(Fighting New Coronary Pneumonia) New York holds a parade to pay tribute to anti-epidemic workers and some front-line employees boycott
China News Service, New York, July 7th. New York City held a parade on the 7th to pay tribute to those working on the front line during the epidemic. However, due to boycotts by multiple unions, the actual number of participants in the demonstration was less than expected.
On the same day, on Broadway Avenue in the “Heroes Canyon” in Lower Manhattan, Sandra Lindsay, the first medical worker in the United States to be vaccinated against the new crown, led the parade in a convertible. Nurses, doctors, teachers, bus drivers, grocery store employees, Approximately 2500 frontline workers, including cleaners, marched among the confetti.
According to the Associated Press, this parade with the theme “Hometown Heroes” continues the 125-year tradition of paper tape parades in New York City. At the event, people threw paper tapes from the office shredder to the parade to pay their respects. Previously, the city had held similar events when soldiers triumphed, astronauts returned to Earth, and the team won the championship. The most recent was to celebrate the U.S. Women’s Football Team’s victory in the Women’s World Cup in 2019.
New York City Mayor Bai Sihao said that we have to thank many people. They made history in the most difficult time in New York. It was they who made New York gradually return to normal. Front-line workers deserve this kind of parade treatment.
However, the “New York Times” reported that the parade was boycotted by several unions, including representatives of first responders, paramedics, fire inspectors, community workers, and epidemic trackers. The scale of the parade was far smaller than before.
Oren Barzilay, chairman of the New York City Fire Department’s emergency department union, said that when the epidemic is severe in 2020, many people in the department will need to work 4 or 5 days a week for 16 to 18 hours. However, they have no other than basic salary. Receive due overtime pay or allowance. Barzilay said that these people work day and night with low salaries. What they need is not a demonstration, but a solution to the problems that affect their livelihoods.
Andrew Ansbro, president of the New York City Uniformed Firefighters Association, said that instead of holding a parade, the city government should use a “more appropriate posture” to grant allowances to frontline workers who are not afraid of danger. Some of the firefighters were infected with the new crown virus at work. Some of them received treatment and survived, but some have left us.
According to a report by the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), some firefighters in New York City have been working without a contract for the past two years, and their rights and interests cannot be protected. In this regard, the New York City government stated that relevant departments are negotiating on the issue of the new contract. (Finish)
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