MEDICAL PERSONNEL AND FIRST RESPONDERS ARE ALL GETTING SCREWED

…First Responders doing their jobs without the appropriate compensation

Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel on the front lines of the pandemic are being ignored.

I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t understand how the US Congress, nor the Trump administration functions…..?

As an example, more than 45 nurses in the United States have died of covid-19, while at least a half-dozen doctors have died in 4 different states.

Yet, the lawmakers have not approved any emergency pay for doctors, nurses and other medical personnel on the front lines of the pandemic.  And as I have been against the president, this has occurred nearly a month after President Trump and top Democrats expressed support for such a move.

The lack of aid for health workers is striking after Congress did approve trillions of dollars in assistance for vast sectors of the economy. It is also surprising because it appears to be one of the less controversial ideas for responding to the pandemic.  Members of Congress in both parties have lavished praise on the doctors, nurses and first responders, but that’s where it stops.

Even our lying president has said: “If anybody’s entitled to it, they are,” Trump told this to Fox News when he was asked about proposals to give “hazard pay” to front-line medical personnel. “These are really brave people. Actually, they are warriors, in a sense.”

Unfortunately, a proposal to offer such aid has not been seriously considered during the negotiations over any of the four bills approved by Congress to respond to the coronavirus.  This is according to a half-dozen congressional aides who, as expected, spoke on the condition of anonymity for discussing internal matters.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said negotiations with Congress are continuing.  A White House statement noted that billions of dollars have been approved for hospitals, which could help pay worker bonuses, among a variety of other expenses. But there is no evidence that hospitals are doing that.  As usual, the White House did not respond when asked whether Trump has taken any action to pursue hazard pay specifically for medical workers.

However, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has released a proposal for a “Heroes Fund” that would give up to $25,000 per person for a broad category of front-line workers including doctors and nurses.  The other essential personnel such as grocery workers and delivery drivers are also included, but also as expected, the White House declined to comment on Schumer’s proposal.

In one demonstration of their support by the American people, Medical workers stood outside the New York University's Langone Health Hospital as people applaud them back on April 22.

Concerns about compensation for medical workers goes well beyond additional hazard pay. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act that Congress passed specifically excludes health-care companies and firms with more than 500 employees from having to provide 2 weeks of paid sick leave.

Nursing homes have been a telling example of a critical part of the health system where workers are getting little to no extra pay during the crisis and often lack paid sick leave.  One in six nursing homes have reported coronavirus cases so far.

Workers at several nursing homes told The Washington Post that they have to use their “PTO”- paid time off, for both illness and vacation, if they get sick.  But often, they have only a few days of PTO, which is far less than the two weeks typically recommended for quarantining any Covid-19 patients. 

Nursing homes employ 1.6 million people, and the median pay is $15 an hour, according to the Labor Department.  In total, up to 13 million health workers and other emergency responders, including some nurses and hospital cleaning employees, they won’t get two weeks of emergency sick pay because of the way Congress wrote the law, and that’s the only reason.

When the president ordered the meat packing workers to go back to work, all hell broke loose.

“It is an outrage we are asking millions of workers to continue to show up to their jobs for the rest of us at a risk to their own lives, while paying them wages too low to even sustain a family,” said Molly Kinder, a fellow at Brookings Institute. “It’s been weeks of praise and platitudes from leaders out of Washington about these ‘heroes on the front lines,’ but they have done absolutely nothing to provide them with adequate compensation.”

About 2 million grocery store workers, half a million pharmacy workers and nearly a million truckers and transport drivers also don’t have access to paid sick leave.  Because these workers are at companies with over 500 employees, they are not eligible for emergency paid leave under the new law.

A Gallup survey of US workers in March found that 40% of transportation employees and nearly a third of health-care personnel said they do not get any paid sick leave.

Many grocery stores like Safeway say they will pay, if their workers get sick.  However, the employees must have a confirmed test, which is very hard to obtain in many parts of the country.  Only 8% of workers in grocery, retail and food service jobs have access to two weeks of paid sick time, according to a study of 30,000 workers.

Our doctors, nurses and all first responders are getting screwed and neither the US Congress, nor the president’s administration, are doing anything to remedy the situation.

It’s all very sad.

Copyright G. Ater 2020