WHEREAS, the World Health Organization has declared the novel Coronavirus a pandemic and public health emergency; and

WHEREAS, both the U.S. and Illinois governments have declared states of emergency and Governor Pritzker has issued a “Shelter in Place” order; and

WHEREAS, these extraordinary circumstances have resulted in an unprecedented downturn in commercial activity and a corresponding economic crisis impacting vast numbers of working class people; and

WHEREAS, the hardship facing U.S. workers on account of this crisis involves growing ranks of un- and under-employed people in a variety of industries whose ability to meet basic needs is increasingly under threat; and

WHEREAS, the crisis will not cease soon but will likely intensify for the foreseeable future; and

WHEREAS, the support offered to U.S. workers by local, state, and national governments has thus far been inadequate given the severity of the circumstances; and

WHEREAS, the Chicago News Guild stands in solidarity with the entirety of the international working class:

RESOLVED, that the Chicago News Guild, in the interest of its membership and the entire working class, will demand Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and U.S government officials immediately and indefinitely waive the collection of all rent, mortgage, utility, and debt payments; and

RESOLVED, that the Chicago News Guild will urge the membership and all officers of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) to demand the same in their locale and at every level of government; and

RESOLVED, that the Chicago News Guild will urge fellow member organizations of the AFL-CIO to demand the same in their locale and at every level of government; and

RESOLVED, that the Chicago News Guild will call upon officials of the CWA International Union to convene a meeting as soon as possible wherein strategies for effectively organizing around this demand will be developed and a plan put in place to make the conditions for which it calls a reality.

Approved March 30, 2020

Chicago News Guild Executive Board Local 34071