Unions demand US government take charge over 'inexcusable' PPE shortage

Groups petition health and homeland security departments to use Defense Production Act to manufacture and ship protective gear

Jessica Glenza
@JessicaGlenza
Tue 11 Aug 2020 12.48 EDTLast modified on Tue 11 Aug 2020 13.40 EDT

A large coalition of labor unions and climate action groups have petitioned the US health and homeland security departments to take over the manufacture and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE).

The unions, including the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of Teachers and the Amalgamated Transit Union, represent more than 15 million workers, from nurses to flight attendants to nannies. The administration is required to respond within 15 days.

The groups could sue if they do not receive a response.

Healthcare and other frontline workers have experienced rolling shortages of gowns, gloves and critical N95 face masks since March, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke the global supply chain for such products. Healthcare workers could make up between 10 and 20% of total Covid-19 infections, the petition said, citing previous health authority estimates.

“It’s terrifying to risk your life every day just by going to work. It brings a lot of things into perspective,” said Rick Lucas, the president of the Ohio State University Nurses Organization and a nurse Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/11/unions-climate-groups-ppe-government-trump