The Right to Come Home After Work

Good safe jobs are a right for all workers, but equally critical is the right to a safe, secure home. The current economic crisis caused by the pandemic has led countless low-wage and immigrant workers to face the very real possibility of not only losing their jobs but also their homes. MassCOSH’s worker-led Immigrant Worker Center has made eviction prevention a high priority for the East Boston communities where many of Boston’s immigrant workforce calls home.  

On October 14, just a few days before the eviction moratorium signed into law by on April 20 expired, MassCOSH Board Member and Worker Center leader Mayra Molina represented MassCOSH at a widely reported protest in front of the Swampscott home of Governor Charlie Bake. Joining nearly 150 protestors, Mayra and other MassCOSH members called for more to be done to prevent the eviction of workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.   

Rather than extending the moratorium, the Governor’s answer was to expand the capacity of the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program to provide relief to renters and landlords struggling because of the pandemic. Worker Center Organizer Brenda Quintana attended trainings held by our allies on RAFT to better support our Immigrant Worker Center members in danger of losing their homes.  

MassCOSH will continue to join with our allies in the Massachusetts COVID-19 Response Alliance and the Massachusetts Public Health Association’s Equity Task Force to advocate for a strong safety net for workers that includes housing security, earned paid sick time, and workers' compensation benefits.