NPEU Members for a Democratic Union is committed to disability justice and workplace safety. This includes COVID safety, as COVID remains a significant health threat in the workplace and beyond. We believe that our union should be doing more to fight for worker safety and disability justice, and our new reform caucus stands poised to make a crucial difference on these issues.

 

Disability justice and COVID safety have been major motivators for several of us within the caucus. By organizing together for reform, we are realizing our collective power and overcoming isolation. Connecting with others in shared struggle has empowered us to agitate for systemic change because rank-and-file unionism, workplace safety, and disability justice all go hand in hand.

 

While acknowledging that COVID disproportionately harms those with compromised immune systems and other health vulnerabilities, we reject the othering of “the vulnerable” and instead stand in solidarity with them during the ongoing pandemic. We also recognize the abundant scientific research demonstrating that COVID endangers everyone, regardless of current health or disability status. As many as one-third of those who survive their initial COVID infection continue to suffer ill effects, a phenomenon referred to as Long COVID. And a growing body of evidence suggests that the risk of developing Long COVID increases with each reinfection, and that those who suffer from Long COVID risk further disablement when they are reinfected. Given that COVID continues to spread and the US has largely abandoned mitigation efforts, we as union members must do what it takes to keep each other safe.

 

We also see the need to incorporate a disability justice lens at every stage of our struggle. Though there are varying definitions, we understand disability as something that exists on a continuum and may be contingent on environmental factors. Nearly everyone will experience some degree of disability at some point in their lives. Our disabled comrades deserve our solidarity all of the time, not just when it is convenient. Disability justice is not an add-on but a fundamental aspect of a truly inclusive and effective labor movement.

 

NPEU can and should do more in these areas, both with respect to our collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and within the local itself. Some specific potential action items are listed below (this list is preliminary and not exhaustive).

 

Workplace Safety and Disability Justice In Our Contracts
 

• Incorporate universal design principles

  • Unions should strive to reframe what the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) calls “reasonable accommodations” as universal benefits for all staff; this reduces stigma and improves the workplace for everyone while ensuring accessibility needs are met

  • Examples of areas where universal design principles could be applied in contracts include remote work, other types of flexible work arrangements, and indoor air quality
     

• The onus should be on the employer to provide a safe and accessible work environment; this includes paying for personal protective equipment (PPE)
   

• Consistently apply the hierarchy of controls in our approach to workplace safety within our CBAs, including COVID safety

  • This means prioritizing indoor air quality improvements in our workspaces, including investments in ventilation and air filtration upgrades, and real-time monitoring of carbon dioxide (as a ventilation proxy) and particulate matter

  • Filtration and ventilation are both critical to reduce disease spread and improve resiliency in the face of climate-change-driven wildfires
     

• Contracts should include robust disability protections and clear and accessible accommodation processes
   

• CBAs that enshrine portions of the ADA/ go above and beyond the ADA

  • Protections guaranteed by the ADA are regularly flouted

  • CBAs offer workers an essential additional enforcement mechanism

  • The ADA should be the floor, not the ceiling
     

• Make disability inclusion and workplace safety must-haves rather than nice-to-haves when setting bargaining priorities
   

• Provide support for those with disabilities, including those with long-term COVID-related disabilities

 

Workplace Safety and Disability Justice Within Our Union
 

• Ensure that bargaining sessions are COVID-safe and accessible for all

  • Employers should not be allowed to weaponize disability status against bargaining committee members or put them in unsafe situations as part of bargaining
     

• NPEU staff and officers should model COVID-safe behavior and consider and honor accessibility needs

  • Staff who contract COVID-19 while engaging in work travel should not have to bear the cost of isolating when away from home
     

• NPEU events should be accessible and COVID-safe

  • Event planning should include an accessibility audit and accessibility checks at every stage of planning, not just as part of registration
     

• Our union must do more overall to include disabled voices in planning and prioritizing

  • Recognize and lift up the expertise and experiences of NPEU’s disabled rank-and-file
     

• Establish connections with other unions and groups that support individuals with disabilities to improve responsiveness and work together to implement best practices
   

• Connect with subject matter experts within NPEU, and lean on their wealth of knowledge to help NPEU improve in these areas
   

• Many NPEU members are already organizing around these issues outside of NPEU; ensure that they are empowered to house some of their organizing under the auspices of our local and connect the advocacy work that they are already doing to the labor movement
   

• NPEU can and should be leading educational campaigns so that members understand their rights and can connect disability justice to worker power and the aims of the labor movement writ large