Editor’s note: The following is a story from the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, as told by a member in Washington state:
“My name is Kristina Johnson-Short and I am a social services specialist with the Division of Children, Youth and Families in Washington state. I’m a proud AFSCME member, a shop steward and president of AFSCME Local 1054 (WFSE). I am also a domestic violence survivor.
It’s become clear that relief bills Congress has approved thus far, including the record $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, won’t be enough to quell the health and economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
What other aid should Congress provide? AFSCME has recommendations.
AFSCME members working for the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) are hopping busy these days fulfilling a critical mission. They are helping Louisianans survive as the Bayou State’s economy buckles under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.
We need Social Distance across the country to keep ourselves physically healthy during the Covid- 19 outbreak. Social Isolation can be a side effect of that distance & may challenge our Mental Health stability. Many of us are feeling high levels of stress, anxiety, and fear – which are hard to handle alone.
Where can I get support for myself or someone I love, while staying Socially Distant?
Updating wills before heading into work. Extending the lives of single-use masks. Self-isolating from their own families. These are just some of the shameful realities and conditions health care workers on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic are facing each day.
Before the announcement early Wednesday of an unprecedented $2 trillion deal to combat the coronavirus pandemic, AFSCME President Lee Saunders and three front-line workers put pressure on federal lawmakers to come through with a robust aid package for state and local governments so they can rebuild decimated public services.
