Jerry Lynn is here. Early indications are that Democrats will come under fire in the upcoming midterms. They should, too, because they have failed to do anything to improve the fortunes of Americans, especially essential workers at the bottom of the economic pyramid, let alone updating the New Deal and Great Society for the 21st century. If party leaders believe the needs of voters are paramount, enacting the right to paid sick leave, especially during a pandemic, should be a no-brainer. Alas, it is donor priorities that determine the political agenda. As a result, employers are now insisting that sick workers return to the workplace, under threat of dismissal, no matter how ill they are—let alone contagious—everyone may be.

by Brett Wilkins.Originally Posted in common dream

As U.S. workers infected with Covid-19 during the Omicron surge face the stark option of staying home without pay, risking losing their jobs or reporting to work and potentially infecting colleagues and clients, progressives on Monday renewed their call for paid sick leave to leave the country level one.

“In the midst of a terrible pandemic, two-thirds of low-wage workers still don’t have access to paid sick leave. That’s barbaric,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweet.

“We must ensure that all workers are entitled to paid sick leave,” he added.

according to a Report Monday by Hot news Employees of the seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster, owned by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, and the advocacy group More Perfect Union have been forced to report to work under threats of reprimands that could lead to dismissal.

NEW: Red Lobster is denying paid sick leave to its more than 50,000 restaurant workers during the ongoing pandemic.

Employees told us the horrific stories of managers who insisted on working during the coronavirus.

In a new survey, 63 percent of Red Lobster workers said they were sick at work. pic.twitter.com/97cMCTOQDB

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) January 10, 2022

The report states:

Beginning in December 2019, James Swartz has been a bartender at Pennsylvania Red Lobster for a year and a half. He earns $3.50 an hour, plus tips. Swartz said in an interview that he was “threatened” when he developed coronavirus symptoms and told management he wasn’t going to work on weekends. Red Lobster management told Swartz that he “needs to come in for work” and that if he doesn’t show up or can’t find another way to make up the shift, he’ll be “recorded”.

Another Red Lobster employee who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation Tell Columbus dispatch “We don’t have sick days, yes, I go to work when I’m sick. If we cancel, we’ll be logged.”

The worker said they would be fired after four reports.

“It’s a vicious circle,” said Daniel Schneider, professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Tell This Associated Press“Staffing shortages as people get sick means those who are working have more to do and are less willing to call in sick when they are sick.”

An unnamed New Mexico worker told Associated PressThey took time off work to be tested for Covid-19 after showing symptoms of illness.

“I think it’s the right thing to do to protect my colleagues,” said the employee, who is losing $160 a day. “Now I wish I just went to work and said nothing.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) echoed the sentiments of many progressives when she tweet On Monday, there was “a simple answer” to the plight of those workers: “paid time off.”