Thanks, But No Thanks
Letter to Governor Scott and the Vermont National Guard from Essential Workers, drafted by Mari Cordes (VFNHP, UVM Medical Center) and Brian Cina (AFSCME Local 1674, Howard Center; CVDSA). If you are an essential worker, follow this link to sign it.
Essential workers deserve to be thanked. Essential workers have been working in the hospitals, the community health centers, the mental health system, the grocery stores, the gas stations, the departments of public works; as municipal employees, farmworkers, hardware store workers, emergency services personnel, law enforcement and others.
We are thankful to the essential workers serving in the military, especially for your hard work in building surge facilities and distributing food around the nation. Although workers appreciate the sentiment behind the display of the military jets by the United States Air Force, we do not believe this is the best way to thank us. Every flight is a massive financial expense, with the price of up to $44,000 per flight. The cost doesn’t stop there. There are health care impacts associated with these jets including excessive noise, a huge carbon footprint, and other environmental damage.
If the Federal Government wants to thank us, here are some better ways to spend this taxpayer money:
-Hazard pay for all front line workers, both retroactive and moving forward
-Unemployment benefits for all workers who have been furloughed and laid off
-A livable wage for all workers immediately
-Universal health care that is publicly-financed
-Paid family and medical leave
-Rent relief for tenants
-A universal Housing First model to end homelessness
-Forgiveness of education debt
Instead of thanking us with an air show, we ask that the United States Air Force suspend all jet practice flights for the duration of the pandemic emergency. We ask that the Federal Government re-appropriate the money designated for the fighter jets towards addressing the gaps in our social safety net.
Thank you for your consideration.
Signed,
Essential Workers