Level Up 2021 Report : simplebooklet.com

WE ARE BLACK WORKERS Introduction We are Black workers We built this country And we ve kept it running during the COVID 19 pandemic despite disproportionate risks to our health From the warehouse to the board room from the Deep South1 to Silicon Valley 2 we face discrimination in hiring 3 promotions 4 treatment and pay 5 We are the last hired first fired 6 and it shows Black unemployment remains at nearly 10 7 and underemployment is between 11 and 12 5 8 Black women suffered the largest loss of employment in the current recession and those who are employed only get paid about 64 cents for every dollar a white man makes 9 Black youth unemployment which was nearly twice that of white youth pre pandemic peaked at 35 in May 2020 and currently hovers near 20 10 We are essential We are on the front lines even though we are nearly three times more likely to be hospitalized with and nearly twice as likely to die from COVID 19 11 On top of the devastation of this past year we along with Latinx workers face further disproportionate job losses due to automation 12 Our employers laud us in the spotlight as heroes while they sacrifice our safety and dignity behind warehouse doors to boost their profits As Jennifer Bates a grandmother and worker at Amazon s Bessemer warehouse says We re just like machines 13 We will not be thrown away We demand a 01 Introduction 3 NBWC Level Up 2021

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seat a say and security at the table We already know that the current economy which is built on structural racism isn t working We know that policies designed without us won t help us 14 We have the opportunity to build an anti racist economy that works for everyone When we thrive the entire country thrives It s time to Level Up 15 we offer these demands in the spirit of Black Women Best the theory that when the economy works for Black women then it will finally work for everyone 16 We demand a Black Worker Relief Act to undo the legacy of slavery and intergenerational poverty The Act will support essential and low wage workers who risk their lives to keep the country fed and functioning but lack the resources and labor protections to support themselves and their families We propose a federal bill and state and local government action to start making these demands a reality now Resolving over 400 years of violence exploitation and extraction will require action at every level private and public sectors To create and sustain material change for Black lives we must Level Up We look forward to a future where all workers thrive in a country that finally achieves the shared prosperity we so desperately need 4

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The Black Worker Relief Act will Invest in immediate relief and job creation in the Black community Provide 2400 monthly checks to mothers with an additional 1 000 per month for mothers who are Black Indigenous or other economically disadvantaged people of color This policy will address four intersecting challenges that Black women face high unemployment low wages a racial gender wage gap of 50 for Black mothers 17 and the unpaid labor of childcare that Black women disproportionately bear By one estimate private companies systematically underpay Black women when compared to white men performing similar work to the tune of 50 billion per year 18 The pandemic intensified these pressures creating a she cession women as a whole lost 5 4 million jobs but had to shoulder outsized childcare and domestic duties to compensate for pandemic shutdowns 19 The federal pandemic response has yet to tackle this race and gender inequity with a substantial investment The 2 trillion infrastructure bill which invests 400 billion in care for the elderly and disabled should include a comparable investment in moms especially Black moms 02 5 Invest in immediate relief and job creation in the black community

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02 Over two thirds of Black women are the primary or sole providers for our families 20 However 60 of Black households in the U S reported serious financial difficulties caused by the pandemic compared to 36 of white households 21 By supporting Black women we support Black families and the entire country benefits Closing the race and gender gap in Black women s earnings would create over one million jobs and raise the annual GDP by up to 450 billion 22 Closing the Black wage gap overall would add a further 2 7 trillion to the economy 23 Provide training in quality jobs of the future Cities with high unemployment should establish training and incentive programs for high growth highwage fields with intentional tailoring to Black residents Governments can partner with community organizations and the private sector to offer targeted trainings in financial services professional services and IT fields in which Black people are underrepresented 24 Federal and local governments should offer incentives to companies who then hire Black graduates On the public sector front jobs programs addressing our country s critical need to improve its childcare infrastructure and combat climate change should center around Black and other marginalized communities 25 Leverage resources to benefit the Black community Another way to invest in Black communities while stimulating the economy is to provide grants to worker centers with Black leadership determined by a standard of 85 or higher of Black managers and board members 26 Worker centers fill an important gap in the community providing critical support leadership development and connections all of which promote community self reliance for the low wage marginalized workers at the forefront of the pandemic response What s more workers centers can fill in the gaps for undocumented workers who may not trust government agencies but 6

