A Fair Deal for Essential Workers
When the story of the American economy is told, the CEO is usually cast as the hero or the villain. In both cases the CEO is framed as the essential character.
The Covid-19 pandemic has provided us with a different perspective on who is most essential to the functioning of the economy.
From this new vantage point the most essential characters are workers who shield us from risk: janitors who clean residue of Covid-19, delivery people who keep food and medicine coming to our doors, grocery store clerks who navigate people and products exposed to Covid-19, nurses who keep tending to patients with Covid-19, and others who put themselves in harm’s way so that the rest of us can avoid exposure to Covid-19.
Many of these essential characters in the American economy have been left behind. While the stock market boomed and executive pay skyrocketed, many of these workers’ incomes stagnated. Too many of them have lived the past decade on the edge of bankruptcy, and the Covid-19 crisis has only worsened their financial situations.
As these hard-working people put themselves in danger’s path so that the rest of us don’t have to, they are asking the rest of us to offer them the fair economic deal that has eluded them
We believe that this request for economic respect is reasonable. As state executives tasked with looking out for the financial well-being of our citizens, we are asking that this request be acknowledged with prompt action by the policymakers, executives, corporate boards, and investors who are depending on these essential workers for personal and professional support.
We believe that this fair deal should include:
- A wage that the worker can live on without public assistance
- Risk-appropriate hazard pay
- Affordable and sufficient health insurance
- Paid time off that removes the penalty for staying home if their presence on the job would be a risk to their customers, their co-workers, or themselves
- Appropriate protective gear
- Disability and life insurance that provides for these workers’ dependents if their ability to earn is disrupted as a function of their work Covid-19
- A contribution to retirement savings.
America’s economy is strongest when everyone — investors, entrepreneurs, executives, consumers, and workers — all have a fair economic deal. When the economy prioritizes the wants of the powerful over the needs of the powerless, we all eventually lose.
That’s because giving workers a fair deal isn’t a favor. It is in our self-interest. The economy is stronger when our actions acknowledge both the value of competition and the fundamental truth that we are in this economy together.
The deal that America offers these essential workers will be our first step in rebuilding the economy. We believe that the economic recovery will be built on a firmer foundation if that deal ensures that we all grow together.
We further believe that the management and governance teams of any company accepting a government bailout have a special responsibility to offer a fair deal to their essential workers both for the work they do during the current crisis and for the work they do after the crisis.
Over the past few weeks, essential workers have had our backs. Let’s start the process of rebuilding our economy by giving them a fair deal that proves we have their backs.
Signed,
California Treasurer Fiona Ma
Colorado Treasurer David Young
Connecticut Treasurer Shawn Wooden
Delaware Treasurer Colleen Davis
Iowa Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald
Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs
Massachusetts Treasurers Deborah Goldberg
Maryland Treasurer Nancy Kopp
Maine Treasurer Henry Beck
New Mexico Treasurer Tim Eichenberg
Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine
Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read
Pennsylvania Treasurer Joseph Torsella
Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner
Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah Godlewski
