Civic - Facing widespread unemployment, restaurant workers have struggled during the pandemic

Facing widespread unemployment, restaurant workers have struggled during the pandemic

07/24/21 • 30 min

The pandemic and related precautions affected millions of restaurant workers around the country — unemployment in the restaurant industry shot up to more than 40% nationwide in April 2020, and to 60% in the Bay Area, according to the State of Restaurant Workers report from the advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. Zoe Caras, national research associate for the organization, explains what the report found in the Bay Area and what those numbers meant for workers.

Previous Episode

Why advocates are suing a Bay Area city over an RV ban they call "inhumane"

The city of Mountain View is prohibiting oversize vehicle parking on streets that are 40 feet wide or, which more than 80 percent of the city’s streets are. While the ordinance is described as a traffic safety measure, according to local reporting, the ban primarily affects homeless people living in vehicles. Last week, a group of civil rights organizations filed suit against the city over that ordinance, describing it as unconstitutional and inhumane. Michael Trujillo, an attorney with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, one of the organizations bringing the suit, and Yesica Prado, a photojournalist who has documented the lives of vehicle dwellers for the San Francisco Public Press and who herself lives in her RV, give some regional context for the ordinance and explain what the lawsuit is about.

Next Episode

The Return of Bay Area Traffic Congestion

The daily work commute nearly disappeared in March of 2020 as the Bay Area went into pandemic lockdown, and while travel on public transit continues to lag this Summer, many Bay Area residents are getting behind the wheel to get to and from their jobs. We talk to a CalTrans spokesperson about current traffic patterns and with a radio traffic reporter about what he has seen on the roads during the pandemic.