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Essential Work, Excessive Risk: Warehouse Work in Chicago and Southern California
February 10, 2021 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm CST
Free with Registration
For warehouse workers during the pandemic, being deemed “essential” meant their work was suddenly visible to the public and recognized for its importance. But pulling back the veil on warehouse shop floors has also highlighted what workers and advocates have been saying for years: warehouse work is hard on workers’ bodies, health and safety risks are widespread, and new technologies are exacerbating substandard working conditions. As one of the few bright spots in the economy, warehouse employment has grown during the pandemic, but so too have the hazards faced by the disproportionately Latino and Black workforce. This conversation will highlight recent campaigns to address warehouse working conditions in Chicago and the Inland Empire, two major logistics hubs in the country.
Join us as Beth Gutelius, senior researcher at Great Cities Institute and research director of the Center for Urban Economic Development, is joined by frontline organizers and workers: Roberto Clack and Ronald Jackson of Warehouse Workers for Justice (Chicago) and Sheheryar Kaoosji of Warehouse Worker Resource Center (Inland Empire).
Co-sponsored by the UIC Center for Urban Economic Development and GCI’s Latino Research Initiative.
