WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a letter delivered late Friday to leaders in the U.S. House and Senate, D. Taylor, president of the 300,000-member hospitality workers union UNITE HERE, called for Congress and President Donald Trump to ensure that workers and their families are the top priority in any legislative package to help the U.S. economy recover from COVID-19.

“We need a bailout for American workers, not just a bailout for American industry. Already, we are facing layoffs of up to 90% of our membership; most of our companies have shuttered or dramatically reduced operations,” Taylor said in the letter, “We support efforts to stabilize our industries but those efforts cannot leave workers behind.”

Specifically, Taylor urged for specific guarantees of or expanded access to:

• Unemployment insurance
• Health care coverage
• Emergency paid sick days
• Guaranteed Family and Medical Leave
• Supplemental nutrition programs such as WIC and food stamps
• Direct emergency rental and mortgage assistance

 Taylor continued: “We urge you to move an emergency assistance package that saves workers in our industries and across the economy from economic devastation. You must bail out our workers, not just American business—working people need elected leaders to stand up for them, too, with a substantial assistance package.”

Read the letter in its entirety here.

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UNITE HERE is a labor union that represents over 300,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries in the U.S. and Canada.