25 Comments

I would say that I will boycott Taco Bell but I already don't eat that crap, anyway!

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"I'll have a side of Covid with that burger."

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Write the National restaurant association and tell them your family will be eating home cooked meals until ALL employees are required to be vaccinated.

askus@restaurant.org

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Here’s what I wrote — took a little dig at corporate head honchos but otherwise, I hope, not a fire-setter:

(Subject line) Why don’t fast food employees get paid time off to be vaccinated?

(Body)

Dear National Restaurant Association,

It’s simply shameful that you lobby against mandatory vaccination, while encouraging upper echelon restaurant staff (who can afford to take time off, being “inessential” I suppose) to get Vaxxed.

Here’s a column by Judd Legum. I’ll happily share your answer to this email with him and his readers. Please don’t delay.

Sincerely,

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Good one. I can only wish to be that succinct.

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Great suggestion, I’ll do that rn

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Thank you MNCares.

Email sent. I was very polite -- unless, calling the CEO's and other executives money-grubbers and hypocrites is considered threatening.

Although I might get a visit from the (fake) internet police (RWNJS that THINK they have control of the web), but I suspect that there isn't too many of them on this thread.

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Hah, oddly enough I woke up this morning thinking about labor issues, and then this column popped up in my email.

Although I’m retired, and health conscious, and therefore prepare and eat most of my meals myself, my heart goes out to these (mostly non union) hourly workers whose bosses’ organizations actively OPPOSE putting infrastructure in place (paid time off) so they can keep themselves and their families safe. I also question the survey showing that lack of such infrastructure is third place after distrust of vaccines. I well remember being an hourly paid worker myself (into my late twenties, until I finished law school), and even in the good old 1970s, one did not question one’s employer or ask for “special perks” unless absolutely back against the wall — and even then, one (I) lied if the issue was anything less than the death of a parent or sibling. By now, in a Covid related economic downturn, labor conditions seem even worse in the US, and these decisions affect family breadwinners, parents, even managers who don’t qualify as “corporate staff” or “client facing professionals” (how much more “client-facing” can one be than a cashier or stock clerk at a CVS store?).

It’s sickening as usual. Thanks for shedding light on this issue, Judd & co.

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I am so glad I don’t eat at any of the restaurants you’ve mentioned. Sad for those who work there: the employer could care less about them.

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“The Senate voted 52-48 to approve the resolution…” Who were the 2 Democrats who voted with with the Republicans? 🤬

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Manchin and Tester.

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Good question.

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Thank you Judd, I really appreciate your well-researched newsletters!

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And the workers don’t put two and two together that their corporate overlords are all safely vaccinated.

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Dear Judd, at this time of year I want to thank you for all the light you bring into the world: the light of truth, the light of reason, and the light of compassion.

Stories like these make me either want to cry or to bash someone's head against the wall. If it's not obvious to everyone, after all we've gone through, that our economic system is trickle-up, not trickle-down, then darkness rules. And that means we need voices like yours more than ever.

On a personal note I would like to throw in my opinion of the vaxxed/not-vaxxed debate. Let us be kind to one another and stop treating the vaccine-hesitant like lepers. Cynical politicians (I'm looking at you, GOP), a brutal media cycle, and the fear both those things engender set us one against the other. Can we just stop?

Happy holidays and stay healthy, please.

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But why?!

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Welcome to the Corporate States of (what used to be) America. Where labor laws like RTW (for more danger, less pay and benefits) have even invaded a formerly pro-union state like my state, Michigan. Vote blue only!

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at first i was adamant that everyone should be forced to get vaccinated but lately i'm changing my tune. i still believe we should encourage it for the good of the country and for one's personal health but there is only so much you can do. i think persons who refuse to get vaccinated are playing a form of russian roulette with their own lives. i understand it does affect others as well but mainly the unvaxed are the ones most at risk. i do think they should be held accountable for their poor choices i.e. payment of medical bills resulting from infection, not allowed on airlines, loss of job where employer requires vax, etc.... perhaps economic penalties will motivate them. in the meantime i wear my mask and try to keep my distance.

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founding

Add to the harm the unvaccinated do to others: they take up ICU beds and nurse and doctor care that burdens all of us. [people in need of "elective" surgery cannot be treated--heart, cancer, anyone not in extremis.]

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I'm still convinced that unless we mandate that all eligible persons ( DOES NOT INCLUDE RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS) above the age of 5 (the current low age for safe vaccination) MUST get the vaccine. The un-vaccinated are a danger to the very thing they think they are protecting, freedom.

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No change here. They are a threat to others as well as themselves. It's a personal choice as to whether you drive sober or not, but if you choose to get stinko and jump in your car, your choice is no longer purely personal.

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No bueno Taco Bell.

Drop the Chalupa!

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Another NRA (National Restaurant Association) to dislike.

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founding

Wonderful that you've added the numbers for the good that corporate support for their employees can result in increasing vaccinations. However, if I've been reading and listening correctly, none of our current vaccines are very effective against the Omicron variant. Apparently, only the Moderna booster has a helpful immunizing impact to protect us against this new Covid mutation. So, Judd, can you find out if our brilliant and brave scientists are at work on a new vaccine for this new threat? It would be sad if getting vaccinated will not protect anyone [until they get a Moderna booster]!

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Apparently you haven't been reading and listening correctly. Or maybe you have been attending to sources that are less than honest. This may help: https://scitechdaily.com/how-effective-are-covid-vaccines-against-the-omicron-variant-an-epidemiologist-explains/ also this https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/omicron/ Bottom line: there is a difference between less protection and no protection. Because there are numbers between 0% and 100%. This should surprise nobody.

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