Workers are in disarray across the United States. The pandemic has killed well over 400,000 Americans, and state inaction accelerated the unemployment, hunger, and evictions that are following in its wake.

Working people in every sector are fighting to keep their heads above water. Restaurant workers watch as their employers shutter for good, while those lucky enough to still have a job have seen their tips decline by more than 50 percent. At one point during the pandemic, 98 percent of the 307,000 members of the hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE were out of work. Health care workers continue to lack adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), as unit after unit in their hospitals is turned over to COVID-19 patients. Those in the logistics sector are under immense pressure as people move their shopping online. Airline employees face historic layoffs. Entire portions of the entertainment industry are vanishing: no more live shows, with the result being that even those who are unionized face not only layoffs but previously unimaginable wage and benefit cuts.

It’s a situation intensified by the Trump administration’s vehemently anti-worker policy. In addition to failing to act in response to the looming threat posed by COVID-19, Donald Trump hindered what meager government protections remain for employees, stymieing the already-inadequate enforcement of workplace standards by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and staffing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with management-side attorneys. For evidence of the callousness, look at one of the hardest-hit industries: meatpacking. When plants were consumed with COVID-19 outbreaks, the White House responded by pushing for a speedup in the facilities.