CHICAGO, March 20 – The racist and sexist indifference of the capitalist bosses towards workers in the hospitality industry is making itself painfully clear as the devastation from the Covid-19 pandemic grows. Like all other industries under capitalism, it relies on the value stolen from the labor of workers employed for profits.
The hospitality and food service industry in general are major employers of millions of workers within the United States, many of them Black, Latin, Asian and immigrant women workers. Already workers in these industries have been subject to unpredictable schedules and low pay, and now that local government bosses are mandating that dine-in restaurants close (a proper public health precaution), they are further thrown into economic uncertainty.
During this pandemic, the bosses are terrified by the economic damage that is bound to occur to their businesses and can offer no plan to assist workers, aside from some crumbs and empty sympathy. More than ever, the international working class needs a communist society to help prioritize workers’ health during moments of disaster and to ensure that we can all work as we are able and receive the resources that we need. The communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) is fighting to build that society.
Bosses hang workers out to dry
Up until a few days ago, I worked at one of the many restaurants in Chicago closed due to the pandemic. As of last week, Illinois had 37 cases of Covid-19 and most people were in denial of the severity of the virus. Because I work with the public and have an underlying health condition, I was slightly worried about becoming ill. My concern was not irrational after all. Two days later, Illinois reported over 100 cases of Covid-19 and as a result, liberal Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (himself a billionaire) ordered all dine–in restaurants and bars closed – my place of employment being one of them.
This restaurant is part of a large restaurant group that owns over 120 restaurants and employs around 8,000 workers. Two days after Pritzker’s order, every worker received a text message notifying us of an upcoming conference call that afternoon where the company president would be updating us on the current situation.
Although there were many people on the call, all the workers were muted and only the president’s voice was heard – typical of the bosses. We listened as he notified us that most of us were immediately laid off and our insurance would be cut off in at the end of the month, however, partners would still be receiving half of their salary. He broke into tears as he explained that he did not know what would happen to the company. He along with the other bosses built an empire with our labor, laid us off, and now we are being subject to listening to him cry over the phone.
In the midst of a pandemic, thousands of workers will not only be devoid of income but they are also going to be without health insurance. Many of these workers are paid minimum wage or a hair above it and often have to fight to be scheduled enough hours to live.
Before the pandemic, my restaurant was so slow that we would close two extra days a week. My co-workers and I were already hurting financially. Internationally, millions of workers are being furloughed from their jobs. When this is over, many of us will not have jobs to go back to. When the bosses are faced with a financial loss, they will cut their ties with us without hesitation. My company, which must make tens of millions of dollars annually, started a GoFundMe for workers being most affected by this layoff. They are asking other workers to pay for the losses.
Communist revolution is on the menu
As long as this capitalist system remains in place, the international working class will be expected to foot the bill for the crises that the system itself creates. But there can be a silver lining, in that many of those same workers most beat down by this racist and sexist profit system will become more open-minded to more cooperative and egalitarian alternatives.
Workers across the globe are starting to display a sense of solidarity through social media by sharing memes about how capitalism is the virus. Some say that we need socialism to fix everything; however, socialism is not enough. The international working class needs to be in complete control of its own destiny, controlling all means of production and using the wealth that we create from our labor to serve our own needs. The only solution is communist revolution, led by the PLP. Workers of the world, unite!