“As part of the American Rescue Plan just signed by President Biden, states, cities and towns will receive $360 billion in flexible funding. This will stop furloughs and layoffs faced by public service workers who have been on the front lines of this pandemic,” says AFSCME President Lee Saunders.
You have probably seen the news that the US government last week passed a massive COVID-19 relief program called the American Rescue Plan. NPR reports that the bill “allocates money for vaccines, schools, small businesses and anti-poverty programs such as an expanded child tax credit that will mean new monthly payments to many parents.”
That’s great news, although we had hoped for more. In January, President Biden’s earlier proposal for the bill called on “private sector employers to provide hazard pay to essential frontline employees, and to apply it retroactively to the start of the pandemic.” One frustrating shortcoming of the bill, however, is that, ultimately, it omitted hazard pay.
Independent research, such as that reported by the Brookings Institute, has shown that hazard pay is important to frontline workers. We would like to say a special thank you to those members who have worked with SHARE to urge for hazard pay, and who have pressed your legislators for their support, too.
As AFSCME President Lee Saunders describes, the American Rescue Plan benefits us all, especially our local cities and towns and families. We thank all SHARE members who have worked so hard in the face obstacles and dangers to take care of patients, and to keep our hospital running strong.