Essential workers are heroes. They risked their lives throughout the pandemic to keep the rest of us safe. Now it is long past time for essential workers to receive compensation for their hard work. Essential workers deserve more than praise, they deserve hero pay.
So many of the families we serve have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to provide essential services. They already face so many challenges - immigration status, language access, healthcare access and unaffordability, and sustainable Internet access, to name just a few - on top of helping their families survive a global pandemic.
That is why MLOV supports the The Heroes Pay Act of 2021. The Heroes Pay Act will provide a one-time payment to the many essential workers who risked their health and their lives by working during the pandemic. This bill requires $20 million in order to ensure that a large portion of essential workers will benefit from it. Council needs to fund an additional $15 million to put money in the hands of every essential worker who needs it!
The Council holds its first vote on next year’s budget on Tuesday. Can you take 10 minutes before Tuesday to call the Council now and ask them to fully fund the Heroes Pay Act? We highly recommend you call Chairman Mendelson’s office in particular, as his influence in the Council is most powerful.
Thank you so much for supporting essential immigrant workers in DC!
Post by Yannik Omictin