While LA County’s 11 Million Residents Brace for a Winter COVID Surge, Essential Frontline Workers Are Once Again Being Asked to Do More With Less – As Staff Shortage is Reported at County Hospitals and Elsewhere, Board of Supervisors Will Be Asked to Better Respect the Remaining Workforce and the Public They Serve
LOS ANGELES – LA County’s essential frontline workers, who continue to keep county public services operational throughout the COVID pandemic, will join Santa Claus on his sleigh to deliver Christmas cheer and a special message in holiday lights to the Board of Supervisors: “Frontline Workers Demand Respect, Care, and Compassion.”
Santa’s sleigh will bring five Christmas trees, one for each of the five members of the Board of Supervisors, decorated with ornaments containing messages from union workers describing how they hope the Supervisors will approach the ongoing COVID pandemic with a stronger sense of urgency and compassion.
“When the pandemic first hit LA County, our members stood strong amidst unprecedented professional challenges, yet too often we were taken for granted,” said SEIU 721 President David Green. “Our wish is for the Board of Supervisors to supply essential workers with the tools we need to succeed so that we can supply the public with the level of services that they are counting on now more than ever.”
“This pandemic is not over with, and LA County’s healthcare workers are preparing for a winter COVID surge,” said Ileana Meza, a Registered Nurse Practitioner at the LAC+USC Medical Center and Chair of the SEIU 721 Bargaining Policy Committee. “Everyone from nurses to receptionists to custodians are already reporting big workload increases as demand for our services grows. The Supervisors need to know. We must keep essential frontline workers from burning out so we can keep public health protected.”
WHO: Santa Claus and His Reindeer along with LA County’s Essential Frontline Workers
WHAT: Special Christmas Trees and Gifts Delivery to the LA County Board of Supervisors
WHEN: Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 6 AM
WHERE: 500 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
VISUALS: Santa Claus being led by his reindeer on a massive red sleigh filled with five Christmas trees and big gifts for the five members of the Board of Supervisors. Essential frontline workers will join him holding aloft signs written in holiday lights that convey a very merry and bright message.
“Without essential public workers, this massive metropolis could not function,” said Ron Herrera, President of the LA County Federation of Labor. “And while this Board of Supervisors will be home for Christmas, we ask that they remember the essential workers who keep LA County’s nearly 11 million residents safe and sound now, throughout the holiday season and into the New Year.”
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Contact: Roxane Marquez, (213) 705-1078
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