We are all told to shelter in place, keep six feet distance between us and use a face mask when we go anywhere for our safety and the safety of our fellow Americans and yet we expect the meat processing workers to endanger their lives and ours by continuing to work in unsafe conditions.

Since the dawn of man we have looked up to the sky and been inspired by the countless stars and constellations. We've lived and died under clear starry night skies and now Elon Musk is planning to send 12,000 satellites up into the sky to muddy it up and pollute beyond recognition the last pure thing we as a species have left.

Because just as those who have been out of work are at risk and need help, so are the people who still have to go to work every day...

The corrosive combination of coronavirus and capitalism is tearing through our communities to underscore the deepest divide between us, that of the haves and the have-nots. The most egregious assault lands where it always does, in the most marginalized communities among us: the poor, with multi-generational (often multiple) families living together; black and brown communities, who were discarded by society long before coronavirus; single mothers, who are forced into the impossible choice between rent and food for their children; immigrants, who are deprived of any safety nets and devoid of rights; the unhoused, for whom the phrase “stay at home” is cruel and absurd; the out-of-work breadwinners who can no longer provide for their families; domestic abuse victims who are pressed to “shelter” in place with their abusers; the newly unemployed masses now frequenting foodbanks; the imprisoned, detained, or institutionalized; and the anti-stay-at-home protesters, who assert “my job is essential too.” The middle and impoverished classes lack the privilege of escaping to the Hamptons, to their personal island, or to their well-stocked yachts. In many cases, they lack the “luxuries” of running water, the room to socially distance, paid leave when they or their family members are sick, and personal protective gear for their jobs, which – in an act of cruel irony – have now been heralded as “essential.” A contagion of greed infected our society long before the arrival of coronavirus. Lulled into complacency by sleek models, shiny gadgets, and digitized entertainment, we became prime targets for hungry overlords, who amassed their spoils off our labor and consumption. Nursing at the teat of consumption, we became “unpaid data laborers,” while gaping maws scrambled to exploit our data for profit. These titans of industry filled their own pockets on the backs of their workers – fellow humans who markets invisibilized and rendered disposable. This colossal corporate greed is what informs our “Democracy.” Those who usurp our power leave us begging for scraps or working in unsafe conditions, and these immoral deficits have never been more evident than with four rounds of coronavirus stimulus packages. Profiteers advance on the imperiled masses with glee, hoarding the lion’s share of the stimulus and pillaging the coffers designated for the poor. Our representatives listen to the lobbyists in DC, where they’re plied with sweet deals and lavish funds for special interests. The lobbyists work to promote the corporate agendas of those who have money and those who will do anything to protect that money. Whether Democrat or Republican, our representatives evidently and appallingly need greater incentives to look out for the common good and essential needs of the citizens. It is up to us to demand that they do. In a world cracked open by COVID-19, it’s time for the masses to assert their own power – they and we matter. We are not dispensable. We are not disposable. We are not invisible. It is time NOW for the PEOPLE to use the powers that they still have – the powers of their vote, their voice, their pen, their labor, and their consumption. VOTE, WRITE, STRIKE, BOYCOTT together while apart like your life – and the lives of all those you love – depends on it. Because it does. At the nexus of coronavirus and runaway capitalism, it is imperative that we untangle the essential rights of citizens from profit. This is a moral choice. We must IMAGINE a better world where all are deserving of conditions that will enable us to not only survive, but thrive. The time is now for Medicare for All, for a guaranteed basic income, for housing standards that ensure shelter for all, for green jobs with livable wages, with paid sick leave, healthcare that’s not tied to our paychecks, and where workers own the rights of production. While our citizens suffer a devastating mix of uncertainty, isolation, grief, and economic despair, the richest people on the planet are poised to determine our fate. We shelter on this globe together, and the time is ripe for demanding fundamental and lasting improvements to our social safety net. Our top-heavy society is fragile in ways that leave us increasingly vulnerable to coronavirus and future pandemics. We must build resiliency from the bottom up, collaborating with our communities, and honoring the diversity therein to protect us all. We’re riding a slow train of uncertainty amidst an amorphous viral threat. If quarantine teaches us anything, it brings home the truth that the health and wellbeing of ONE is intimately connected to the health and wellbeing of ALL.

