Chapter Statement

DSA Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Demands a Working Class Response to COVID-19

We are calling on state and local leaders in Ohio and Kentucky to take action to protect working people in the face of the present crisis.

DSA

• 1 min read

Even as the US government spend trillions of taxpayer dollars propping up major corporations, working class people are being left to fend for ourselves as the pandemic rages on and society grinds to a halt. DSA demands a working class response to the Coronavirus outbreak. The present crisis is an expression of the underlying crisis of capitalism and bosses and landlords must be made to pay for it, not workers and tenants.

We are calling on Governors Beshear & DeWine; the Kentucky and Ohio House and Senate Leaderships; Mayors Cranley, Meyer, and Peluso; Boone, Campbell, Hamilton, & Kenton County Officials; and the City Councils of Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport to enact the following measures:

Utilities

  • Moratorium on utility shut offs, including water, gas, electric, telephone, internet, and cable
  • Suspension of all fees or debts related to utilities

Housing

  • Moratorium on evictions and suspension of eviction court cases in Hamilton County
  • Automatic extension of expiring leases
  • Open vacant properties or underutilized dwellings to shelter people experiencing homelessness when existing shelters reach capacity
  • Suspension of all fees or debts accrued for rents and mortgages during the crisis period

Employment

  • Guarantee paid sick leave for all Ohio workers, and emergency paid coverage for all temp and gig workers.

Healthcare

  • Guarantee free access to COVID-19 testing and treatment at the point of service
  • Provide free medical transportation to hospitals
  • Prohibit all ICE access to people seeking medical attention
  • Transportation and long term care support for the disabled and elderly.
  • Release of all prisoners currently held for nonviolent crimes.

Food Security

  • Establish free meals programs
  • Provide free food for those in quarantine
  • Prohibit price gouging and hoarding

Childcare & Family

  • Establish an emergency funding program for individuals and families affected by the crisis
  • Provide free temporary childcare during the crisis
  • Scale up existing child and protective services support to meet anticipated demands