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whose precarious status makes them vulnerable to rampant employment law violations 27 State and local governments should also establish contracts and loan programs explicitly for Minority Business Enterprises and those businesses owned by socially disadvantaged people 28 These affirmative strategies are legally justified to remedy the effects of discrimination and its genuine physical and economic harm29 to Black Indigenous and people of color BIPOC communities While the latest COVID 19 relief package has some provisions regarding this it is not nearly sufficient to address the many years and methods of economic exploitation and harm suffered by Black communities from slavery and Jim Crow segregation to our exclusion from the New Deal to redlining displacement and consistent underinvestment Require targeted hiring on publicly funded projects Similarly development projects often push out Black and brown residents from their neighborhoods while creating profits for developers and desirable neighborhoods for white communities When these projects are funded by the government they drive public resources away from Black and brown communities continuing the legacy of overt discrimination Governments can instead choose equity by ensuring that the public resources that they administer excluded communities A targeted hiring program would require contractors on publicly funded projects to hire a percentage of their workers from economically distressed neighborhoods and set a preference for workers who a are of a race or ethnic group that has historically been excluded from worker protections where permitted by law b are formerly incarcerated c have a disability or d have been long term unemployed 30 To ensure success community based organizations with 85 Black leadership should be provided grants to conduct outreach in the most impacted neighborhoods and monitor program compliance Furthermore the program should require that contractors provide regular data that shows retention rates for workers hired under the program to ensure that Black workers are provided jobs that last beyond the program s life 7

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This way any time the government decides to spend money on development it also enlists the residents most in need of good jobs Cities should seek similar targeting from anchor employers e g cultural institutions universities and hospitals and other major government service contractors 31 All of these strategies will require authentic and robust community partnerships to connect people to the jobs and maintain connections between governments and residents of economically distressed neighborhoods Without proactive efforts governments will only continue to maintain manufactured inequities For example in Tennessee the state legislature overturned a local hire ballot initiative that Nashville voters had approved by a 16 point margin 32 This is an illustration of how state preemption laws thwart the rights of workers and often of voters to the particular detriment of Black and other BIPOC communities discussed further below Adopt best practices for equitable employment programs Governments should also take these concrete steps to advance Black workers a measure set benchmarks and evaluate program outcomes by race b actively recruit participants from communities of color c ensure participants with prior justice involvement are not excluded d offer positions that are accessible to workers with limited prior work experience e avoid requirements that could disproportionately screen out applicants of color and d offer incentives and support for employers to hire employment program participants 33 02 8 Invest in immediate relief and job creation in the black community

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Eliminate barriers to employment 03 Pass Clean Slate Acts federally and at the state level While white job applicants with a criminal record are more likely to get interviewed than Black applicants without one Black applicants with a criminal record find it nearly impossible to get a job Advocates across the country are pushing for divestment from mass incarceration and the structural racism it upholds 34 and a critical element that can be adopted federally and by states now is automatic record sealing and clearing The most promising model legislation is New York s Clean Slate bill which provides for automatic record sealing after one year for misdemeanors and three years for felonies post incarceration 35 Pennsylvania which was at the forefront of automatic record sealing continues to update and expand its law as well 36 Any legislation should avoid requiring fees which pose an undue burden on people returning home from prison Black communities are disproportionately harmed by the collateral consequences of convictions which are a driving force in the racial wealth gap These costs impact the economy as well just excluding people with convictions from employment costs the economy an estimated 78 billion to 87 billion per year in lost GDP 37 Protect workers and eliminate discrimination in the workplace Pass Just Cause Firing laws federally and at the state level The default of at will employment is failing America s low wage and marginalized workers enabling employers to subject them to unlawful workplace harassment discrimination unequal pay and retaliation with little to no recourse 38 These dynamics disproportionately harm Black workers particularly those with meager resources barriers to employment lack of immigration status and or language barriers A just cause firing law that codifies the seven part test utilized in collective bargaining agreements39 would rebalance the scales so that workers can perform their jobs with security and confidence in a system that upholds their dignity This policy should be pursued at the federal state and local levels the federal policy should establish a just base standard on which state and local governments are able to build depending on their unique needs Because it will likely take some time for a federal law to pass cities and states should lead the way now with just cause policies as some have already done New York City just enacted a bill requiring just cause to fire fast food workers 40 and Philadelphia has similar protections for parking employees 41 04 Protect workers and eliminate discrimination in the wrokplace 9

