Delighted to share @TiffNFord and my latest @BrookingsInst piece: "Black essential workers' lives matter. They deserve real change, not just lip service."

We write that the roughly 12 million Black essential workers need more than soundbites. 1/ https://www.brookings.edu/research/black-essential-workers-lives-matter-they-deserve-real-change-not-just-lip-service/

For months, employers & policymakers have celebrated essential workers with praise, applause, & TV ads declaring them as heroes. Now, many are voicing their support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement, posting internet banners, making philanthropic donations & taking a knee. 2/

Yet while policymakers and companies are *saying* #BlackLivesMatter and #EssentialWorkers are heroes, their actions—from inadequate safety protections and enforcement to ending temporary pay increases and failing to enact federal hazard pay—speak even louder. 3/

If Black lives truly matter, policymakers and employers must do far more to protect Black essential workers and the millions more soon returning to job sites. Black workers are overrepresented in many of the occupations with the worst #COVID outbreaks & deaths. 4/

Valuing Black lives also means providing economic security, dignity, and opportunities. There is no racial justice unless workers also have economic justice. Our data show that Black workers are especially overrepresented in essential jobs that pay less than a living wage. 5/

For millions of Black workers, pay & benefits weren’t enough even before the pandemic. Now, many major companies are rolling back the temporary pay increases and benefits for #EssentialWorkers, even while the pandemic roils on, their profits rise &workers risk their lives. 6/

These rollback of temporary pay increases for essential workers devalues Black lives in particular. Walmart and Amazon—the first- and second-largest private employers in the country—employ well above-average shares of Black workers. As communities begin to reopen, 7/

employers and leaders should do far more than return to “normal.” Employers must make an active and intentional shift from minimum wages to living wages for those whose work was essential long before the pandemic and will be long after. Finally, Black workers are more 8/

likely to face retaliation when they speak up about concerns during COVID, according to new survey data from @NelpNews. Policymakers at all levels of govt should do more to protect the rights of workers who protest over safety concerns or refuse to work in unsafe conditions. 9/

Do Black lives matter to our nation’s policymakers and the employers? Without concrete reform, don’t take them at their word. Instead, we must insist they demonstrate the value of Black lives through protecting workers’ safety, offering them the dignity of a living wage, 10/

benefits, and opportunity, and ensuring that their voices are heard and rights are secured. Anything short of that is just more soundbites. 11/