The future of our country and American Democracy where reason prevails and there are not supposed to be autocratic dictators (if it's not already too late) is at stake.

Because people need to start protesting and getting their lives back to normal again and letting kids have a life playing sports going to school. People need to start going back to work and making money. You are making us American people suffer and it's not right. We need to work go back to every day life and have a life back and enjoy our lives and stop this crap. Because people are killing themselves and jumping off bridges and buildings and people are oding and this is not right so hurry up and fix this. You need to step up and open up our New Jersey state up quickly and stop spreading fear and let us have our freedom back.

Because just as those who have been out of work are at risk and need help, so are the people who still have to go to work every day...

My name is Magaly Licolli, and I am a grassroots organizer with Venceremos, an organization dedicated to protecting poultry workers against the injustices of companies like Tyson. Every day I speak to poultry workers who are terrified for their lives and the safety of their communities. They need your help now more than ever. In Arkansas alone, where Tyson is headquartered, there are over 30,000 workers producing the chicken that ends up on plates all across the country. These workers are immigrants, refugees, minoritized communities that are not afforded the opportunity to speak out against this injustice. We demand that Tyson give paid sick leave to employees in addition to providing safer, cleaner working conditions. Poultry workers must also be compensated for being quarantined to prevent further spread of the virus that can potentially harm more workers. Finally, they must receive generous hazard pay for risking their lives as COVID-19 rapidly spreads in our communities. Worker health is public health! Please sign and share this petition.

Truck drivers keep the country going; they are putting themselves at risk of contracting Covid-19 each and every day as they continue to do their jobs, delivering food, mail, paper items, cleaning supplies, clothing, along with every other product that keeps America from spiraling into chaos.

The coronavirus is only one in a series of pandemics which have emerged in the 21st century. Our battle against covid 19 has been severely hampered causing over 10,000 deaths by lack of personal protective equipment for our hospital, nursing home and long term care facilities as well as for those in the grocery stores, warehouses, supply chain and delivery systems for food. This includes doctors, nurses, nurses' aides and orderlies, janitorial people, food service workers and warehouse workers, grocery store personal and the delivery systems. These inexpensive items were supplied on an as needed basis from China and other Asian countries. When there was no emergency, the system worked but has collapsed in our time of greatest need. We need to manufacture and control the production in this country. The factories for these jobs could be based in areas where unemployment is high because industries have become obsolete such as coal mining though the whole the fossil fuel industry is heading in this direction. We are hypocrites when we applaud the work of people on the front lines of disease and yet send them to battle without the low tech equipment they need because corporations could make more money by having it made elsewhere. Our military has already done the research on essential supply chain disruption. Our government should act upon it.

Dozens of grocery store workers have died from COVID-19, despite measures being put in place, such as masks, temperature checks, and limiting shopper capacity. This clearly isn't working. It's not safe for the workers and it's not safe for other shoppers. The aisles in any store are too small to allow social distancing to take effect. Shoppers meander about trying to figure out what to buy, sometimes reaching over one another. We need to eliminate the variables of people who cannot take precautions on behalf of public safety. We're in a time when we have the technology to reduce the interaction that we have with workers and each other while fighting the virus. Effectively, we can turn the grocery stores into warehouses, and keep shoppers contained within their own automobiles, minimizing almost all risk to everyone. This will not only alleviate the health risks, but the anxiety of everyone involved.

Covid-19 can spread so easily, AND WILL, and anyone can carry it anywhere. If states reopen without adequate testing and tracing for containment, outbreaks will occur all across the country as people move around again and contact others. For those of us who have been so responsible and careful, the last thing we want is for other states and their policies, and residents and visitors, to jeopardize our own health and families AND further jeopardize health care workers. That is just WRONG! WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!