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Repeal laws allowing state interference in pro worker laws Across the country but particularly in the South preemption laws ban cities from implementing ordinances that benefit the community For example in a state with minimum wage preemption a city with a high cost of living cannot enact a higher local minimum wage law when compared to the state minimum wage that might fairly compensate workers struggling to make ends meet The Economic Policy Institute traces the history of this practice to the post slavery Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras when newly freed Black Americans had won federal state and local elections and were just beginning to exercise their power 42 Racist white southerners reasserted their position through intimidation and violence including massacres of Black people Southern states with predominantly white legislatures beholden to corporate lobbyists continue to pass reactionary laws that reverse progressive policies adopted by predominantly Black and brown cities In addition to the minimum wage and local hire laws mentioned above state legislatures have banned local paid sick leave fair scheduling rent control and many other measures 43 The sordid history of preemption echoes especially in the era of COVID 19 Black people have been forced to return unprotected to business as usual when white governors in states with the highest concentrations of Black people forbade local public health safety measures due to vocal protests from mostly white residents who refuse to wear masks 44 In a similarly repugnant parallel to Jim Crow era political suppression Republican lawmakers response to the 2020 election s record voter turnout in the South is hundreds of bills to restrict voter access and participation 45 These policies disproportionately harm Black voters 46 A sweeping voter suppression bill just passed in Georgia the state where unprecedented Black and brown turnout helped change the balance of power in the U S Senate 47 Local governments are best situated to determine what their community needs Marginalized Black and 10

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04 brown residents without the resources to lobby state legislatures can more easily make their voices heard with their local elected officials demand change and hold them accountable Preemption tramples this and it s no coincidence that the communities who suffer the most are Black brown and low income Promote equal pay Ban employers from asking about salary history Studies indicate that questions about salary history lock in the inequitable pay that white women women of color and men of color earn across industry controlling for education and achievement 48 In the states that have already implemented a ban Black workers earned about 13 higher pay and female workers about 8 Black women earned 16 more Importantly all workers earned approximately 5 more The rest of the country can promote higher pay for all workers and take major steps to eliminate the racial wage gap simply by enacting a salary history ban Update equal pay laws Black workers make about 73 cents for every dollar a white worker makes and Black women earn only 64 cents for every dollar a white male worker makes 49 Unequal pay deprives Black workers of their due compensation and entrenches already struggling families into poverty Congress and the states should adopt New Jersey s model equal pay legislation which prohibits pay 11

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discrimination for substantially similar work not just based on gender but based on any protected classes as defined by state law Furthermore the legislation effectively discourages pay discrimination by allowing workers to include up to six years of discriminatory wages in their back pay claims and permitting judgments that triple any monetary damages awarded In a step forward for pay transparency the legislation also requires state contractors to report their demographic and wage data to the state labor department Federal and state laws should also prohibit employers from retaliating against threatening or firing employees who discuss their pay also covered in New Jersey s legislation All levels of government must also commit resources to better enforcement of existing federal and state laws Transparency on pay hires and leadership State city and county departments of labor should follow New Jersey s lead and require contractors to report on wages and demographics for their employees including management or senior leadership demographics Governments as employers must advance workplace equity to benefit the Black and brown communities that are the furthest from opportunity and wealth or else they risk further entrenching those inequities Private employers must also be willing to lead Many are already under pressure to prove their commitment to racial equity after publicly supporting the protests for racial justice of 2020 In their annual diversity reports alongside data on the demographics of hires and leadership employers should also report on the demographics of applicants and the likelihood of Black men and Black women successfully applying This is a missing element of the data needed to realize workplace Diversity Equity Inclusion DEI goals DEI goals deserve scrutiny as well rather than committing to negligible increases in Black hiring and leadership companies should aim to at least reflect the population of the local 04 Protect workers and eliminate discrimination in the wrokplace 12

