The May 1st Coalition of Chelsea, East Boston, and Everett released a statement in advance of May Day opposing the end of the Covid-19 state of emergency by the state and federal governments on May 11.
“During the height of the pandemic the economic and social inequities came into stark relief highlighting the income, wealth, housing and food insecurities, and healthcare disparities in working class, immigrant and communities of color,” the coalition stated. “Our community and union members were lauded as essential workers and heroes.”
The move to end the state of emergency by the Biden and Healey administrations will only further increase health inequities for those populations, according to the coalition.
“When the “COVID emergency declaration” is lifted, the emergency funding to SNAP, CHIP, Medicaid and Medicare funding will be greatly reduced or
Discontinued,” the statement continues. “The emergency funding to these programs has allowed free of cost access to COVID testing, treatment and at home COVID testing kits and emergency access to food and health care. It is unconscionable for millions of low wage earners, the unemployed and
those on fixed incomes to end their emergency benefits in such an arbitrary manner.
“Ending the ‘emergency’ will further devastate the vulnerable communities we are working with.”
The May 1st Coalition, with local anchor organizations La Colaborativa, MassCOSH, and La Comunidad, said the state needs to end wage theft, protect the safety of all workers, raise the minimum wage, expand the right to organize a union, retain and expand the emergency health and food benefits, end workplace discrimination based on gender identity, rebuild the
economy based on green jobs with a massive investment on infrastructure and human services. It stated that the federal Protect the Right to Organize bill, or the PRO Act, is a step in the right direction.
In March, Governor Maura Healey announced that the state’s COVID-19 public health emergency would end on May 11 to align with the end of the federal public health emergency. She stated that the announcement was made ahead of the 45-day notice required by state law, allowing for additional time for impacted organizations to prepare for the end of the public health emergency.
Healey also filed legislation to extend key flexibilities provided by the public health emergency, particularly around staffing for the healthcare industry and emergency medical services (EMS).
“Thanks to the hard work of our health care providers and communities, we’ve made important progress in the fight against COVID-19,” Healey stated at the time she announced the end of the emergency. “We know that we have the tools to manage this virus – vaccines, masking, testing, getting treatments and staying home when sick – and we’ve reached the point where we can update our guidance to reflect where we are now.”