances is highest in these countries, which have more fragile economies.
Orozco said there could be a speedier economic recovery than from the 2008 financial crisis and that by June 2021, U.S. immigrant workers may remit similar amounts to February's total.
But for now, Lesbia Granados, 35, is worried after not being able to send money to her parents in Honduras last month.
They depend on her to pay for electricity, food, medicine and doctors’ visits. But the Miami Beach hotel where she worked is closed.
“I am everything to my parents, and it’s my responsibility to take care of them, after they did so much for me," she said.
Granados said she's hoping her coronavirus stimulus check arrives soon.
“Until then, I’m trying to survive with the little I have saved,” she said.
***TRONTI NEGRI WORKERISM TRANSMISSION BELTS OF CAPITALISM
“This situation has limited us. We’re doing bad, very badly,” Tarín said, who was laid off from his job as a cook in a restaurant.
Manuel Orozco, an economist with the Inter-American Dialogue, said the drop in remittances is not only from the U.S., but from other Latin American countries as well.
"The distinction is important because in the past four to five years, we have seen significant growth in Latin American migration to other Latin American countries," he said.
'I am everything to my parents, and it's my responsibility'
The Caribbean and Latin American countries that have seen the most emigration are Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The dependence on remittances is highest in these countries, which have more fragile economies.
Orozco said there could be a speedier economic recovery than from the 2008 financial crisis and that by June 2021, U.S. immigrant workers may remit similar amounts to February's total.
But for now, Lesbia Granados, 35, is worried after not being able to send money to her parents in Honduras last month.
They depend on her to pay for electricity, food, medicine and doctors’ visits. But the Miami Beach hotel where she worked is closed.
“I am everything to my parents, and it’s my responsibility to take care of them, after they did so much for me," she said.
Granados said she's hoping her coronavirus stimulus check arrives soon.
“Until then, I’m trying to survive with the little I have saved,” she said.
***TRONTI NEGRI WORKERISM TRANSMISSION BELTS OF CAPITALISM
Amazon reportedly tried to shut down a virtual event for workers to speak out about the company's coronavirus response by deleting employees' calendar invites
Tyler Sonnemaker Business Insider•April 20, 2020
Amazon attempted to shut down a virtual event where workers spoke out about warehouse conditions by deleting employees' calendar invites to the event, according to The Seattle Times.
Two organizers of the event, which took place Thursday, were fired by Amazon last week after publicly criticizing the company's coronavirus response.
Amazon has now fired five workers since the pandemic began who were involved in protests or criticized the company's treatment of workers.
A spokesperson told Business Insider that Amazon supports employees' right to criticize working conditions, "but that does not come with blanket immunity against any and all internal policies."
Amazon attempted to shut down a virtual event where workers spoke out about working conditions at the company's warehouses by deleting employees' calendar invites, organizers told The Seattle Times.
Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, two of the event's organizers who were fired by Amazon last week after publicly criticizing its coronavirus response, told The Seattle Times that the company deleted the invites from its internal calendar, though several hundred employees had already seen and accepted it.
"Amazon has shown they will not allow us to share details for how to join the meeting internally, so we are forced to gather externally," Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, the group behind the event, wrote in a Google form announcing the event.
"We want to tell Amazon that we are sick of all this – sick of the firings, sick of the silencing, sick of pollution, sick of racism, and sick of the climate crisis," Costa said Thursday during the event, which was attended by around 400 Amazon employees, according to Computer Weekly.
Amazon refused to comment on claims by Cunningham and Costa that it deleted calendar invites, but said in a statement to Business Insider: "We support every employee's right to criticize their employer's working conditions, but that does not come with blanket immunity against any and all internal policies. We terminated these employees for repeatedly violating internal policies."
The company has come under fire in recent weeks from workers who say Amazon hasn't done enough to protect them from COVID-19, with people testing positive for the disease in at least 74 of the company's facilities.
An Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider it has implemented a variety of safety measures, such as additional cleaning, social distancing measures, and temperature checks. The company also announced earlier in April that it's building its own lab to begin testing a small number of employees for the coronavirus.
However, workers have said those don't go far enough, citing everything from conditions that make social distancing impossible to the company's limited paid sick leave policies, and have organized strikes in New York, Chicago, and Italy in addition to Thursday's virtual event, where employees called for a "sick out" on April 24.
Amazon has also faced scrutiny from lawmakers over its response to its workers speaking out. In at least four cases since the pandemic began, the company fired workers almost immediately after their involvement in organizing protests. A fifth told The New York Times he was terminated after giving the company notice that he would be resigning because he objected to the company's treatment of warehouse workers.
After Amazon fired warehouse worker Christian Smalls the same day he organized a walkout, New York City's human-rights commissioner opened an investigation into the termination. Later that week, a leaked memo obtained by Vice showed Amazon executives discussing efforts to mount a PR campaign against Smalls, calling him "not smart or articulate." Following news of the memo, Amazon told employees it may fire those who "intentionally violate" social distancing rules at work.
