Earlier today Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden joined a virtual town hall to discuss issues of workplace safety in the food industry amid the coronavirus pandemic and how this is disproportionately affecting the Latino community.
The virtual town hall was hosted by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Univision. Biden joined LULAC’s National President, Domingo Garcia, as well as LULAC CEO Sindy Benavides, Representatives Bennie Thompson (MS-2), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Joaquin Castro, CHC Chair (TX-20) and Filemon Vela (TX-34) for the hour long event. The discussion focused around how to protect essential workers’ rights, the impact on Latino families and what the government can do to address these critical issues affecting the U.S. food supply chain.
“Every single day 5 out of 6 Latinos have to leave their houses to go to work and get paid. 5 out 6 Latinos every single day are sacrificing their lives to make sure that America keeps running” said Sindy Benavides. Not only are Latinos in the frontlines, but many of them are immigrants who are afraid because they have no status, no protections, and live under the threat of deportation.
“How are we made better or stronger as a nation when immigrant and Latino communities, so many of whom are working in the very plants that are now designated as essential to our economy and food supply live in a daily terror of an ICE raid in their work place” said Biden when talking about the current policies in place by the Trump administration.
During the town hall speakers heard from the sons and daughters of essential workers who spoke about the toll the current pandemic has taken on them and how it has affected their families. All of them talked about the dire conditions their parents face while working at these plants and how some of them are currently in the ICU fighting for their lives.
Biden called the stories heart wrenching and talked about his efforts to get provide front line workers with better pay and protections. “These workers are essential, not only in times of crisis but all the time” said Biden.
This is one of the many efforts of candidate Biden to reach the Latino community and garner their support for November’s presidential elections.
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