Newsom: Protect Californians From the Coronavirus Crisis!
We, the tenants of Brookdale San Pablo, are facing a no-cause eviction by a national corporation in just 2 weeks on March 30th. We are also all senior citizens - the exact demographic of people that could be killed if infected with COVID-19.
While new cases of the contagious coronavirus are announced every day within California, with the high cost of housing and homelessness, and requests by public officials, employers, and Universities to work from home we ask that you immediately docket an emergency ordinance to protect all Californian's like us at risk of hardship or death during this crisis. Our demands include:
- An Immediate Moratorium on all Evictions - with double digit increases in the homeless population across the state and some of the most expensive rental markets in the nation the need to protect residents facing eviction and homelessness and the potential spread of this disease is of paramount importance to the health, safety and welfare of your constituents.
- Emergency Income Assistance - we must guarantee pay for workers who have to forgo work for no fault of their own due to the coronavirus outbreak. Government should step in by providing emergency assistance to “backfill” a substantial share of any income lost to any worker during this crisis, regardless of classification as an employee or contractor. This also encourages workers to stay home when sick rather than risking spread of the virus by continuing to work to prevent income loss.
- Preserve Medical Benefits - Employers should be required to maintain the health benefits of their current employees, regardless of hours worked, and suspend the implementation of any other policy or practice which would otherwise terminate the healthcare benefits of anyone who currently receives such benefits. State and local government should similarly suspend any action to terminate anyone from any public plan of any kind.
- Prevent Utility Shut-Offs - Widespread loss of income will also likely cause increased numbers of people to fall behind on bills and risk having their water, gas, electricity, and other basic utility services shut-off. All public and private utilities doing business in the state should halt all utility shut-offs during this crisis.
It is critical for as many people as possible to heed public health recommendations and take action to limit and slow the spread of coronavirus. In order to ensure that happens we must together take action to limit the economic impact of coronavirus.