Amazon has been trying to balance the safety of its workers with increased demand for its services as coronavirus lockdowns worldwide fuel a surge in online shopping. The company said last week it will add 75,000 more jobs on top of the 100,000 roles it added last month, which it said are now filled.
NAVAJO NATION
She's a doctor on the front lines of the coronavirus. At home, she has no running water.
Chiara Sottile and Erik Ortiz,NBC News•April 19, 2020
Every third day, someone from Dr. Michelle Tom's family navigates their pickup truck 14 miles over the pothole-pocked dirt roads of the Navajo Nation to a community center. There, for about $95 a week, her family fills their water tank and hauls it back home to the double-wide trailer she shares with seven relatives in northeastern Arizona.
Or at least that's how Tom was getting water before she had to cut off physical contact with her family because of the coronavirus pandemic that has raged across tribal communities. For now, she is living with a co-worker to maintain her distance and prevent spread.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
"I haven't hugged anyone in weeks," said Tom, who spends her days treating COVID-19 patients at the Winslow Indian Health Care Center urgent care facility in Winslow, Arizona, as well as on the Navajo reservation.
She's a doctor on the front lines of the coronavirus. At home, she has no running water.
Chiara Sottile and Erik Ortiz,NBC News•April 19, 2020
Every third day, someone from Dr. Michelle Tom's family navigates their pickup truck 14 miles over the pothole-pocked dirt roads of the Navajo Nation to a community center. There, for about $95 a week, her family fills their water tank and hauls it back home to the double-wide trailer she shares with seven relatives in northeastern Arizona.
Or at least that's how Tom was getting water before she had to cut off physical contact with her family because of the coronavirus pandemic that has raged across tribal communities. For now, she is living with a co-worker to maintain her distance and prevent spread.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
"I haven't hugged anyone in weeks," said Tom, who spends her days treating COVID-19 patients at the Winslow Indian Health Care Center urgent care facility in Winslow, Arizona, as well as on the Navajo reservation.
IMAGE: Dr. Michelle Tom (Courtesy Dr. Michelle Tom)
Tom is one of the few doctors in her Navajo community on the front lines of the pandemic, and she has taken every precaution to try to stay healthy, including buying her own protective suit, goggles and face shield. But long before the virus started threatening her people, she was already facing a different sort of crisis: limited access to running water, a severely understaffed and underfunded health care system and underlying health conditions among her patients.
Now, a month after the tribe's first confirmed case of the coronavirus, the Navajo Nation, which stretches across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, has reached a grim milestone. At least 1,197 Navajo residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, while 44 have died, officials said.
With a steady increase in cases, people on the Navajo Nation are testing positive for the coronavirus at a rate more than nine times higher than people in the entire state of Arizona, based on reported cases and 2010 census data.
The coronavirus is exposing underlying fractures in the infrastructure of Indian Country, including health care and basic needs, like water, that have long been underfunded and, some say, ignored by the federal government.
For more on the Navajo Nation, watch "TODAY" on Monday morning.
"You're saying 20 seconds of wash your hands with water," Tom said recently. "We have to haul our water. ... We do not have plumbing. And that's how I grew up."
An estimated 30 percent of homes on the Navajo reservation, which has roughly 175,000 residents, don't have access to clean, reliable drinking water and have to haul it from local utilities, according to the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources.
"There are times when it is closed for three days," Tom said.
When that happens, her family has to make another trip on another day. That is no small task, as the Navajo Nation is under curfew orders to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"I feel fortunate that my family can do that," Tom said. "There are some families who don't have a water truck."
Tom is one of the few doctors in her Navajo community on the front lines of the pandemic, and she has taken every precaution to try to stay healthy, including buying her own protective suit, goggles and face shield. But long before the virus started threatening her people, she was already facing a different sort of crisis: limited access to running water, a severely understaffed and underfunded health care system and underlying health conditions among her patients.
Now, a month after the tribe's first confirmed case of the coronavirus, the Navajo Nation, which stretches across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, has reached a grim milestone. At least 1,197 Navajo residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, while 44 have died, officials said.
With a steady increase in cases, people on the Navajo Nation are testing positive for the coronavirus at a rate more than nine times higher than people in the entire state of Arizona, based on reported cases and 2010 census data.
The coronavirus is exposing underlying fractures in the infrastructure of Indian Country, including health care and basic needs, like water, that have long been underfunded and, some say, ignored by the federal government.
For more on the Navajo Nation, watch "TODAY" on Monday morning.
"You're saying 20 seconds of wash your hands with water," Tom said recently. "We have to haul our water. ... We do not have plumbing. And that's how I grew up."
An estimated 30 percent of homes on the Navajo reservation, which has roughly 175,000 residents, don't have access to clean, reliable drinking water and have to haul it from local utilities, according to the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources.
"There are times when it is closed for three days," Tom said.
When that happens, her family has to make another trip on another day. That is no small task, as the Navajo Nation is under curfew orders to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"I feel fortunate that my family can do that," Tom said. "There are some families who don't have a water truck."
