Labor Tribune survey results: Impact of COVID-19 on working people

The Labor Tribune has been conducting a survey of workers impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus, inquiring into their job status, working conditions and concerns.

In the first week, 100 people responded, giving us a clearer picture of how the health and employment crisis is impacting our community across jobs, age and employment categories. To participate, click labortribune-survey.

Following are the initial results to our survey questions. Not every participant answered all of the questions and some answered in multliple categories; i.e. where both were working. The number of responses to each question is listed under the category headings.

SURVEY RESPONSES

AGE
(100 responses)

• 18-24 – 3 (3%)
• 25-34 – 14 (14%)
• 35-44 – 27 (27%)
• 45-54 – 27 (27%)
• 55-64 – 24 (24%)
• 65+ – 5 (5%)

GENDER
(100 responses)

• Male – 77 (76%)
• Female – 23 (23%)

UNION/LOCAL
(96 responses – 47 did not indicate.)

• Carpenters Locals 32, 97 and 1596 (3)
• Glaziers Local 252-Philedelphia (1)
• IBEW Local 1 (11)
• IBEW Local 1439 (1)
• Ironworkers Local 396 (1)
• Laborers Local 840 (1)
• Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562 (1)
• Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 (23)
• Sprinklerfitters Local 268 (1)
• UFCW Local 655 (5)
• United Media Guild Local 36047 (1)

DO YOU LIVE/WORK IN MISSOURI OR ILLINOIS?
(99 responses)

• Live and work in Missouri – 91 (91.92%)
• Live and work in Illinois – 2 (2.02%)
• Live in Missouri, work in Illinois – 3 (3.03%)
• Live in Illinois, work in Missouri – 3 (3.03%)

HOW HAS YOUR JOB BEEN AFFECTED BY COVID-19?
(87 responses)

• Laid-off/furloughed – 24 (27.59%)
• Hours cut – 17 (19.54%)
• Working extra hours – 20 (22.99%)
• Working from home – 10 (11.49%)
• Working with reduced staff –26 (29.88%)
• Quit or resigned – 3 (3.45%)

WHAT FIELD DO YOU WORK IN?
(100 responses)

• Private sector/service – 5 (5%)
• Healthcare – 1 (1%)
• Retail – 12 (12%)
• Manufacturing – 2 (2%)
• Building Trades/construction – 66 (66%)
• Public-sector/government – 1 (1%)
• Other – 13 (13%)

DO YOU HAVE CHILDREN OR OLDER RELATIVES IN YOUR HOME?
(69 responses)

• Children – 53 (86.89%)
• Older relative – 16 (26.23%)

IF YOU WORK IN HEALTHCARE, DO YOU HAVE THE PPE YO NEED?
(34 responses)

• Yes – 7 (25.93%)
• No – 27 (48.15%)

IF YOU WORK IN THE BUILDING TRADES, MANUFACTURING, SERVICE,/PRIVATE OR PUBLIC SECTOR, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM INFECTION?
(71 responses – A sampling provided below)