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community Thus in a region with 50 Black residents the company s goal should be that 50 of its workforce is Black and they should create action plans to ensure that 8 hold meaningful leadership roles Establish and strengthen government offices that protect workers Federal Government 05 Government agencies can choose to uphold the racist status quo or actively seek to dismantle it there is no middle ground The Biden Administration should continue to lead the way and make good on its promise to promote racial equity50 by establishing a Black Worker Office devoted to advancing full quality employment for Black workers The Office should be charged with resetting the baseline for Black workers so that we are on equal footing regarding employment rates wages and salary benefits career advancement and experience of harassment or discrimination To this end the Office will help coordinate policy between federal agencies and with the various levels of government across the country A Black Worker Office will complement the Administration s existing efforts to prioritize racial equity in stimulus disbursement 51 The Office will help ensure that racial equity drives other key decisions and offer guidance and technical support to state and local governments to do the same Another key avenue for executive action is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC which investigates and sometimes files employment discrimination claims but is beset with high caseloads and a years long backlog The Administration should increase funding to double EEOC staff provide effective anti racist trainings and task the agency with taking a proactive role in resolving workplace discrimination This should include setting goals to pursue an explicit number of cases with particular emphasis on race discrimination and harassment claims along with intersectional claims those involving claims of race and gender race and LGBT status etc State and Local Governments City county and state governments should immediately set up companion offices devoted to Black workers Furthermore they must establish or strengthen offices that can address workers rights violations which cost workers an estimated 50 billion in lost wages per year 52 Even with new laws to protect and advance workers every level of government must ensure that it a conducts proper outreach both to workers and small businesses so workers are aware of their rights and businesses understand their obligations b enforces existing labor laws investigates unfair labor practice claims wins remedies for workers identifies repeat violators and deters further violations c acts as a community resource to curb the undue influence of wealthy businesses and supports workers and small businesses A city Office of Labor Standards for instance adds a layer of resources to state labor departments and can better meet these needs Without public resources low wage workers are unlikely to afford or have access to lawyers and may not know that they are entitled to remedies such as stolen wages State regional and local governments should also take the Administration s lead and set up 13

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06 In the wake of the 2020 racial uprisings countless individuals companies and elected officials proclaimed their support for Black Lives Now it s time to Level Up from words to actions Hire us Promote us Follow our lead Learn from us Pay us a living wage so we can support our families We have overcome centuries of exploitation It is time for equity As our country seeks to reinvent itself once again let s finally place Black workers at the center of an economic recovery that works for everyone Notes 1 Andre M Perry et al Amazon s union battle in Bessemer Alabama is about dignity racial justice and the future of the American worker March 16 2021 https www brookings edu blog the avenue 2021 03 16 the amazon union battle in bessemer isabout dignity racial justice and the future of the american worker 2 Sidney Fussell Black Tech Employees Rebel Against Diversity Theater March 8 2021 https www wired com story black tech employees rebel against diversity theater 3 See Jason Del Rey Amazon s Black employees report years of racism at the company February 26 2021 https www vox com recode 2021 2 26 22297554 amazon race black diversity inclusion describing discrimination in hiring pay treatment and promotions 4 See Alyse Stanley Facebook Is Reportedly Under Investigation for Systemic Racial Bias in Its Workplace March 6 2021 https gizmodo com facebook is reportedly under investigation for systemic 1846423024 describing discrimination in hiring treatment and promotions 5 See e g Nitasha Tiku Why Tech Leadership May Have a Bigger Race Than Gender Problem October 3 2017 https www wired com story tech leadership race problem 6 Jhacova Williams Laid Off More Hired Less Black Workers in the COVID 19 Recession September 29 2020 https www rand org blog 2020 09 laid off more hired less black workers in the covid html 7 Nate Rattner and Thomas Frank Black and Hispanic women aren t sharing in the job market recovery March 5 2021 https cnb cx 2NXiuo5 8 Ray Nunn et al Race and Underemployment in the US Labor Market August 1 2019 https www brookings 15

