John,
Now that the White House is under quarantine and the president and first lady are infected, does anyone still doubt that COVID-19 is real and that we need to do more to protect people?
We're looking at you, Mitch McConnell.
Today would be a great day for McConnell to show he cares and to allow a vote on the HEROES Act — a long overdue aid package that passed in the House of Representatives last night.
There is no denying the pain and suffering caused by government’s failure to combat the health and economic disparities that are disproportionately burdening workers and communities of color during the coronavirus pandemic.
This week, the National Nurses United (NNU) union reported alarming COVID-19 death rates for nurses of color. Nurses of Filipino descent, for example, make up 31.5% of nurse deaths from COVID-19 but only 4% of registered nurses.
NNU president Zenei Cortez said it best. “These deaths were avoidable and unnecessary due to government and employer willful inaction."
Filipino nurses are a historically oppressed community by U.S. colonialism and exploitation. For decades, many Filipino nurses suffered low wages under the false hope of “benevolent assimilation.” This is another example of how we must work to end historic and structural racism.
On top of equipment shortages and the constant worry of contracting coronavirus, nurses and other frontline workers have had to worry about not having paid sick leave to stay home if they feel ill or need to isolate after exposure.
That’s because the government CUT OUT many frontline workers — the majority of whom are women — from critical paid leave protections in the first round of COVID-19 relief legislation that passed earlier this year.
The HEROES Act will close this gap by expanding and extending emergency paid sick days and paid family and medical leave for more workers.
Congress must shift its priorities from politics to people.
It doesn't make any sense to plow ahead with Judge Amy Coney Barrett's sham nomination and leave 83% of working people unprotected. But I don’t expect GOP senators to make that leap on their own.
That’s why we need your help,
John.
Click here to send an email to your senators urging them to pass the HEREOS Act. Tell them to get their priorities straight and expand protections for nurses and all frontline workers before more heroes’ lives are lost forever.
Thank you!
—Lelaine
Lelaine Bigelow
Managing Director of External Affairs
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