Thread by @educatedadult1, Let's Talk Covid Relief, why the Republicans are holding it hostage & [...]

Let's Talk Covid Relief, why the Republicans are holding it hostage & why we MUST demand that Speaker Pelosi & the Democrats make NO deal that involves corporate liability & prosecution protections

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#ONEV1
#FreshTweets https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/gop-holding-your-covid-relief-bill-hostage-so-corporations-can-duck-lawsuits

The GOP Is Holding Your COVID Relief Bill Hostage So Corporations Can

Senate Republicans want to tie COVID-19 relief to a law that would protect corporations from the liability of their harmful response (or lack thereof) to the pandemic. They must be stopped.

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/gop-holding-your-covid-relief-bill-hostage-so-corporations-can-duck-lawsuits

There are lots of reasons Malicious Mitch is floating as to why HE shot down even the most recent bipartisan bill to provide Covid Relief to every day Americans

(While blaming the Dems, of course)

2/x https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/coronavirus-stimulus-update-senators-to-unveil-relief-bill.html

Lawmakers unveiling bipartisan coronavirus stimulus package as stalemate drags on

Bipartisan lawmakers are pushing a coronavirus stimulus plan as Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell have made no progress on a relief bill.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/coronavirus-stimulus-update-senators-to-unveil-relief-bill.html

But the reality of the situation is that his unwillingness to negotiate in good faith, has nothing to do w/ being a fiscal hawk

It goes back to the very FIRST demand he made regarding ANY Covid relief way back in March & April

3/x https://www.npr.org/2020/04/29/847983004/mitch-mcconnell-insists-on-liability-protections-for-businesses-during-the-pande

Mitch McConnell Insists On Liability Protections For Businesses During The Pandemic

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is insisting that any additional help for state and local governments has to come with liability protections for businesses as states move to reopen.

https://www.npr.org/2020/04/29/847983004/mitch-mcconnell-insists-on-liability-protections-for-businesses-during-the-pande

From Day 1, Mitch has sought to hold economic relief to millions of Americans hostage Corporate Liability Protection

(While the Republicans have been actively working to strip healthcare during this Pandemic)

4/x https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20200428/NEWS06/912334287/Mitch-McConnell-calls-for-liability-protections-for-businesses-COVID-19-coronavi

Mitch McConnell calls for liability protections for businesses - Business Insurance

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday called for businesses and health care workers to be protected from “opportunistic lawsuits” as companies reopen after the coronavirus lockdown.

https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20200428/NEWS06/912334287/Mitch-McConnell-calls-for-liability-protections-for-businesses-COVID-19-coronavi

He fought to have it added during the first relief bill & has publicly stated on numerous occasions that no second bill will pass without, not only Liability Protections, but now Immunity from Prosecution clause as well

5/X https://couriernewsroom.com/2020/05/14/mitch-mcconnell-business-legal-protections-coronavirus/

McConnell Wants to Make It Harder for You to Hold Your Employer Accountable If You Get Sick

Republicans are looking for ways to protect companies from lawsuits if their employees or customers contract the coronavirus.

https://couriernewsroom.com/2020/05/14/mitch-mcconnell-business-legal-protections-coronavirus/

In other words, Mitch & the Republicans do not care if you can feed your children, put a roof over your head, lose your home,can't afford healthcare or actually stimulating the economy

6/x https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8269567/Mitch-McConnell-makes-liability-shields-coronavirus-bill-battleground.html

McConnell makes 'liability shields' the next COVID bill battleground

Mitch McConnell is demanding the next piece of coronavirus legislation Congress passes includes a 'liability shield' - so businesses can't be sued for COVID-19 infections they might cause.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8269567/Mitch-McConnell-makes-liability-shields-coronavirus-bill-battleground.html

The Republicans have even come up with a snazzy name for their demand-

The Safe To Work Act

Which has nothing to do w/ Safety for anyone at work, but rather, provides Safety for Bad Actors to force employees to work in unsafe conditions

7/X https://www.stites.com/resources/client-alerts/safe-to-work-act-would-provide-liability-protections-for-coronavirus-related-claims

SAFE TO WORK Act Would Provide Liability Protections for Coronavirus-Related Claims

On July 27, 2020, Senator John Cornyn, for himself and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, introduced the SAFE TO WORK Act (the “Act”) as part of the Senate’s new $1 trillion stimulus proposal....

https://www.stites.com/resources/client-alerts/safe-to-work-act-would-provide-liability-protections-for-coronavirus-related-claims

Bad Actors such as Tyson Foods

Or companies that choose to not tell their employees if one of their co workers comes up positive for Covid & neglects to take proper measures to protect those employees (or customers)

8/X https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/11/19/tyson-foods-managers-placed-bets-on-how-many-workers-would-catch-covid-19-wrongful-death-lawsuit-alleges/

Tyson Foods Managers Placed Bets On How Many Workers Would Catch Covid-19, Wrongful Death Lawsuit...

