“Public service workers put their lives on the line every day to save ours,” says the AFSCME president.

Many providers could go out of business — permanently.

IHHS providers have been hit hard and are in a similar difficult position as other domestic workers.

Sanitation workers in Washington, D.C., keep the city running by emptying trash and recycle bins, but are now exposed to the coronavirus every day they go to work.

Once ignored or taken for granted, custodial and sanitation workers — often members of the working poor — have become front-line soldiers in the battle to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“We believe that it’s time to prepare to work like hell for Joe Biden and to bring the party together so we’re unified behind one candidate,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Despite more than a decade of underfunding public health and safety, those workers have stepped up to meet the crisis. Government must help them with emergency and long-term support.

President Trump’s State of the Union address tried to put a gloss on a failed agenda that serves the wealthy and well-connected, while stiffing working people.

The Starting Line reporting team hangs out in Cedar Rapids for one last chat before Iowa Caucus day, and Pat Rynard sits down with Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME, to talk about their work leading up to and following the caucuses and primary season.

Several undecided Democrats attended an event Saturday morning hosted by Afscme where candidates or their surrogates had five minutes each to make their case.