"Dear Member of Congress," starts the letter from SEIU International Union's President, Mary Kay Henry dated April 9, 2020.
The letter strongly urges Congress to address the economic and public health emergency with unprecedented mobilization of the federal government.
Read the full letter here. In summary, our Union recommends:
- Frontline worker and community health
- Paid Sick/Paid Leave
- Include all immigrants in diagnosis, testing
- Better coordination and transparency on PPE production and distribution
- Fair pay for essential workers
- Improve Access to Affordable Coverage
- Create a Healthcare Worker Relief Fund
- Child care
- Supporting Nursing Homes and Preventing Hotspots
- Treatment of persons in custody including immigration detention settings and prisons
- Mandate that states monitor, track and publish statistics on COVID-19 cases by race
- Massive Support States and Local Governments
- Direct support to States and Local governments
- Increase Medicaid Resources
- Provide Local & State Employers with the Same Support Provided to Private Industry
- Protecting Democracy During Pandemic
- Worker Centered Economic Relief
- Keep people on payroll
- Provide further investment in Unemployment Insurance (UI)
- Increase SNAP and WIC
- Nationwide moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, power and water shutoffs, student debt, etc.
- Expand Social Security
- Direct cash payments
- Building Worker Power into COVID Response
- Industry Wage Boards or Sectoral Bargaining Structure
- Industry and Business Requirements for Relief
- Creating good quality jobs that help people get back to work and get the care they need