Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, childcare centers and the childcare industry as a whole have been at particular risk. In late July, Congress finally began serious discussions to address this crisis, one that will affect millions of working families and their teachers.

As late as March 20, massive childcare corporations continued to operate, even in hotspots such as New York City. Much like in New York’s public schools, it was teachers and parents that called on these companies to close their centers. In a KinderCare (the largest early education company in the United States) in Northern California, where the children of two hundred families are enrolled, teachers organized a concerted sick-out, parents flooded the center with calls, and ultimately forced the company to shut its centers down.

In NYC, Bright Horizons (another large day care corporation) operated 27 centers for two weeks after Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, and a week after all public schools were shut down. We later learned Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s delays contributed to almost 15,000 deaths in NYC alone.