Dear Editor:

America is facing a pandemic that we are not equipped to handle, thanks in no small part to the failure of our elected representatives to establish adequate economic and public health safeguards that would have limited exposure to the virus. The federal government instead deferred to large corporations and monied interests at the expense of the working class, even with the latter making up the vast majority of any given constituency — especially in Maine.

I have seen these lack of protections firsthand working for a company that has closed due to the pandemic and one that has not offered any relief or paid leave for its workers. To make matters worse, just last week Senator Susan Collins voted against giving me, along with millions of other working families who work for large businesses, two weeks of paid sick leave. This would have been a godsend to both me and my grandmother whom I support, and I am devastated that Senator Collins has chosen to side with corporate interests over Maine workers. As of now I am unsure what the future will hold, currently I am making my last paycheck last as long as it can, and hoping that the state will step in before all is lost. 

Allyson Lambert

Dresden