From June 2021 to May 2022, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union partnered with researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to conduct the largest longitudinal survey of union members who are essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The results highlight the great sacrifice America’s essential workers made during the course of this pandemic to keep their communities running and inform future strategies to protect essential workers exposed to infectious diseases at work.
Some Key Findings:
- UFCW members who reported having COVID infections before May 2021 were twice as likely to get infected again in the past year.
- During surveys conducted July 2021 to May 2022, new monthly COVID infection rates rose from 2% to 15% among UFCW member respondents. These rates of infection were 10 times higher than U.S. incidence rates during the same period.
- In May of 2022, half of respondents report that their lives were still deeply impacted by COVID.
Read the Top Findings – Download Research Summary
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Essential Worker Health Survey Newsletters
During the duration of the survey, participants received monthly text messages with links to short surveys, opportunities to provide feedback on workplace conditions, and regular newsletters with information from UNMC’s leading medical experts about COVID and vaccines.
Click below to view and download newsletters (PDF).
Click Here to Read the Essential Worker Health Survey Monthly Newsletters.
In partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and FORWARD.