The Uniquely Dangerous Work of Massage Therapy During a Pandemic
A massage therapist speaks out about the gross and unfair treatment she was forced to endure.
Maximillian Alvarez
In this episode, we sit down with Kate from New Jersey. At the moment, Kate is working primarily as a caretaker for her parents, and we talk a bit about that work and what it means to care for our elders. Up until the pandemic, though, Kate was a massage therapist who loved her job. We discuss how Kate got into working as a massage therapist, all that the job entails, and we talk about the gross and unfair treatment Kate and her coworkers had to deal with when their employer wanted to push folks back to work before they felt safe doing so.
Additional links/info below…
- Allison Steinberg, Allure, “These Massage Therapists Worry About the Effects of COVID-19 on the Future of Their Industry”
- Rachel Urbanski, WCHS ABC 8, “Refusing to Work Because of COVID-19 Concerns Can Risk Unemployment Benefits”
Permanent links below…
- Working People Patreon page
- Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
- Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
- In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
- The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page
Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)
- Jules Taylor, “Working People Theme Song”
- Ketsa, “Alive”
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Maximillian Alvarez is editor-in-chief at the Real News Network and host of the podcast Working People, available at InTheseTimes.com. He is also the author of The Work of Living: Working People Talk About Their Lives and the Year the World Broke.