IMAGE: Public tap in Thoreau, N.M. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
Tom, who practices family medicine, says that even without the strain of the pandemic, she doesn't have the resources she needs to provide adequate medical care and has access to only two ventilators.
"We cater to 17,000 Navajo, and people come from Apache, Hopi, as far as three hours away," Tom said. "Our resources are limited. Rural medicine is hard enough. We've always been short-staffed in general."
As stipulated in treaties with Indian tribes, the U.S. government has an obligation to provide health care to all Native Americans.
"Because of the land that the tribes ceded to the United States, the United States has a trust responsibility to Indian tribes, and health care is one of those," said Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., who fought to include Native American tribes in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion stimulus package passed in March.
The legislation provides $8 billion for Native American and Alaska Native tribes, although the National Congress of American Indians, a public education and advocacy group, estimated that tribes would need $20 billion. Initially, Haaland said, the White House allocated no direct relief for tribes.
Despite the United States' obligation, a 2018 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that health care spending per person by the Indian Health Service was $3,332 — only a little over one-third of federal health care spending per person nationwide.
"The scarcity of the things that a lot of people take for granted, like water and electricity, is a true struggle for many, many people here," said Dr. Jarred McAteer, who practices internal medicine at Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation in Arizona.
McAteer said his hospital has been running at capacity for weeks and has had to repurpose parts of the facility to care for coronavirus patients, many from the Navajo Nation.
Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak
"It's really hard to follow [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's] recommendations of washing your hands if access to water is a challenge and that water is supposed to be used for drinking, for cooking, for livestock," McAteer said, noting that many Navajo families would typically have to reuse water in a wash basin at home.
Tom and McAteer agree that the lack of infrastructure — from water to electricity to paved roads — coupled with high incidences of underlying health conditions are partly why Indian Country is being hit so hard by the coronavirus.
Moreover, Native Americans require treatment for alcohol and drug use at a rate almost twice the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Last week, after a request from the Navajo Nation government, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham suspended alcohol sales at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores near the reservation to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. (Even before the pandemic, alcohol sales were banned on the Navajo Nation itself.)
Navajo officials have been inundated with calls and emails from concerned family members who say their loved ones who battle alcoholism have been drinking during the pandemic, sharing bottles and not practicing social distancing, Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer said in a statement.
It's a struggle Navajo tribe member Allie Young, 30, knows all too well.
After her younger brother died by suicide 11 years ago, her older brother started drinking and now suffers from alcoholism, she said.
"We're constantly on the phone with my brother and uncles who struggle with alcoholism and about why they have to stay away," said Young, standing beside her grandfather's horse pasture. "They have to think about the elders."
Young, who had left the Southwest for Los Angeles to work in the film and entertainment industry, returned home to her family when the coronavirus outbreak worsened. She started a Facebook group called "Protect the Sacred," hosting livestreams and leveraging her network of celebrities, such as actors Paul Rudd and Mark Ruffalo, to share recommendations for staying safe at home and away from tribal elders.
"They carry a lot of the knowledge and ceremonies that we, the young people, are still learning," Young said with her hand on her heart, adding, "Our cultures are in jeopardy right now if we lose our elders."
A big shout out to these amazing Navajo Youth, putting a great spin to the #DontRushChallenge 💚 https://t.co/AdgDWPTMzr
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) April 7, 2020
Growing up, Young spent her summers at her grandparents' home on the reservation in Arizona, where there was no running water or electricity.
Like many Navajo families, many of Young's relatives live together in a multigenerational home, which makes elders even more vulnerable during the pandemic as people are told to shelter in place and practice social distancing.
"When you have family members struggling with alcoholism and then they come home to a packed household, and then you go to a health facility that doesn't have enough resources, [personal protective equipment] or ventilators to help," Young said, "it's just a recipe for disaster."
Tom, who practices family medicine, says that even without the strain of the pandemic, she doesn't have the resources she needs to provide adequate medical care and has access to only two ventilators.
"We cater to 17,000 Navajo, and people come from Apache, Hopi, as far as three hours away," Tom said. "Our resources are limited. Rural medicine is hard enough. We've always been short-staffed in general."
As stipulated in treaties with Indian tribes, the U.S. government has an obligation to provide health care to all Native Americans.
"Because of the land that the tribes ceded to the United States, the United States has a trust responsibility to Indian tribes, and health care is one of those," said Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., who fought to include Native American tribes in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion stimulus package passed in March.
The legislation provides $8 billion for Native American and Alaska Native tribes, although the National Congress of American Indians, a public education and advocacy group, estimated that tribes would need $20 billion. Initially, Haaland said, the White House allocated no direct relief for tribes.
Despite the United States' obligation, a 2018 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that health care spending per person by the Indian Health Service was $3,332 — only a little over one-third of federal health care spending per person nationwide.
"The scarcity of the things that a lot of people take for granted, like water and electricity, is a true struggle for many, many people here," said Dr. Jarred McAteer, who practices internal medicine at Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation in Arizona.
