UCWVA-UVA used its mutual aid fund to distribute N95 masks and carbon filters to UVA frontline workers this Saturday, October 17th. The action was made possible by enthusiastic community support for our GoFundMe, which has raised over $1700 since being launched last month.
UCWVA-UVA planned the mutual aid drive in response to UVA workers not receiving adequate PPE from the university, including thin masks without filters (the university has since tried to sell workers these filters at large markup). Last month, UCWVA-UVA produced a match test video demonstrating that UVA-distributed masks were too thin for safe use, which was viewed thousands of times on social media. For more on the mutual aid campaign, see UCWVA-UVA’s press release.
CBS19 News interviewed UCWVA-UVA members during the action, including UCWVA-UVA member Hannah Young who was quoted as saying, “This is really a way to provide a voice for workers and for some vulnerable people on campus who may be affected the most and the hardest by the changes given the pandemic.”
UCWVA-UVA plans to hold similar distribution days in the near future. Any UVA frontline employees interested in receiving PPE (including RAs) can contact UCWVA-UVA at ucwva@ucw-cwa.org, or on social media.
Those who are able and interested in supporting our mutual aid can donate at our GoFundMe.