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edu blog up front 2019 08 01 race and underemployment in the u s labor market 9 Elise Gould and Valerie Wilson Black workers face two of the most lethal preexisting conditions for coronavirus racism and economic inequality June 1 2020 https www epi org publication black workers covid 10 Jazmin Goodwin It s not just about money Black youth will bear permanent scars from this recession July 7 2020 https amp cnn com cnn 2020 07 07 economy unemployment black youth index html U S Bureau of Labor Statistics Unemployment Rate 16 19 Yrs Black or African American retrieved from FRED Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis https fred stlouisfed org series LNS14000018 March 18 2021 11 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Risk for COVID 19 Infection Hospitalization and Death By Race Ethnicity updated March 12 2021 https www cdc gov coronavirus 2019 ncov covid data investigations discovery hospitalization death by race ethnicity h tml 12 Abigail Johnson Hess The pandemic accelerated job automation and Black and Latino workers are most likely to be replaced March 17 2021 https www cnbc com 2021 03 17 black latino workers most likely to be replaced by automation report html 13 Ryan Bort Jennifer Bates on Organizing Amazon s Alabama Union Drive and Taking on Jeff Bezos March 29 2021 https www rollingstone com politics politics features jennifer bates amazon union organizer interview jeff bezos 1147426 14 Margaret Teresa Brower and Jamila Michener Latina and Black women lost jobs in record numbers Policies designed for all women don t necessarily help February 9 2021 https www washingtonpost com politics 2021 02 09 latina black women lost jobs record numbers policies designed all women dont necessarily help 15 Level Up is an initiative by the National Black Worker Centers Project to provide more support more knowledge and more resources to organize and build up Black worker power Black workers have been ready to destroy the systems that keep all workers in chains and we re leveling up so that we can take on larger more impactful campaigns to end discrimination in the workplace because our people deserve it 16 Kendra Bozarth Grace Western And Janelle Jones Black Women Best The Framework We Need for an Equitable Economy September 2020 https rooseveltinstitute org wp content uploads 2020 09 RI_Black Women Best_IssueBrief 202009 pdf 17 That is Black mothers earn 50 for every 1 a white father earns Jasmine Tucker It s 2020 and Black Women Aren t Even Close to Equal Pay July 2020 https nwlc org wp content uploads 2020 07 Black Womens Equal Pay Day Factsheet 7 27 20 v3 pdf 18 Michelle Holder The Double Gap and the Bottom Line African American Women s Wage Gap and Corporate Profits March 2020 https rooseveltinstitute org wp content uploads 2020 07 RI_DoubleGap_Report_202003 pdf 19 Should mothers get a monthly 2 400 stimulus check The Marshall Plan for Moms is making waves February 4 2021 https www nbcnews com know your value feature should mothers get 2 400 stimulus check each month marshall ncna1256752 20 https www americanprogress org issues women reports 2020 04 23 483846 frontlines work home 21 https www npr org sections health shots 2020 09 18 912731744 how the pandemic is widening the racial wealth gap 22 Goldman Sachs Black Womenomics Investing in the Underinvested March 9 2021 https www goldmansachs com insights pages black womenomics f black womenomics report pdf 23 Niall McCarthy Wage Gaps Are Costing the U S Economy Trillions of Dollars September 24 2020 https www statista com chart 23021 gain in gdp is wage gaps were closed 24 https www hrdive com news without change black workers wont reach parity for 95 years report says 595589 25 See Kendra Bozarth Grace Western And Janelle Jones Black Women Best The Framework We Need for an Equitable Economy September 2020 https rooseveltinstitute org wp content uploads 2020 09 RI_Black Women Best_IssueBrief 202009 pdf https www politico com news 2021 03 23 black workers pandemic recovery 477640 26 27 See Adelante Alabama Worker Center Working on the Edge A Survey of Low Wage Workers in the Birmingham Area Amid a Global Pandemic February 2021 http adelantealabama org wp content uploads 2013 10 Adelante_Working on the Edge 2021eng FINAL pdf 28 A similar program in Alameda County lists a strategic outcome as Under representation of target businesses shall be eliminated as a result of participation and an increase in the number of economically and culturally diverse individual community contractors shall be realized See Alameda County Small Local Emerging Business Program https www acgov org auditor sleb faq htm 13 29 Disparity studies may be required in order to legally justify race forward programs See Minority Business Development Agency Barriers and Factors Affecting Minority Business Enterprises A Review of Existing Disparity Studies December 2016 https archive mbda gov sites mbda gov files migrated files attachments ContractingBarriers_AReviewofExistingDisparityStudies pdf 16