The lawsuit alleges Tyson displayed a “wilful and wanton disregard for worker safety” in a plant where over 1,000 employees caught Covid-19.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/11/19/tyson-foods-managers-placed-bets-on-how-many-workers-would-catch-covid-19-wrongful-death-lawsuit-alleges/

The GOP has even brought in the KOCH Funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to write the Safe To Work Act for them

(You knew that Koch was somehow involved in this, didn't you?)

9/x https://theintercept.com/2020/05/26/coronavirus-republicans-corporate-immunity-lawsuits/

Corporate Immunity Is Longtime Focus of Conservative Movement

ALEC, a Koch-backed group that drafts model bills for state legislators, has pushed corporate immunity measures on the state level since the early 2000s.

https://theintercept.com/2020/05/26/coronavirus-republicans-corporate-immunity-lawsuits/

For those not familiar w/ ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council is an organization where corporate lobbyists and legislators co-write model bills

10/X https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-alec-explainer

This Organization Is Secretly Writing Your State Laws

It is behind pushes to end paid sick leave and enact voter ID laws.

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-alec-explainer

The real reason that Republicans are willing to deny aid to millions of struggling Americans is that this is an end run around current federal employment laws so that they can achieve & create precedent for the most radical tort reform in several generations

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The bill’s safe harbor provision would immunize employers from lawsuits or enforcement actions connected to the virus under 7 FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT LAWS including those that prohibit job bias, govern wages, and mandate minimum safety standards

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The GOP proposal also features a separate plan to help businesses defend against legal claims for allegedly exposing workers AND consumers to the coronavirus, by funneling those suits through federal courts & altering procedural rules to favor corporations

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“This is as sweeping a tort reform bill as we’ve ever seen,” said Michael Duff, a law professor at the University of Wyoming. “It’s radical.”

14/X https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/employers-get-major-protections-in-gop-liability-shield-bill

Employers Get Major Protections in GOP Liability Shield Bill (1)

The Senate Republicans’ sweeping bill to shield businesses from coronavirus-related liability includes significant proposals that would protect employers from a range of workplace laws while also...

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/employers-get-major-protections-in-gop-liability-shield-bill

Tying this radical tort reform to the desperately needed relief that Americans need now is nothing less than attack on every citizen of this nation

The GOP cynically believes that we will get so desperate that we will gladly cave to their demands

15/x https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-liability-protection-provision-businesses-workers-coronavirus-aid-bill-terrible-2020-8

The GOP is trying to shove a disastrous provision into the newest coronavirus aid bill that would...

The liability protections could lead to companies cutting corners when they're supposed to be protecting workers from the coronavirus.

https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-liability-protection-provision-businesses-workers-coronavirus-aid-bill-terrible-2020-8

If the last 4 yrs have shown us anything, it's that, for the Republicans, it has never been about US

But, stooping to trying to literally starve people out, is lower than even I believed the GOP could go

16/16 End https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/25/americas-biggest-business-lobby-is-behind-republicans-push-shield-employers-coronavirus-liability/

Nation’s biggest business lobby is behind Republicans’ push to shield employers from coronavirus...

“What we’re concerned about, and advocating for with Congress, is you don’t want to wait until all the cases are filed … you have to deal with this beforehand,” said Matthew Webb, senior vice...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/25/americas-biggest-business-lobby-is-behind-republicans-push-shield-employers-coronavirus-liability/

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-devious-covid-19-liability-push-20200524-gvt6hivuwbhw7aextk3kw3ssdq-story.html

The devious COVID-19 liability push: Mitch McConnell’s push for coronavirus immunity would shield...

For two months, Americans have watched the coronavirus pandemic halt economic life as they know it while Congress has ushered aid to big corporations and largely left small businesses fighting for...

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-devious-covid-19-liability-push-20200524-gvt6hivuwbhw7aextk3kw3ssdq-story.html

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/mcconnell-push-for-immunity-from-39713/

McConnell push for immunity from lawsuits would protect big insurers, not small businesses

Taxpayers have put billions of dollars into long-term care rescue. Congress and the White House have deadlocked over further assistance, with a key stumbling block — as expressed by the...

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/mcconnell-push-for-immunity-from-39713/

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