McAteer said his hospital has been running at capacity for weeks and has had to repurpose parts of the facility to care for coronavirus patients, many from the Navajo Nation.
Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak
"It's really hard to follow [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's] recommendations of washing your hands if access to water is a challenge and that water is supposed to be used for drinking, for cooking, for livestock," McAteer said, noting that many Navajo families would typically have to reuse water in a wash basin at home.
Tom and McAteer agree that the lack of infrastructure — from water to electricity to paved roads — coupled with high incidences of underlying health conditions are partly why Indian Country is being hit so hard by the coronavirus.
Moreover, Native Americans require treatment for alcohol and drug use at a rate almost twice the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Last week, after a request from the Navajo Nation government, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham suspended alcohol sales at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores near the reservation to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. (Even before the pandemic, alcohol sales were banned on the Navajo Nation itself.)
Navajo officials have been inundated with calls and emails from concerned family members who say their loved ones who battle alcoholism have been drinking during the pandemic, sharing bottles and not practicing social distancing, Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer said in a statement.
It's a struggle Navajo tribe member Allie Young, 30, knows all too well.
After her younger brother died by suicide 11 years ago, her older brother started drinking and now suffers from alcoholism, she said.
"We're constantly on the phone with my brother and uncles who struggle with alcoholism and about why they have to stay away," said Young, standing beside her grandfather's horse pasture. "They have to think about the elders."
Young, who had left the Southwest for Los Angeles to work in the film and entertainment industry, returned home to her family when the coronavirus outbreak worsened. She started a Facebook group called "Protect the Sacred," hosting livestreams and leveraging her network of celebrities, such as actors Paul Rudd and Mark Ruffalo, to share recommendations for staying safe at home and away from tribal elders.
"They carry a lot of the knowledge and ceremonies that we, the young people, are still learning," Young said with her hand on her heart, adding, "Our cultures are in jeopardy right now if we lose our elders."
A big shout out to these amazing Navajo Youth, putting a great spin to the #DontRushChallenge 💚 https://t.co/AdgDWPTMzr
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) April 7, 2020
Growing up, Young spent her summers at her grandparents' home on the reservation in Arizona, where there was no running water or electricity.
Like many Navajo families, many of Young's relatives live together in a multigenerational home, which makes elders even more vulnerable during the pandemic as people are told to shelter in place and practice social distancing.
"When you have family members struggling with alcoholism and then they come home to a packed household, and then you go to a health facility that doesn't have enough resources, [personal protective equipment] or ventilators to help," Young said, "it's just a recipe for disaster."
Nurses protest coronavirus working conditions, say hospitals aren't protecting them
Janelle Griffith,NBC News•April 20, 2020
A nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said she was sent home after refusing to wear a surgical mask instead of a protective respirator to treat COVID-19 patients — and that she was denied a coronavirus test even after she began displaying symptoms.
A nurse at a hospital in Kentucky said she was reprimanded for insubordination and reassigned for refusing to treat COVID-19 patients when the hospital would not supply her with an N95 mask.
A nurse in New Jersey said he was fired after speaking out publicly about the lack of proper protective gear during the pandemic.
All three nurses said they believe they are being persecuted for simply trying to protect themselves and others, and some experts agree.
"I think it's important to speak up if you see inadequate conditions for patients or yourself," said Arthur Caplan, head of the division of medical ethics at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. "I think we would expect people to do almost as whistleblowers and get protected — not punished."
The nurses in Los Angeles and Kentucky both said they spoke directly to managers, not publicly on social media, but were reprimanded for raising concerns. Caplan said that was simply "absurd."
"It's even more ridiculous if you're going up the chain of command," he said. "We expect people in health care to take some risk. And the reason is it's in their codes of ethics. Medicine and nursing say, 'Put the patient first, not your own interest,'" he said, referring specifically to the American Nurses Association code of ethics. "That's where it comes from. It's not legal. It's ethical.
"So if I say, 'I'm not going to work here unless you give me an N95 mask and an adequate gown and gloves, you can't make me go in there,' I think you're right," Caplan said. "You cannot be forced to take very dangerous risks."
Image: Nurses at UCI Medical Center protest the lack of personal protective equipment available in Orange, Calif., on April 3, 2020. (Chris Carlson / AP file)
'I don't have a choice. Otherwise I won't have any income.'
In a phone interview with her attorney on the line, the nurse in Kentucky, who requested anonymity out of fear of retribution, said she has asthma and needs the protection of an N95 mask, which provides a higher level of protection than a surgical mask and has been in short supply. At the start of a shift in late March, she said, she was reprimanded for not wanting to go into a COVID-19 patient's room at Norton Women's and Children's Hospital in Louisville without an N95 mask.
"My reprimand was insubordination for not following policy," she said. "They sent me home on the spot."
Less than a week before, she said, N95 masks were in abundance on a supply cart with other personal protective equipment, or PPE, that she and her colleagues wore while treating patients battling COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
But the hospital's policy now reserves N95 masks for certain procedures in which the virus could be airborne, such as a respiratory treatment.
