NYC Janitors Feel Slighted

The work done by janitors in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic has unarguably been some of the most important labor conducted around the world during this crisis. A city that has been one of the biggest hotbeds for the disease, New York has been held together by a thread that is frontline workers. However, janitors, porters and custodians in the city believe they've been abandoned by their federal government, reports The New York Daily News.

A porter at the city's famed Rockefeller Center tells the Daily News that he and his peers haven't been receiving the benefits they should as essential frontline workers. The porter, Hipolito Andon, says he's protecting facilities and people from the pandemic despite the fact he's diabetic and hasn't been given the proper offering of personal protective equipment.

Andon's story must have been heard by some, as he was invited to participate in a conference call on the topic with members of Congress and SEIU's leadership in New York.

One of the other persons participating in the conference call, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), tells the Daily News that she will be asking that the next stimulus bill do more to help the janitors who have risked so much.

While janitors have been slighted by some during the pandemic, many others have been celebrating them and their work. Kids in the Los Angeles area recently sent thank you cards to the janitors who have been cleaning healthcare facilities.