Risking COVID-19 Exposure Again Is The Only Option For These Temp Workers – WBEZ

July was a terrible month for Angelicas family.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Angelica says she and her husband kept working in factories that ignored safety guidelines set by the state. WBEZ agreed not to use Angelicas last name because shes undocumented and fears deportation.

No one cleaned the factory at my husbands job. All the workers ate lunch together at the same time. Theres like 60 employees there, she said in Spanish. I told him we should report it, but we were too afraid.

By July, her husband became infected with the virus, and she got sick soon after. She remembers that month as one of the most difficult times in her life.

I was so afraid, desperate and sad. We were so poor we often didnt have enough to eat, she said. I was so afraid to ask for help. We didnt want our neighbors to know we were sick.

Angelica and her husband are both undocumented and both work for staffing agencies that send them to warehouses and factories to work earning $10 an hour. No health insurance, no sick time off. She has four children. They all live in a two-bedroom apartment.

I think my children are traumatized, she said. They hear us talking about money, and I see it in their faces. I think they are depressed too.

Angelica is one of the 130 temp workers surveyed in Illinois for a report released today titled: We do not have the luxury of working from home. The report by the Chicago Workers Collaborative, which advocates for temps, surveyed people who work in food processing, manufacturing, warehousing and logistics. They are considered essential workers. In Illinois, the majority of these workers are Black and brown, the report said.

Half of the workers said they felt unsafe or very unsafe working during the pandemic. Half of the workers also reported their workplaces were unable to adhere to the 6 feet of social distance guidelines set by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Nik Theodore, professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has studied the temp worker industry for years. Theodore said assembly lines typically have machines that cant be moved to accommodate for social distancing.

If workers are shoulder to shoulder in an assembly line, they cant social distance, he said.

Another problem temp workers reported is that companies did not disclose when others got the virus. Instead, the majority of the temp workers relied on each other for information on which employee might have the virus.

The majority of workers said they received personal protective equipment from their employers but said it was insufficient and inadequate, the report said.

There was an overwhelming response of feeling like the companies dont care about them, said Jannelle White, an organizer with the Chicago Workers Collaborative. The companies dont value them.

Thats how Angelica said she feels.

They just want us to produce, she said. They dont care about us. They just care about the production.

After her husband recovered from COVID-19 and tested negative, he went back to work. But she hasnt been able to because she needs to be clear of the coronavirus. Angelica took two tests that came back positive for COVID-19. Shes waiting on a third test. She still doesnt feel 100% healthy, but her family is behind on rent and they need the money. She said the Chicago Workers Collaborative gave her some money for rent when she was sick but thats gone, so shes willing to return to an environment that she thinks is unsafe. Theres no other alternative.

I need to work, she said. We live paycheck to paycheck.

The report pushes for regulators to enforce Gov. JB Pritzkers COVID-19 guidelines which require social distancing, screening and face masks.

Mike Matulis, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Labor, said temp workers with safety concerns should contact either federal OSHA or the Illinois Attorney Generals Workplace Rights Bureau.

But Theodore said relying on temp workers to report dangerous work conditions is not realistic. He said many would not want to risk being fired in a time of high unemployment during a dangerous pandemic.

Mara Ins Zamudio is a reporter for WBEZs Race, Class and Communities desk. Follow her @mizamudio.

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Risking COVID-19 Exposure Again Is The Only Option For These Temp Workers - WBEZ