Kate Eller, a spokeswoman for Norton Healthcare, denied that the nurse was subjected to any disciplinary action, saying, "We found her a position that meets her needs."
The new position she has undertaken does not involve caring for patients, however, which the nurse said has left her feeling hopeless.
"I don't have a choice. Otherwise I won't have any income," she said. Her attorney said his client was told that "if she doesn't report to this job, they will assume this is a voluntary resignation." She has not taken any formal legal action.
Norton Healthcare said it is operating under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have followed CDC guidelines regarding the use of PPE," Eller said.
The nurse is welcome to return to a clinical position, Eller said, "as long as she agrees to wear the right mask for the right task per CDC guidelines, which is not always an N95 mask."
In a phone interview with her attorney on the line, the nurse in Kentucky, who requested anonymity out of fear of retribution, said she has asthma and needs the protection of an N95 mask, which provides a higher level of protection than a surgical mask and has been in short supply. At the start of a shift in late March, she said, she was reprimanded for not wanting to go into a COVID-19 patient's room at Norton Women's and Children's Hospital in Louisville without an N95 mask.
"My reprimand was insubordination for not following policy," she said. "They sent me home on the spot."
Less than a week before, she said, N95 masks were in abundance on a supply cart with other personal protective equipment, or PPE, that she and her colleagues wore while treating patients battling COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
But the hospital's policy now reserves N95 masks for certain procedures in which the virus could be airborne, such as a respiratory treatment.
Kate Eller, a spokeswoman for Norton Healthcare, denied that the nurse was subjected to any disciplinary action, saying, "We found her a position that meets her needs."
The new position she has undertaken does not involve caring for patients, however, which the nurse said has left her feeling hopeless.
"I don't have a choice. Otherwise I won't have any income," she said. Her attorney said his client was told that "if she doesn't report to this job, they will assume this is a voluntary resignation." She has not taken any formal legal action.
Norton Healthcare said it is operating under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have followed CDC guidelines regarding the use of PPE," Eller said.
The nurse is welcome to return to a clinical position, Eller said, "as long as she agrees to wear the right mask for the right task per CDC guidelines, which is not always an N95 mask."
Image: Nurses and health care workers protest outside of Jacboi Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y., on April 17, 2020. (Angela Weiss / AFP - Getty Images)
'The CDC policy is built on shortage. It's not built on proven evidence.'
The CDC's guidance is a large part of the problem, nurses and experts say.
"We know that the CDC policy is built on shortage. It's not built on proven evidence," said Caplan, who has built a career advising doctors on moral issues. "Reusing things, it's a policy that is trying to adapt to the reality of shortage. And so, to say you have to follow CDC guidelines isn't enough in a pandemic."
Caplan said that Washington and the CDC are partly to blame for inadequate numbers of tests and amounts of equipment and that he can understand why some health care workers "would be leery of trusting messages about protective gear that come from Washington."
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chairman of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said, "It's not like management has control of all the variables."
"So I think it's important to recognize that, too," Emanuel said. "You know, if you're a good manager, you say to people: 'Look, here's my situation. How are we going to handle this together?'"
Sometimes CDC guidelines aren't even met, N.J. nurse says
Adam Witt was fired from Jersey Shore University Medical Center after he said it did not have proper protective gear in a public post on his Facebook page. New Jersey has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases, behind New York.
"The CDC has continued to water down the standards of what is appropriate protection to meet supplies versus supporting the science," the post said. "Sometimes we don't even meet their reduced standards."
Witt, president of the local nurses' union, said his problems began when he learned that a nurse at the hospital had been disciplined for raising concerns about coronavirus exposure in a post in a private Facebook group. Witt said he told his manager last month that he would be taking a day off to defend the nurse at a disciplinary hearing, a customary responsibility for a union leader. "I've used a union day numerous times for exactly this type of scenario without issue in the past," Witt told NBC News.
A week later, on March 31, the hospital said he was being suspended because he took an unauthorized day off. Witt was fired after a disciplinary hearing April 6.
The hospital, where he worked in the emergency department, said he was terminated because he abandoned his shift on March 24, "not for the 'reasons' now being suggested by him or his surrogates."
"At all times — but especially during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis — his first responsibility should have been to the JSUMC patients," said Mary Jo Layton, a spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian Health, which operates the facility. Layton said Witt gave less than 24 hours' notice when he requested off "for what amounted to a 35-minute telephone conference call."
"Under these circumstances, Adam's refusal to comply with his leaders' instructions and his refusal to report to work disregarded his responsibility to his patients," Layton said. "As a direct result, his fellow nurses and other dedicated health care workers had to shoulder an additional burden in an extremely challenging situation."
Witt said he told his managers verbally and via email that he was using a "union day" and was never denied. "They did not respond to my email, nor did they call or text me on the day they alleged I didn't show up," he said. The hospital said that Witt was advised that his request was denied because of the surge of pandemic patients in the emergency department and that he was directed to report to work as scheduled.
