As a worker member you will be part of a diverse network of restaurant employees working to create a better industry for us all. At this moment we are not charging dues or joining fees as we grow our initial numbers but donations are greatly appreciated and we encourage everyone to sign our petition to tell Governor Bill Lee that at risk employees should be able to remain on unemployment insurance.
ROC Music City is fighting to get the Nashville hospitality and service industry back to work safely in the midst of a national health emergency. We want to do this as quickly as possible without sacrificing the lives or safety of any workers or customers in our community, and we are asking for your help.
The TN state government is acting against federal guidelines and rushing to allow businesses to reopen without implementing sufficient workplace protections. “Getting back to normal” will simply not be good enough without adequate COVID testing or a plan to protect customers and workers from asymptomatic spread of this highly infectious disease.
Employers are not currently required to disclose confirmed cases of COVID-19 to other employees or patrons, nor are they required to shut down to perform any additional sanitation procedures if a case is discovered at their workplace. Customers are only recommended to wear PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and some restaurants currently operate without providing proper PPE to their employees.
This is a FOOD SAFETY ISSUE for all of us. Tennessee lawmakers and business owners are endangering the health and safety of our community by not taking adequate steps to create new safety measures based on the guidelines set by public health professionals. We want to do our jobs to nourish our customers without having to worry if we are serving them a death sentence, or becoming ill ourselves from performing normal job duties.
The COVID-19 health emergency and the rush to reopen businesses raises many other issues related to hospitality and service workers, including:
∙ Will employers be responsible for providing adequate PPE to their employees?
∙ If proper PPE cannot be obtained for the entire staff will restaurants stop operations?
∙ Will we be taking valuable PPE supply from our healthcare workers on the front lines?
∙ If state guidelines require people to wear masks in public, how are patrons supposed to safely eat or drink?
∙ What new cleaning and sanitation procedures will be taken in food service to prevent further spread of COVID-19?
∙ How will bars or restaurants adequately enforce social distancing?
∙ If workers get sick on the job, will they receive paid time off or workers comp?
∙ If workers are exposed or feel unsafe, will they be allowed to properly self isolate without fear of retribution?
∙ Who will be responsible for oversight to ensure safe workplace procedures are being implemented?
ROC Music City does not believe workers should return to their workplace until they receive adequate safety measures. We do not want to risk further outbreaks that potentially endanger customers, cost lives and ultimately delay the complete recovery of our industry.