AFSCME President Lee Saunders, AFSCME Council 93 Executive Director Mark Bernard and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) spoke live on Facebook on Monday about the urgent need to protect front-line workers during the coronavirus outbreak.
Many AFSCME members – such as health care professionals, emergency service staff, child care workers, corrections employees, sanitation and custodial staff and educational support workers – are considered “essential” and are reporting to work to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, they are putting their lives on the line for their communities.
Saunders, Bernard and Markey focused on why President Donald Trump should fully invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) and order private companies to produce enough N-95 respirators, ventilators, masks, gloves and other essential personal protective equipment to safeguard workers on the front lines.
AFSCME has been in the forefront of the effort to persuade Trump to fully invoke the DPA. Our union also is pushing for additional congressional assistance – including providing $300 billion in unrestricted aid to state and local governments – to stabilize the economy. What Congress has provided so far is a good first step, but it’s clearly not enough.