John,

For nearly two years, our frontline workers — from health care workers who’ve cared for the sick and cleaned our hospitals, to the grocery store and other retail workers who’ve ensured people could access their essentials — have helped us keep our country moving forward.

These workers have made a huge sacrifice, putting themselves at personal risk to help their communities.

Those on the frontlines are disproportionately low-wage workers, many of whom are women and people of color. And this pandemic has only exacerbated those disparities. The lack of protections early on put Black, Latino, and Native American frontline workers at an even higher risk to COVID-19 exposure.

As we continue to fight this pandemic, these frontline workers deserve our support. I’m asking you to add your name today to support my plan for a COVID-19 Frontline Workers Health Care Fund, which would help cover medical costs associated with their health care.

Sign the petition now:

Here’s what this fund would do:

• Similar to the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, this health care fund would help cover any costs associated with long-haul COVID illnesses or symptoms in our essential workers.
• It would support spouses and dependents of loved ones who have died of COVID-19 while working in a frontline job.
• It would help alleviate burnout and other challenges by supporting mental health for these workers.
• And it would proactively identify eligibility for as many workers and families as possible so the burden wouldn’t be on families of those who’ve died serving their communities.

It’s clear that our government did not do enough in the early days of this virus. A stronger, faster response could have prevented some from getting sick, including health care and other essential workers.

A fund like this alone will not solve every challenge our essential workers face — which is why we must keep working to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for workers.

But this is a big step toward giving these heroes the support they deserve and to honor their ongoing service.

We have an obligation to care for those who served in these jobs and their loved ones. Will you sign on to support our COVID-19 Frontline Workers Health Care Fund now?

Thank you for your support,

Val