Honor Workers by Committing to Build Back Better

Today we are celebrating workers at a time of unprecedented challenges. Unemployment is at its highest since the Great Depression. Millions have lost their jobs or have experienced a reduction in hours and pay. Families are struggling and many are losing hope.

For the Latino community, COVID-19 has been especially devastating. Job losses are at near record levels. Many of our families are facing food shortages and potential eviction. Entire neighborhoods have seen their local small businesses close permanently – grocery stores, barbershops, restaurants.

For those employed, so many Latinos are essential workers who risk their health daily to provide for their families. During the height of the pandemic, Latinos were working at our hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants and in the fields and factories making sure families across America had food on their table. We are still on the job and helping make sure America weathers this pandemic.

Labor Day is a time to honor these workers and reaffirm our commitment to working people.

It is also a time to commit to making sure good paying jobs are available in Latino communities. It is a time to commit to ending the financial uncertainty faced by so many of us when a relative is sick and does not have health care. It is a time to commit to ensuring no child goes hungry, homeless or without basic essentials for their education, like working internet or access to a computer.

But these commitments are more than words. They require action.

It’s time to roll up our sleeves and commit to electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Our community knows Joe and his commitment to working people. He stood with us throughout the Obama Administration when our country had to rebuild after the Great Recession. Joe led President Obama’s recovery task force and helped create millions of jobs. He understands that America only succeeds when workers have a voice and the ability to earn a good wage to support their families.

Now, as we continue to face a pandemic and economic crisis, Joe understands that we can’t just go back to how things were before COVID-19. This pandemic showed us that too many workers still don’t have access to healthcare or savings to support their families during difficult times. We learned just how essential Latino and immigrant workers are to our economy, but, more so, how few rights these workers have. We learned that when crisis hits, Wall Street and those at the top are least harmed and first to recover, while working people face ongoing uncertainty and stress over how to make rent.

We need to build back better. Joe has a plan to create millions of good paying, union jobs and reward work, not wealth. He is committed to reinvesting in our communities and schools. Joe also values science and public health, so he will make sure we manage this pandemic responsibly.

The same can’t be said for Donald Trump.

For four years, we have seen Donald Trump attack Latinos and immigrant workers on a near daily basis. We have seen the Trump Administration undermine our immigration system, loosen environmental protections and roll back worker protections. And this was all before COVID-19.

Now the pandemic has shown us a new layer of incompetence, corruption and cruelty by the Trump Administration. Donald Trump has ignored our doctors and nurses, which has prolonged the pandemic and resulting economic pain for our families.

Latinos can’t afford four more years of Trump. Too much is at stake and there is a better path forward. Biden-Harris provides us a path forward that will opportunities for workers and their families.

This Labor Day, let’s renew our commitment to workers by committing to building back our country with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.