He is appealing his firing.
Nurses being told not to wear masks to avoid 'paranoia'
The nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, who asked not to be named for fear of having her nursing license revoked, said that after she raised concerns with her bosses about potential COVID-19 exposure from patients she had treated, she asked whether she should wear an N95 mask in the hospital.
She said she was instructed not to, "as it could cause paranoia," and was told to keep the supply shortage in mind. She said that in a follow-up conversation with her managers in which she questioned whether doctors were being given priority over nurses in the distribution of protective respirators, she received a similar response as the nurse in Kentucky, who was referred to CDC guidance. When she expressed discontent with having to wear a surgical mask to treat COVID-19 patients, a protocol that has been authorized by the CDC but that has come under scrutiny, she said, she was sent home.
The nurse also said she was denied a COVID-19 test this month even after she began exhibiting symptoms.
She said: "I asked my administrator if I could get a test. And she said: 'What would change? If you got a test, how would your behavior change?' And I said, 'Well, it wouldn't, really.'" The nurse had already been self-isolating outside work.
She said her administrator responded: "'So all it would change is, if you were positive, it would prevent you from coming in to work? At this point, we presume all the nurses are positive.'"
Cedars-Sinai had also sent nurses guidance on extended use and reuse of N95 masks. In an email dated April 15, provided to NBC News by the nurse, Cedars-Sinai acknowledged that while the "reuse and extended use of PPE is a departure from previous infection control guidance," the process is safe if done properly and "has been endorsed by the CDC" and other health agencies. The email noted that the safety of health care providers was the "top priority."
But, as Caplan said, the CDC's policy is not necessarily built on proven evidence.
The CDC's website notes that "there is no way of determining the maximum possible number of safe reuses for an N95 respirator as a generic number to be applied in all cases." It says safe reuse is "affected by a number of variables."
The website also acknowledges that risks may be involved with the extended use and reuse of respirator masks.
"Although extended use and reuse of respirators have the potential benefit of conserving limited supplies of disposable N95 respirators, concerns about these practices have been raised," the website says.
Sally Stewart, a spokeswoman for Cedars-Sinai, said April 10 it is following current national and state guidelines, which "call for N95 masks to be used only in aerosol-generating procedures," such as CPR and intubation.
"We offer the same standard of protection for doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, environmental health personnel, chaplains and other staff who work in patient areas," Stewart said.
In a statement April 17, a spokesman said the hospital currently has an adequate supply of N95 masks to make them available for staff when caring for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. "To ensure that we maintain supplies amid a potential surge of patients in the weeks ahead, we are collecting N95 masks for reprocessing," the spokesman said. "However, we are not distributing reprocessed masks at this time."
The role of management and of administrators is to protect a very stressed, heroic, sometimes burnt-out workforce, Caplan said.
"If people want nurses and doctors ... and first responders to be heroic, then you've got to cut them some slack," he said.
"Remember, the CDC guideline is minimal, not the most. Can we pull this boat with the oars going in the same direction, or are we really going to have labor standoffs in the middle of a plague?"
Image: Nurses protest in Santa Monica, Calif. (California Nurses Association / National Nurses United)
Concerns could push nurses to unionize as protests erupt
Nurses across the country have already begun organizing protests.
Nurses at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit staged an hourslong sit-in at the hospital this month. Salah Hadwan, a registered nurse in the emergency department at Sinai-Grace, posted a Facebook Live video on April 5 shortly before midnight. Hadwan said the nurses were eventually asked to leave. "We basically were told to leave because we refuse to accept unsafe patient loads," Hadwan said in the video.
Brian Taylor, a spokesman for the Detroit Medical Center, acknowledged in a statement that this is "a very challenging time for caregivers."
"Our doctors and nurses continue to demonstrate their commitment and dedication to our patients," he said. "We are disappointed that one evening earlier this month a very small number of nurses at Sinai Grace Hospital staged a work stoppage in the hospital refusing to care for patients. Despite this, our patients continued to receive the care they needed as other dedicated nurses stepped in to provide care."
And in California, nurses at Providence St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica held a rally Friday to protest management's putting 10 nurses on paid leave for refusing to treat COVID-19 patients without what they consider proper protective gear.
Since April 9, the hospital has suspended 10 nurses, according to the California Nurses Association, a statewide union that represents them. Hospital management announced last week that it had changed the policy and that health care workers throughout the Providence system will be issued N95 masks to wear when treating confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, the union said. Eight St. John's nurses have tested positive for the coronavirus, including two who worked in the hospital's COVID-19 unit, according to the union. The hospital did not return requests for comment.
Caplan predicted that as more friction arises between the workforce and management, one of the fallouts is likely to be more unionization of doctors and nurses.
"If you make people feel like they're censored or being pushed around for expressing concern, you are driving them to unionize to protect themselves," he said. "And I don't think that's what management really wants."
Nurses union sues New York state, claims 'grossly inadequate' coronavirus protections
Nurses across the country have already begun organizing protests.
