Workers Making COVID Test Kits Exposed to COVID
At Access Bio in New Jersey, mostly Latina immigrant temp workers lacking protections on the job face hazardous conditions.
Illustration by Jandos Rothstein
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. â Late in the afternoon of February 19, more than 50 temporary workers disembarked from 15-passenger vans, bearing signage like âThe Beginning Transportation LLCâ and âEagle Cleaning Services.â Clad in heavy layers of clothing, the workers were about to begin their second shift at the Access Bio plant. The facility specializes in producing test kits for COVID-19, malaria, and dengue fever, part of a global supply chain that includes the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the companyâs website.
Despite graduating college with a degree in engineering, James could only find employment in the service industry. While continuing to search for technical positions, he noticed job postings for a company called Revature. The company, which calls itself the âlargest employer of entry level software engineers,â advertises positions in states like Kansas and Alabama, as well as in Texas where James was living at the time.
âOne day someone is going to ask you where you got your start,â read one Revature job posting. âThis is IT!â
As James â who asked that his real name not be used in this article due to the confidentiality clauses in his contract â looked more closely at Revature, he realized the company wasnât recruiting for a typical job. Instead, it was recruiting college graduates from all over the country to participate in a three-month training program, which prior to the pandemic was held in person at one of Revatureâs six campu