SEIU: We found 39 million N95 masks — and they’ll cost you five bucks a pop

Hmm, seems a bit odd; 39 million is a huge number of masks.

SEIU: Found 39 million N95 masks

I don’t understand the claim here that SEIU “discovered” a distributor who was sitting on 39 million farking masks. The N95 is the gold standard, a respirator that fits tightly around the nose and mouth and filters out at least 95 percent of tiny particles. Doctors and nurses have been screaming for more of them for weeks. Trump and Mike Pence have called for donations to keep hospital workers stockpiled while the feds look to manufacture more. The masks are supposed to be single-use but they’re so scarce that medical personnel have taken to spraying them down with disinfectant and reusing them day after day while hoping for the best

Maybe, just maybe, they saw a potential for N95 masks very early on, ordered a ton of them, and then sat on them, as a way of making a killer profit when things got bad?

"Never let a good crisis go to waste."

What do you think?

1) Oh wow, what a lucky find.
2) Wow, what a great play, for a big pay day.

 

It could be profiteering or it could simply be the Right hand not knowing what the Left hand is doing. Or in other words, it may simply not have occurred to anyone in the decision making pipeline that these masks need to be given away. It may have been some guy in the warehouse asking some supervisor why, if the US needs masks they are just sitting there with the damn things clogging the inventory pipeline . . . and then the supervisor asked the next higher supervisor and so forth and so on until somebody at an upper level finally said, "Holy crud! Why didn't anyone tell me?!" Meh . . . or it could be a case of profiteering.

 

With respect to public unions, always assume gross incompetence, venality, bald-faced dishonesty. No way to know which in this case, maybe a mixture.

 

39 million is a **** ton of boxes filled with masks. Even a large warehouse would have multiple rows stocked floor to ceiling with nothing but masks.

 

No thanks. My Army Surplus gas mask with hood, body suit, gloves and boots are all I need

 

The Union did not have the masks they identified a company that had masks and made it public. How does this reflect badly on the union? It seems like they did something positive. They also found and identified other sources of medical supplies.
As for the OP I would rather believe it was incompetence and red tape rather than price gouging, but we may never know.

 

I like this one, but I like to dress for the occasion too

 

LOL, but you might get shot as a zombie, so be careful heh

 

Zombies don't generally ride motorcycles BUT you do have a point

 

Fly an American Flag on your bike (until enter Zombie zone where may have to fly Commie or Rainbow flag)

 

GAS GAS GAS.... I bet it takes you like 30 minutes....

 

Sounds both suspicious and like an opportunistic rip off in an emergency, by immoral people. There are already a lot of those.

My business uses isopropyl alcohol, usually costs about $2 a quart. Hard to find right now... and $40-50 a quart.

 

This, sadly, is how things tend to work nowadays. With, of course, a day or three between each email.

 

Its not easy getting a mask and camoflage suit that fits your dog

 

Jesus Christ. What is wrong with you people?

Here's the real story

The union launched an exhaustive search for masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) five days ago in response to pleas from frontline healthcare workers that they need more protection and feel unsafe on the job as they treat the growing number of COVID-19 patients. SEIU-UHW has 97,000 members who work in hospitals across California.

Within 48 hours of painstakingly calling leads and potential suppliers, the union discovered a distributor who had the 39 million masks, and has since found another supplier who says his company can produce 20 million more masks a week. The union also has found a supplier who can deliver millions of face shields.

The union went out and FOUND these masks. They were't hoarding anything

Only Trumpers would see a selfless act like this as a bad thing. My God

 

I thought most states had laws against gouging critical items in emergencies.

Gouging in times like these is evidence the current form of capitalism is dark , immoral and unethical .

 

Catch you on the flip side SEIU.

 

I have a respirator mask certified for asbestos removal.

 

I have a few extra bottles I’ll sell for $39.95/each! On second thought, this is the time of year I use more so I better hang on to it.

Interesting information. I didn’t realize it was that scarce. I did hear the other day a local ethanol plant is donating “industrial alcohol” to the state to produce hand sanitizers and other disinfectants. Get this, state penitentiary inmates are going to make the products! I’m not sure how that’s going to work out. I predict a train car of ethanol goes in and three 10 oz bottles of sanitizer come out.

 

The OP needs to apologize

 

In United States anything related to health care should be very expensive. One way to achieve it is to create an artificial deficit of medical goods and medical services, as well as hospitals, doctors and pharmaceutical products.
There is nothing you can because American people want to be that way.

 

I think it's Capitalism at it's best! Anyone who is a capitalist should be very proud.

 

I guess we need to see this again.

That union did a GOOD thing and Trumpers see it as bad?

The world has turned upside down folks

 

That would scare the hell out of my grandkids.
I want one.

 

If they truly found masks, and were not hoarding them early on to make a profit, good on them.

If they found some masks, and decided to gouge people by vastly increasing the prices, to make obscene profits during a national emergency, that's not capitalism, it's not a good, it's criminal