On the recordApril 16, 2021
Everyone should feel safe at work, and they should be safe at work. I want to give testimony about Kenya, who is a 49-year-old certified nursing assistant. I want to bring her words here in the Congress to understand what we are trying to do, who we are trying to protect. She said: ``You don't know if you are going to take the virus home to your family or not. I have two children, 16 and 18, and a 1-year-old grandbaby that I worry about all the time. ``I have a designated place where I take my uniform off and my shoes off to keep my family safe. I come in, go directly to the basement, where I already have a change of clothes, strip all my clothes off, put all of my clothes directly into the washing machine. ``Then there is my mom. I am her only child now, so that is a big scare because who is going to take care of her? ``It is very scary for my family. They don't want me to go back to work. But I have to go to work because I have to be able to take care of my family, and I tell them that my residents need me.'' These are the human stories behind the fact that people right now are asking us, the United States Congress, to pass legislation that is long overdue to protect workers in some of the most high-stress, least- appreciated positions in our communities. These workers are on the front lines, day in and day out, serving vulnerable groups and facing rates of workplace violence at five times the rate of workers in other communities.…
Source
govinfo.gov