BUILDING TRADES

• Wearing a mask around people.
• Staying home. Wearing a facemask to shop for food.
• Murphy Co. provides us with proper PPE.
• Contractor added wash stations for 60+ tradesman, only two are constantly out of soap and water. Also, Johnnys are out of sanitizer.
• Cleaning three times a day. Trying to stay away from people.
• Trying to wash hands as much as possible, but as we all know, doing that is not easy on a jobsite. It’s very rare to find hand sanitizer provided to us on jobsites.
• Nothing.
• Washing more often. Trying to maintain six-foot distancing.
• Not working.
• Washing hands regularly.
• Mask, distancing & sanitizer.
• I am staying home and so should everyone.
• Nothing. You can’t protect yourself when you are on a job site with 100 others. Only thing we can do is hand sanitizer.
• Self quarantine.
• Back and forth from home to work. Maintaining social distancing. Maintaining personal hygiene.
• Wearing mask when going out. Washing hands often and sanitizing hands as much as possible.
• Social Distancing.
• Distancing and PPE.
• Keeping my hands clean. Keeping my distance from other workers And disinfecting certain areas and tools throughout the day.
• Hand washing, hand sanitizer, social distancing, holding my breath when passing people if possible.
• Plenty of hand sanitizer and clean hygiene.
• Mask and hand sanitizer.
• Germ-X and hand wash.
• I brought wipes, hand sanitizers and towels from home to clean my hands on the job site. The general contractors provided nothing on the job. No running water, no hand sanitizer, no towels to clean your hands, not even a clean place to eat lunch. The job I was on all they had was three very dirty Johnny’s. They never encouraged worked to keep space between themselves. All they cared about was keeping their deadline.
• There is no protecting yourself. We live in an urban area and jobs are packed with people that you don’t know where or who they have been around. I understand that some construction might be essential, but not all. Most job sites should be shut down to take care of the health of our members and their families.
• Nothing…. it’s business as usual. There have been zero changes made.
• Trying to keep my distance.
• Cleaning and sanitizing every chance I get.
• Staying away from people.
• Very little.
• Trying to maintain distance, but with the unavailability of safety supplies that’s all we can do.
• Nothing. The hotel we are working for isn’t wiping anything down or giving soap to wash hands. Poor working condition considering the times. Company has ran out of masks and gloves. Contractors have got sent home for running fevers but they are still pushing the job to get done. Feel unsafe, but still having to come into work to get the hotel done.
• Sanitation, minimal time in plants.
• Nothing. Job sites are overcrowded. No one cares if the construction workers get sick. As long as the high up get theirs.
• Washing hands, maintaining six-foot distance. If must be closer, wearing masks and gloves.
• Bandana/facemasks and hand sanitizer.
• Gloves, mask, working alone.
• Lots of hand sanitizer.

GROCERY/RETAIL SECTOR

• Face mask/gloves provided by my employer – 3 (4.2%)
• Face mask/gloves I provide myself – 8 (11.26%)
• Regularly sanitizing work area – 12 (16.9%)
• I have no protection – 7 (9.8%)

IF YOU HAVE BEEN LAID-OFF, HOW ARE MAKING ENDS MEET?

• Savings – 7 (20.59%)
• Unemployment insurance – 18 (52.94%)
• Regular full pay from employer – 3 (8.82%)
• Partial pay from employer –2 (5.88%)
• None of the above. I’m in a world of hurt – 4 (11.76%)

WHAT INFORMATION WOULD YOU NEED TO HELP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?

• Why won’t Governor Parson make us first-responders so we can get the PPE and benefits we need?
• Why won’t MO Gov. Parson extend unemployment?
• Nothing now. For weeks, [employer] stood by the CDC reports that PPE would not help us when doctors were saying every little bit would help. I spent weeks waiting on customers within two-feet of my face and hands with no protection. I also have an underlying health issue and have been scared to death.
• Are we getting two weeks of sick pay, per the federal government?
• True accounting of the projected peak.
• Does anyone really know what we all need?
• How to apply for SASMI/Unemployment. (SASMI is an independent trust fund set up to stabilize employment and earnings in the sheet metal industry.)
• Better instructions for filing for assistance.
• The continuation and funding of scientific research with data published responsibly.
• When will the $600 be added to unemployment? Also that the administration (should)tell the public the truth.
• I just don’t want to be exposed.
• Why does construction work continue unsafely?
• Latest on virus prevention or treatment, places that provide financial and health services.
• I’m not sure. I need money.
• Legal information in regards to pay and rates for staying home to care for children.
• Home environment practices to keep the essential workers from bringing the COVID-19 home.
• Regular updates on what’s going on, details on what the stimulus package might mean for my family, projections on when this might end, and info on where to get additional help.

DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION ABOUT THE VIRUS?
(99 responses)

• Yes – 67 (66.67%)
• No – 32 (32.32%)