In the ongoing fight to get economic relief to suffering families and local communities, one of the sticking points that corrupt nihilist Sen. Moscow Mitch McConnell has insisted is a provision barring employees from suing their employers if and when they get sick with COVID-19. We've seen the horror stories of the meat packing plants and other industries that have offered little or no safety protections against the virus' transmission, forcing workers to show up or face dismissal so that the industries can maintain their profit margins, boost the economy, and donate to the Republicans.
Now, in a development that highlights the chaos in the Republican political establishment, the White (Supremacist) House is indicating Moscow Mitch's pet provision is not important enough to scuttle the relief package:
"One of the people familiar with the administration’s thinking said the measure was 'considered important but not absolutely essential.'
The dealmaking flexibility conflicts with the ultimatum McConnell has given Democrats that any congressional stimulus package must make it significantly harder for workers and customers to sue employers and businesses for damages related to the coronavirus."Forcing workers back to work as the pandemic rages while not allowing them to sue if their employer is negligent in providing protections is classic e-coli Republicanism: cut regulations that protect the worker and consumer, break their unions and undermine their ability to sue, and pad the profits of the employer / donor. Dems can now apply greater pressure on this issue, so we'll see if Moscow Mitch gets rolled this time.
(photo: The Turd and the Turtle. Susan Walsh/AP)
