Nurses Deliver Half A Million Signatures to Congress, Calling on Congress to Protect Nurses During COVID-19 Pandemic
- National Nurses United -
Nurses push for HEROES
Act outside the U.S. Senate, August 7,
2020.
Registered nurses today delivered a petition to
Congress signed by more than half-a-million people
demanding Congress pass legislation that would
protect nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Nurses United, the largest union of
registered nurses in the country, delivered the
petition virtually to every member of the House of
Representatives and the United States Senate.
Signed by 526,291 people, the petition calls on
Congress to prioritize workplace protections for
nurses in the negotiations on a fourth stimulus
package. The petition was sponsored by National
Nurses United, Be A Hero, Daily Kos, Democracy for
America, Justice Democrats, People's Action,
Progressive Democrats of America, Social Security
Works, and Women's March.
"For more than six months, nurses across this
country have been caring for patients in the midst
of the COVID-19 pandemic without the protections
that would prevent exposure to the virus," said
Zenei Cortez, RN and a president of National
Nurses United. "Nurses and other frontline workers
have been calling out for Congress, the White
House, and our employers to get us the personal
protective equipment that we need, and those cries
have fallen on deaf ears. We demand that Congress
ensure that the fourth stimulus package they are
currently negotiating includes legislation that
will ensure that nurses get the PPE we desperately
need."
National Nurses United and petition
signatories called on Congress to mandate that the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
issue an Emergency Temporary Standard to ensure
that employers protect frontline workers during
the COVID-19 pandemic. They also called on
Congress to pass legislation that would ensure
that the Defense
Production Act is invoked to increase
production of PPE, and ensure efficient and
transparent delivery of critical medical supplies.
"More than 164 registered nurses have died during
the COVID-19 pandemic so far," said Cortez. "Our
country could have saved many of their lives if we
got them the PPE that they needed. It is far past
time for Congress to prioritize the health and
safety of frontline workers."
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 29 - August 8, 2020
Article Link:
Nurses Deliver Half A Million Signatures to Congress, Calling on Congress to Protect Nurses During COVID-19 Pandemic - National Nurses United
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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