I’m a barista at Bakeri, a small-batch European-style bakery and cafe in Brooklyn. Or, I was until Thursday, when I went home sick with a sore throat and slight cough. I’m young and feel healthy, but can’t leave my apartment knowing that I could be carrying a disease that’s killed nearly 9,000 people and infected countless more around the world, and I certainly can’t go to work, where I’m in contact with hundreds of people every day. I don’t know when I’ll be able to return to work, or if I’ll even have a job to go back to.

My future is up in the air, and I’m not alone. Several dozen of my coworkers are in the same boat, as are millions of others around the United States. As the number of people infected with COVID-19 keeps growing, closing all nonessential businesses like the one where I work is crucial. But in a country without a social safety net, social distancing will not only save lives, but threaten the livelihoods of low-wage workers like me.

As COVID-19 spreads and economic collapse seems imminent, one in five Americans have already been laid off or lost hours. It might feel like there’s nothing to do but throw up our hands and hope that people in power find a way to save us. But in the last few days, workers across the country — including the chefs, bakers, baristas, counter-people, dishwashers, and delivery drivers that I work with every day — have taken matters into our own hands and fought for our health and financial security. To ensure a just response to COVID-19 for all working-class people, millions more working people need to get organized in our workplaces, in our communities, and in politics.