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30 Recommendations from PolicyLink Local and Targeted Hiring https www policylink org find resources library local and targeted hiring 31 Governments should stop contracting out public services but until then they can at least ensure their contractors are providing living wage jobs to Black and brown communities https black2thefuture org wp content uploads 2020 02 BlackAgenda2020 pdf 32 Hunter Blair et al Preempting progress September 30 2020 https www epi org publication preemption in the south 33 Recommendations from Chris Warland Subsidized Employment Responses to COVID 19 How Cities and States can Prioritize Equity and Efficacy June 2020 https nationalinitiatives issuelab org resource subsidized employment responses to covid 19 how cities and states can prioritize equity and efficacy html 34 Black to the Future Action Fund Black Agenda 2020 https black2thefuture org wp content uploads 2020 02 BlackAgenda2020 pdf 35 Marco Poggio Expansive NY Bill to Expunge Criminal Records Gains Steam March 7 2021 https www law360 com articles 1359001 expansive ny bill to expunge criminal records gains steam 36 https www law360 com articles 1290968 how pa is setting the pace on clean slate reform 37 American Civil Liberties Union Back to Business How Hiring Formerly Incarcerated Job Seekers Benefits Your Company 2017 https www aclu org sites default files field_document 060917 trone reportweb_0 pdf 38 Kate Andrias and Alexander Hertel Fernandez Ending At Will Employment A Guide for Just Cause Reform January 2021 https rooseveltinstitute org wp content uploads 2021 01 RI_AtWill_Report_202101 pdf 39 See e g Robert M Schwartz Using Just Cause to Defend Against Unfair Discipline January 15 2019 https labornotes org 2019 01 using just cause defend against unfair discipline 40 City of New York Mayor de Blasio Signs Just Cause Worker Protection Bills for Fast Food Employees January 5 2021 https www1 nyc gov office of the mayor news 005 21 mayor de blasio signs just cause worker protection bills fast food employees text In 20order 20for 20an 20employer policy 20and 20applied 20it 20consistently text 1396 2DA 20 Adams 20allows in 20reverse 20order 20of 20seniority 41 Candace Chewning Why Philly s new Just Cause law for parking workers is so important September 11 2019 https www phila gov 2019 09 11 why phillys new just cause law for parking workers is so important 42 Hunter Blair et al Preempting progress September 30 2020 https www epi org publication preemption in the south 43 Local Solutions Support Center The Increased Use and Abuse of Preemption https www supportdemocracy org preemption 44 Alicia Garza We Asked 30 000 Black Americans What They Need to Survive Here s What They Said May 1 2020 https time com 5828803 black americans coronavirus needs 45 Benjamin Barber Republicans ramp up efforts to suppress voting in Southern states February 12 2021 https www facingsouth org 2021 02 republicans ramp efforts suppress voting southern states 46 Richard Fausset et al Why the Georgia G O P s Voting Rollbacks Will Hit Black People Hard March 26 2021 https www nytimes com 2021 03 25 us politics georgia black voters html 47 https www washingtonpost com politics georgia voting restrictions 2021 03 25 91009e72 8da1 11eb 9423 04079921c915_ story html 48 James E Bessen Chen Meng and Erich Denk Perpetuating Inequality What Salary History Bans Reveal About Wages June 1 2020 https ssrn com abstract 3628729 49 Elise Gould and Valerie Wilson Black workers face two of the most lethal preexisting conditions for coronavirus racism and economic inequality June 1 2020 https www epi org publication black workers covid 50 See Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government January 21 2021 https www whitehouse gov briefing room presidential actions 2021 01 20 executive order advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government 51 See Alan Rappeport Treasury Ramps Up Racial Equity Review as It Deploys Relief Funds March 17 2021 https www nytimes com 2021 03 17 us politics treasury racial equity html 52 Celine McNicholas Zane Mokhiber and Adam Chaikof Two billion dollars in stolen wages were recovered for workers in 2015 and 2016 and that s just a drop in the bucket December 13 2017 https www epi org publication two billion dollars in stolen wages were recovered for workers in 2015 and 2016 and thats just a drop in the bucket 17

Level Up 2021 Report

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