I have moved to Washington State during the pandemic, but I was in Virginia at the time the Emergency Temporary Standards were being debated. As the representative of a union with thousands of front-line food service and hospitality workers who were facing the risk of infection every time they went to work, I am glad for the temporary standards that were passed. I am sure they saved lives.

This pandemic has been an extremely difficult time for front line workers. I have attended too many zoom funerals of people who were infected in their workplace. Now, especially with the mutating virus, workplace protections are even more vital to prevent infection, illness and death. Virginia played an important leadership role in our country at a time when the federal government failed to provide consistent standards or create any protections for workers. Workers in this country need these protections until the pandemic is completely over.