Union workers call for LA County shutdown in January, but not without financial assistance

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A teachers union, which also represents nurses, counselors, and librarians in Los Angeles, is urging the county Board of Supervisors to order a mandatory four-week shutdown and give workers a financial stimulus to help struggling residents deal with the worsening coronavirus pandemic. 

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The petition-- signed by several union groups as well as medical experts-- urges local officials to close all non-essential businesses and activities in the county for the first four weeks of January to stop the spread of the virus, as over 22,000 new cases were reported Wednesday in Los Angeles County alone, the highest daily count since the start of the pandemic. 

Activists argue the proposed "circuit breaker," which would mandate stay-at-home orders, would help to slow the transmission of the virus, while also offering financial support to businesses so they can remain closed, as well as to families who are forced to choose between going to work or staying safe from the virus. 

A shutdown must be accompanied by "a financial survival package for workers," United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Without that, it’s clear that elected leaders expect workers to risk their lives in order to pay rent."

Her comments come as small businesses are suing the county for their ban on outdoor dining, and other similar restrictions, which have crippled the restaurant industry and caused numerous businesses to shutter for good. 

The county board will meet Tuesday to map out a plan.

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Meanwhile, California is grappling with worsening infection rates. On Thursday, the state reported a staggering 52,000 new cases in a single day — equal to what the entire U.S. was averaging in mid-October — and a one-day record of 379 deaths. More than 16,000 people are in the hospital with the coronavirus across the state, more than triple the number a month ago.

Intensive care unit capacity is at less than 1% in many California counties, and morgue space is also running out, in what is increasingly resembling the disaster last spring in New York City.

This crisis has unfolded despite statewide mask mandates and rollouts of new restrictive measures, including limitations on in-person classes for students--another issue addressed by the union activists. 

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"Due to uncontrolled viral spread, children in Los Angeles are facing the prospect of an entire school year spent without much-needed in-person instruction," the letter to the board said. "Instead, we saw cardrooms, bars, brewpubs, in-person dining, mini-golf, hair salons, and non-essential retail allowed to reopen in LA County, even as students and educators struggled together to navigate crisis distance learning.

"Our teachers want to be in classrooms with their students, and our students need to be in classrooms with their teachers and friends — but only when it is safe to return, in a way that does not further exacerbate the racial and economic inequities of this pandemic," the letter continued. 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.