The ongoing COVID pandemic has upended and exposed inequalities in our country.

Just a few months ago, the people who prepare our food, clean our offices, and deliver our packages were called “service workers” — but as the public health crisis worsened, they became “essential workers.”

It’s become very clear that our country cannot function without them — they are essential. Yet our country refuses to treat their lives as such. Essential workers have been denied a living wage and access to quality healthcare and often they cannot even afford to live in the city in which they work. They are being denied the unalienable rights this country promises all. That’s unacceptable. That’s a failure of our system.

The HEROES Act that I voted to pass in the House is the first step to correct those values. The legislation includes relief and hazard pay for essential workers.

Join me in demanding we pass the HEROES act and provide relief and hazard pay for essential workers.

If we say workers are essential, then we must treat them as such. COVID frontline workers don’t have the luxury of staying home — they put their lives on the line every day just to keep our country running on the most fundamental levels.

Essential workers shouldn’t have to worry about how they’ll put food on the table, pay for care if they get sick, or pay other essential living expenses while they are making such massive sacrifices for the rest of us.

Getting through this crisis is an enormous challenge, but we know we can’t do it without protecting and valuing the lives of those who make it possible. They’ve fought on the frontlines for us — now we must fight for them. Will you sign on to demand hazard pay for essential workers and give them wages they deserve?

Thanks for taking a stand.

— Joe