Nurses at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit staged an hourslong sit-in at the hospital this month. Salah Hadwan, a registered nurse in the emergency department at Sinai-Grace, posted a Facebook Live video on April 5 shortly before midnight. Hadwan said the nurses were eventually asked to leave. "We basically were told to leave because we refuse to accept unsafe patient loads," Hadwan said in the video.
Brian Taylor, a spokesman for the Detroit Medical Center, acknowledged in a statement that this is "a very challenging time for caregivers."
"Our doctors and nurses continue to demonstrate their commitment and dedication to our patients," he said. "We are disappointed that one evening earlier this month a very small number of nurses at Sinai Grace Hospital staged a work stoppage in the hospital refusing to care for patients. Despite this, our patients continued to receive the care they needed as other dedicated nurses stepped in to provide care."
And in California, nurses at Providence St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica held a rally Friday to protest management's putting 10 nurses on paid leave for refusing to treat COVID-19 patients without what they consider proper protective gear.
Since April 9, the hospital has suspended 10 nurses, according to the California Nurses Association, a statewide union that represents them. Hospital management announced last week that it had changed the policy and that health care workers throughout the Providence system will be issued N95 masks to wear when treating confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, the union said. Eight St. John's nurses have tested positive for the coronavirus, including two who worked in the hospital's COVID-19 unit, according to the union. The hospital did not return requests for comment.
Caplan predicted that as more friction arises between the workforce and management, one of the fallouts is likely to be more unionization of doctors and nurses.
"If you make people feel like they're censored or being pushed around for expressing concern, you are driving them to unionize to protect themselves," he said. "And I don't think that's what management really wants."
Nurses union sues New York state, claims 'grossly inadequate' coronavirus protections
A union representing New York nurses filed multiple lawsuits on Monday, accusing the state and two hospitals of allegedly "compromising the health and safety of" members fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
The New York State Nurses Association launched state civil complaints against the New York State Department of Health and Westchester Medical Center and a federal lawsuit against Montefiore Medical Center.
Nurse Pat Kane, the union's executive director, said 70 percent of her members are exposed to coronavirus and most "are still untested."
In addition to more testing, the union is demanding that nurses be better equipped with enough protective N95 masks as they treat patients with COVID-19, the disease associated with coronavirus.
"These lawsuits were filed to protect our nurses, our patients and our communities from grossly inadequate and negligent protections,” Kane said in a statement. “We cannot allow these dangerous practices to continue.”
The union represents 3,000 nurses at Montefiore and 1,600 more at Westchester.
Jonah Bruno, director of communications for the state health department, declined comment on the lawsuit but thanked nurses for all of their efforts.
"We are deeply grateful for the ongoing efforts of New York’s health care workers to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by testing people who may be infected and treating those who are most in need," said Bruno.
Meanwhile, a Westchester Medical Center spokesman insisted his hospital is properly caring for staff and patients.
"While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we know, and our care providers know, that the allegations in NYSNA’s lawsuit are wrong," according to a statement by the hospital. "NYSNA’s lawsuit is irresponsible and a distraction from this work, and a disservice to all who are valiantly caring for these patients every day."
Montefiore Medical Center released a statement saying the union's leadership "has chosen to attack a system, and the commitment of thousands of their colleagues, who have followed the Governor’s emergency orders and are selflessly doing all they can to fight COVID-19 and save lives."
Coronavirus: Disney stops paying 100,000 workers during crisis
Edmund Heaphy Finance and news reporter,Yahoo Finance UK•April 20, 2020
Disney (DIS) will this week stop paying 100,000 employees, almost half of its global workforce, as it seeks to weather the economic storm created by the coronavirus pandemic.
The move by the world’s largest entertainment company will save as much as $500m (£400m) in salary costs, according to the Financial Times.
While staff placed on unpaid leave will receive full healthcare benefits, those based in the US have been encouraged to apply for government benefits.
The move comes as more than 20 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the coronavirus crisis began.
Staff based in Paris will be placed on France's “partial activity scheme,” which allows companies to furlough workers and covers up to 84% of salary costs
The company’s revenue-driving theme parks, including Disneyland Paris, have been closed for several weeks.
Last year, Disney made almost $7bn from its parks, experiences, and associated products business, accounting for nearly half of its operating profits.
Earlier this month, Disney said that it would furlough tens of thousands of workers, pointing to widespread shutdowns across the world.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on our world with untold suffering and loss, and has required all of us to make sacrifices,” the company said in a statement.
“Over the last few weeks, mandatory decrees from government officials have shut down a majority of our businesses.”
By the end of last month, Disney had raised more $20bn in fresh cash through debt raises and the signing of new credit facilities with lenders.
The company still expects to pay a dividend of $1.5bn to shareholders in July, and has thus far protected its executive bonus scheme, according to the Financial Times.
But Bob Iger, the company’s executive chairman, and Bob Chapek, its chief executive, last month announced they would take a 50% pay cut.
Iger, who had planned to retire from the company last year, made almost $48m from Disney last year, making him one of the highest-paid bosses in the entertainment industry.
