NY Frontline Fund
Each and every day of this crisis, union members on the frontlines of the COVID-19 outbreak are bravely going to work, putting their health and lives on the line for their fellow New Yorkers. And yet right now, many of these courageous first responders, healthcare workers, transportation workers and other frontline workers still do not have the support they need to be able to work safely and effectively. On behalf of our affiliates, the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO is calling on the public to assist with desperately needed relief funding. We’ve partnered with Amalgamated Bank to establish a 501(c)(3) fund, with all contributions tax-deductible, and we are reaching out to ask for your help in securing critical resources for our frontline workers.
Our members’ most immediate concern is stopping the continuing spread of COVID-19 across our City. This is why they need our support for accommodations like alternative housing and transportation in order to stop the spread and protect both their own families and all of us.
We’ve all heard the stories of healthcare professionals sharing apartments as ‘dirty doc’ living quarters, or sleeping in their own cars just to avoid bringing the disease home to their own children and loved ones. These workers need to be able to secure safe and clean lodging between shifts, lifting an enormous burden off of their impacted families and allowing them to focus on saving the lives of their fellow New Yorkers. They need to be able to get to their jobs on the frontlines without violating the social distancing guidelines that urge us to avoid crowded, public places where close contact is likely.
These heroes continue to need our help. With funding, we can quickly secure alternative lodging and transportation for our medical personnel and first responders who are working day and night to keep all of us safe. Once these critical needs are met, any additional funding may be used to obtain and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep our healthcare and transportation workers safe at work. Our State and local governments are working to obtain these items for workers across the City, but will likely not be able to provide all that is needed.
Healthcare workers, first responders, transportation workers and others are putting themselves at risk to protect the health of the City and make sure we have access to critical goods and services. We are asking for your support to protect them by helping to fund their immediate needs, so that they can continue working to save our lives from this deadly pandemic.
Please click here to donate online to the NY Frontline Fund, or, send checks to: Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, 1825 K St. NW Washington, DC 20006. *Please specify “NY Frontline” in the check’s memo line. For information regarding other forms of contributions, including stock certificates, please call 202-721-8272 or contact donorservices@amalgamatedfoundation.org.
On behalf of all of the workers on the front lines, thank you for your support.