Correspondence - #30 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Flores, Dora From: Michelle Ramage <michelle@livingspring.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2021 10:21 AM To: eComment, Sarmiento, Vicente; Phan, Thai; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Penaloza, David; Bacerra, Phil; Mendoza, Nelida Subject: SUPPORT for Item 30: Ordinance Establishing Premium Pay for Grocery Workers and Retail Pharmacy Workers Dear Council, My name is Pastor Michelle Ramage and I'm one of the pastors at Living Spring Church in Garden Grove. Many of my congregants live in Santa Ana. I am glad to see that Santa Ana is considering a Hazard Pay ordinance for our amazing grocery workers. I wholeheartedly SUPPORT the passage of Agenda Item 30, and urge the council to pass it immediately. Since the beginning of the pandemic, our grocery workers have been on the frontlines, risking the health and lives of them and their families, in order to keep us fed and nourished in these unprecedented times. We need to care for these workers in the best way we can. We know that when hired most grocery workers were not expecting a job that would one day endanger their lives. This is a critical difference between them and their fellow heroes in police and fire departments across the country. And yet we've seen our grocery workers step up to this mighty task, despite the inadequate compensation provided by their corporate employers. Our community has pronounced them "heroes," but without truly acknowledging their incredible sacrifices. We owe it to them to pass this ordinance in order to get them the hazard pay they so truly deserve. Over the last year, we've seen large grocery chains earning billions of dollars in profits, benefitting from the increase in meals eaten at home. It has been exasperating to see large corporate grocery chains fail to honor their workers with the hazard pay they deserve, meanwhile spending billions of dollars in profits on self-serving stock buyback schemes. My faith compels me to advocate for justice, fairness, and flourishing for all people. I pray that the city council will honor these workers and their sacrifice through enacting and upholding this hazard pay. This would be a genuine act of gratitude and blessing for their sacrifices. Santa Ana should be at the forefront of resolutions like this that help our community, and that serve as an example for other cities to follow. We ask that you stand with us and do the right thing by insisting that grocers do their part and honor our heroes with the hazard pay they deserve. Thank you for all you do to advocate for the flourishing of all people in our community. Blessings, Pastor Michelle Ramage Living Spring Church