Edmund Heaphy Finance and news reporter,Yahoo Finance UK•April 20, 2020
Disney (DIS) will this week stop paying 100,000 employees, almost half of its global workforce, as it seeks to weather the economic storm created by the coronavirus pandemic.
The move by the world’s largest entertainment company will save as much as $500m (£400m) in salary costs, according to the Financial Times.
While staff placed on unpaid leave will receive full healthcare benefits, those based in the US have been encouraged to apply for government benefits.
The move comes as more than 20 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the coronavirus crisis began.
Staff based in Paris will be placed on France's “partial activity scheme,” which allows companies to furlough workers and covers up to 84% of salary costs
Last year, Disney made almost $7bn from its parks, experiences, and associated products business, accounting for nearly half of its operating profits.
Earlier this month, Disney said that it would furlough tens of thousands of workers, pointing to widespread shutdowns across the world.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on our world with untold suffering and loss, and has required all of us to make sacrifices,” the company said in a statement.
“Over the last few weeks, mandatory decrees from government officials have shut down a majority of our businesses.”
By the end of last month, Disney had raised more $20bn in fresh cash through debt raises and the signing of new credit facilities with lenders.
The company still expects to pay a dividend of $1.5bn to shareholders in July, and has thus far protected its executive bonus scheme, according to the Financial Times.
But Bob Iger, the company’s executive chairman, and Bob Chapek, its chief executive, last month announced they would take a 50% pay cut.
Iger, who had planned to retire from the company last year, made almost $48m from Disney last year, making him one of the highest-paid bosses in the entertainment industry.
On Jan. 7th, 1942, a month after the Pearl Harbor Attacks, the owner of Sun Rubber Company, T.W. Smith Jr, along with his assistant, Dietrich Rempel, presented the sketch of the Mickey Mouse gas mask to the Chief of Chemical Warfare Service, Major General William N. Porter, and was approved. The mask was made for children and was given the look of the famous Mickey Mouse to reduce children's fear of wearing a gas mask. Walt Disney himself was very fond of the idea and approved of the production of the gas mask.
Sun Rubber Company went to produce a little over 1,000 of the Mickey Mouse gas masks, and was given the Army-Navy "E" for excellence in 1944.
No chemical attack was laid onto the United States, and the desire for the Mickey Mouse gas mask vanished. The gas masks were handed to senior officials and others as mere keepsakes.
The gas mask features what appears to be 6-point head harness, two small glass eye lenses, a large filter with a thread smaller than 40mm, and an exhale valve/voicemitter, with a bright red guard over it. The face piece appears to be made of rubber. On top of the two temple straps, it is very apparent that the mask features "Mickey Mouse" ears.
Now, today in the market, the Disney Mickey Mouse gas mask is without a doubt, the rarest and most-wanted gas mask to American collectors. Very few of them are still around. The US Army Chemical Museum in Fort McClellan, Alabama has a hand-made prototype of the mask on display. The 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma has a finalised version of the Mickey Mouse mask, the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, California has an unfinished face piece of the mask, featuring no eye lenses, no exhale valve, no voicemitter, and no filter. It is rumoured a woman with a huge Mickey Mouse collection in Japan has one.
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People in health care garb blocked a parade of protesters who gathered outside of Colorado’s Capitol on Sunday against the state’s stay-at-home orders to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Viral photos showed the counterprotesters in teal scrubs and matching masks with crossed arms standing in front of motorists lined up for several blocks on an avenue leading to the Capitol building.
The photographs were taken by photojournalist Alyson McClaran and posted on Facebook.
Horn-honking motorists lined up for several blocks on an avenue leading to the Capitol building, then circled it as pedestrians, some not wearing masks, congregated closely outside the building. Many waved American flags and held signs that read “End the Virus, Not the Economy” and “We need stability to stay healthy,” The Denver Post reported.
Other signs expressed support for President Donald Trump, who has called for a rapid economic reopening, and against Gov. Jared Polis, whose orders shuttered thousands of "nonessential businesses." Police officers wearing masks and gloves kept tabs on the protest.
At least 422 people have died in Colorado and 9,730 have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the state health department.
Denver’s protesters joined others in the West, including Utah, Idaho and Washington state, in staging rallies demanding immediate action to reopen states for business. Eastern states begin to join the movement as thousands of protesters in Pennsylvania promise to show up in Harrisburg on Monday.
While residents protest their states’ decision to retain stay-at-home orders, other states have started gradually reopening while others are outlining plans to do so.
On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave some municipalities the green light to reopen beaches with restricted hours. In Jacksonville, social media showed people enthusiastically flocking to beaches as they reopened.
Texas, Vermont and Ohio are among those who are taking steps toward a gradual opening as President Donald Trump pushes to relax the U.S. lockdown by May 1.
Several states announced plans to coordinate their response with neighbors including California, Washington and Oregon; and New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.
Contributing: Joel Shannon, USA TODAY; Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Counterprotesters in scrubs block Denver lockdown protest
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