North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Friday that he would prepare an executive order protecting the state's essential workers, agricultural laborers, and personnel in meat and poultry processing plants, among others.

Cooper's statement came after he and Attorney General Josh Stein were asked during a public online meeting if they kept the promises they made to the Latino community.

In the presence of a thousand members of advocacy coalition North Carolina Congress Latino Organizations (NCLLO), Cooper then said he would prepare an executive order "to protect essential workers, agricultural workers, workers in meat and poultry processing plants and in other areas."

Cooper said his office is now looking for the best way the order can be applied to ensure protective measures in agriculture and meat processing plants in particular. These two sectors are heavy with a Latino immigrant presence.

He noted that the Republicans in the General Assembly have tried to limit powers that he could use to help people during the pandemic. 

"We have limited ways to enforce. I promise that I will do everything I can to shape these executive orders to be positive," Cooper said in a report.

Ivan Parra, director of the NCCLO, said the Latino community had been hit hard by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Parra added that what Cooper said and promised were well received by essential and agricultural workers.

During the NCCLO meeting, Cooper and Stein had tackled the commitments that they made as 2016 election candidates.

Cooper, back in 2016, made several commitments to the Latino community. These were meeting with leaders of the Latino community during his first 90 days in the office, reinstating the Hispanic or Latino Advisory Council, strengthening relationships between Latinos and law enforcement, and improving health and human services agencies' capacity.

Cooper's recent meeting with the NCCLO was held via Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 699 members of the community were present.

"We installed the advisory council, and we are working to meet Title VI health requirements," Cooper said. However, the Republican governor did not answer all the questions in this issue and said his office would follow up.

Cooper said they would continue working on the expansion of health care services so more people would be covered. He added that they would add an interpretation into Spanish so that families understand how it works.

On housing, Cooper said he will still work on affordable housing as many Latino community members live in mobile home parks. 

Latinos As Essential Workers

According to the Center for Study of Latino Health and Culture, Latino workers make up a large percentage of the essential jobs and make them susceptible to catching the coronavirus.

In California, Latinos are more likely than non-Latinos to have no insurance despite many being essential workers.

Black and Latino workers also have higher rates of family financial insecurity and hardship. Around 45 percent of Black and Latino adults said their families experienced financial hardship in the past months. 

Also, Black and Latino households have much less wealth compared to White families, with as much as 10 to 12 percent at the median, respectively.

Members of Latino community in North Carolina make up as much as 46 percent of COVID-19 cases in the state, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. However, the Latino community only present 10 percent of the state's overall population.

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