Issued March 22, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Service Employees International Union International President Mary Kay Henry released the following statement today after Senate Democrats defeated a cloture vote on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s corporate bailout:
“Working people have made it clear that they will not be left holding the bag after yet another corporate bailout. Airline employees and fast-food workers are already feeling the sting of layoffs, while security officers fear they will be next. Healthcare providers are left without necessary personal protective equipment, leaving themselves and their families open to potential coronavirus exposure while doing heroic work caring for those who are already sick. It was unconscionable for Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to think they could prop up multi-billion dollar companies while telling millions of struggling Americans that they were on their own.
“Senate Democrats did the right thing by standing up to McConnell, President Trump and every other elected official who turned their back on working people. SEIU members and Fight for $15 and a Union leaders are grateful that they heeded our call. We will keep fighting for every working person to have paid sick days, including healthcare and fast-food workers; everyone, regardless of immigration status, to have access to free coronavirus testing and treatment; and for no corporation to receive a cent of taxpayer money until we have made sure to protect all workers.”
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The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) unites 2 million diverse members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. SEIU members working in the healthcare industry, in the public sector and in property services believe in the power of joining together on the job to win higher wages and benefits and to create better communities while fighting for a more just society and an economy that works for all of us, not just corporations and the wealthy. www.seiu.org