These workers were twice as likely to contract COVID-19 than their white-collar counterparts, according to Joblist, a job searching website, and only 16% are still working remotely compared to 49% of white-collar workers.
“It makes sense,” Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), told Yahoo Money. “When you think about who is being made to go to work, those people oftentimes have less power in the workplace.”
“A lot of it has to do with power,” Gould said. “People who have been able to negotiate for themselves, higher wages and better benefits, are also the ones who are able to work from the safety of their own home.”
Gould noted that some front-line essential workers have received improved safety and health standards in the workplace, especially those with unions that have more leverage in workplace negotiations.
“But for many people, they haven’t been able to enjoy the privileges that many white-collar workers have enjoyed over the last year,” she said. “It’s just another sign of what the disparities in the workplace mean for people who are able to continue getting their paycheck and not risk their health.”
Many blue-collar jobs have been considered “essential” during the pandemic. Data from EPI shows that people of color make up the majority of essential workers in food and agriculture and in industrial, commercial, residential facilities, and services.
“When you think about lower-paid workers, we’re not just talking about income disparities and power,” Gould said. “You’re also talking about race.”
The erosion of labor standards, such as not raising the minimum wage or making it harder for workers to unionize for better benefits, hurt Black and Hispanic workers, Gould pointed out.
“It’s important to keep that in the conversation as well,” she said.