Apr 28, 2020 3 min read

The nation’s largest union of health care workers and service workers on Monday launched a digital ad campaign in which health care staff working on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic demand adequate personal protective equipment, or PPE, and condemn President Trump for a “lack of leadership” during the crisis.

The Service Employees International Union’s direct-to-camera ads are voiced by SEIU members who ask for protection on the job and condemn Trump’s suggestion that health care workers have stolen personal protective gear.

“In my over 30 years as a nurse, I have never seen anything like this. Health care workers are having to fight for the lives of our residents and ourselves,” said Donna Stinson, a licensed practical nurse featured in the ad campaign who works in a nursing home in Allentown, where 22 people have already tested positive for COVID-19.

“It is no surprise that neglect and lack of planning have left workers like me without basic protective equipment. We need leadership to help end this crisis, save lives, and prevent something like this from happening again. President Trump needs to lead by protecting all workers and keeping everyone safe,” she said.

The ad is being released in battleground states including Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and Virginia, and it will run in both Spanish and English. The six-figure ad campaign will reach 2.6 million infrequent voters of color.

Matthew Yarnell, president, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, said Trump’s “failure to respond to the COVID-19 crisis has cost thousands of lives and inflicted profound economic pain on millions of people.

“As essential workers shoulder their responsibilities and put themselves and their families at risk to care for us, it is striking that the people who are holding our country together – women, as well as black and brown people – are the same people we typically underpay, underprotect, and exclude from decision-making,” Yarnell said.

Many of the 2 million workers SEIU represents, including nurses, janitors, and home care workers, are on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis and lack the necessary protections to stay safe on the job. In a recent survey, nearly 90% of U.S. mayors said they lack sufficient test kits, face masks, and other PPE for their emergency responders and medical workers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that as of mid-April, nearly 9,300 U.S. health care workers had contracted COVID-19, and 27 have died.

Over half of SEIU’s members are from minority communities, which have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the CDC, African Americans account for nearly 34% of COVID-19 infections while they are only 13% of the U.S. population.

The United States leads the world in COVID-19 infections and deaths.