(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – Dozens of Union Members and Activists got into their vehicles and took part in drive-by rallies conducted outside 12 city and suburban at hospitals, medical centers, labs and home healthcare centers on Tuesday (April 14th) in order to say Thank You to those Health Care Workers who are on the front lives of the COVID-19 crisis.

“Health Care Workers across the Nation are risking their lives and the lives of their loved ones every day in order to combat this pandemic.  This rally is meant to express Western New York’s gratitude for their selflessness and dedication,” Union Representatives said in a joint statement released to the media before they headed to their vehicles.

Honking their horns and waving their hands out the windows of their vehicles - in order to meet social distancing standards, the Union Members and Activists drove by Buffalo General Hospital, Buffalo Children's Hospital, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Sisters Hospital, the Veterans Administration Hospital, the Erie County Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, St. Joe's Hospital, DeGraff Memorial Hospital and Flint Road Labs.

Signs that were either adhered to the outside of their vehicles or waved out of windows thanked the Essential Health Care Workers, including one with a big red heart drawn in the middle – as well as signs from individual Unions with their logos stating the same.

CWA District One Organizer Theresa Shaffer told WNYLaborToday.com after the event that about an overall 100 vehicles took part in visiting all 10 sites.

“It was a ‘fantastic’ turnout,” she said.  “We ‘want to thank everyone’ – from the Western New York Labor Federation to all the individual Unions – who came out ‘to show their appreciation.’  With morale ‘so low and the mental stress (our Health Care Workers are dealing with), it works to boost’ their morale.  ‘What really hit home was that some Health Care Workers came out of their hospitals and medical centers’ (to watch the vehicles go by).  Some were ‘crying.’  ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’”

Unions that took part in the livestreamed (www.facebook.com/CWADistrict1) Thank You actions included Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 1, the Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation (WNYALF), New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers East, Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Western Region 6, Public Employees Federation (PEF) Region 1, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 4 and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1.

WNYALF President Richard Lipsitz released a statement on the role Western New York’s Front Line Workers are playing as they continue to battle the negative impact of the Coronavirus:

Over the past several weeks, the WNYALF has promoted a series of public statements and events that salute the Herculean efforts of those on the frontline in the current health emergency.

It is not possible to put into words the recognition and praise we feel towards these Sisters and Brothers.  

Let us simply say Thank You for keeping our Western New York Community as safe as possible during these troubling times.

This recognition does not begin and end with those toiling countless hours in our health care facilities.

While the Health Care Workers provide a wall of strength, they are not alone.

We would be remiss if we did not mention the Grocery Store Workers, Bus Drivers, Postal Workers, Truck Drivers, Ambulance Drivers, Warehouse Workers, Food Production Workers, Police and Fire, those in essential industries, School Teachers (distance learning), Municipal (Blue and White Collar) Workers, Home Care and Day Care Workers, Farm Workers, and anyone else putting their own safety at risk performing essential services.

It is also important to point out that in Western New York, the vast majority of these Workers are in Labor Unions.

The very fact that they show courage and discipline in the face of unparalleled challenges is a testament to their Labor Organizations.

Our Unions are resilient structures that take their leading role very seriously.

We are engaging our employers in a clear and forthright manner and to their credit most employers have done so as well.

We have been good partners to the State and Local Government Officials.

Our Labor Movement has earned the respect of the vast majority of our community.

When we emerge from this nightmare period, the role of Labor Organizations and the work of Union Members will never be forgotten.

Nor will we be shy from suggesting new directions based on a clear analysis of the post-pandemic situation.

It is clear that a ‘new normal’ will have to be achieved if we wish to avoid further disasters.

In the near future, the questions of a woefully deficient health care system, of a population that has far too many poor people at one end of the spectrum and a small handful of the very wealthy at the other, of an ongoing effort to limit voting rights, of the denigration of the role of science in the making of public policy, and of the lack of international cooperation must be addressed.

If we have the courage to face these challenges as a society, we can find our way to policies, legislation and programs that will improve the living standards of the vast majority of the people.

Let us do so, and in doing so, build a better future for humanity.

WNYLaborToday.com Editor's Note: Photos that appear with this Labor News Report were taken off the CWA's livestream feed of the rally and via the Social Network Facebook that were posted by Local Unions and their Members.