While hospitals still have signs on their lawns thanking our frontline heroes for their bravery in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress is "considering measures to investigate, and possibly limit, the pay of travel nurses." You read that right: in the middle of a deadly pandemic, the U.S. federal government could disincentivize nursing even further by potentially capping their pay.
Sign now to demand Congress not pass legislation which caps pay for traveling nurses!
Not only is the United States in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic that has killed nearly 1 million Americans alone, the country is also experiencing a massive shortage of healthcare workers. Nurses have been on the front lines of this crisis for almost two years, and even before that performed some of the hardest work imaginable. Yet their pay is dwarfed by hospital executives and admins in every state in the country. So if hospitals are struggling financially, why is Congress focusing on harming workers, and not capping the income of millionaires and billionaires?
Early research shows that the way nurses have been treated during the pandemic -- from disrespect by COVID-deniers to failure of governments to use science to guide mask-wearing policies -- has resulted in an exodus from the field. A jaw-dropping number of healthcare workers - nearly one in five - have left their job since March of 2020. Pay-capping legislation won't make this trend any better.
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the United States, putting some of our most marginalized and vulnerable groups at especially high risk. It is more important than ever that we meet the needs of nurses and support healthcare workers after nearly two years of non-stop COVID-related trauma. Sign the petition now to tell Congress that Americans do not support capping the pay of traveling nurses!