The Workers Circle To Pay Tribute To New York's Frontline Workers At Virtual Benefit This October

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Workers Circle will pay tribute to frontline workers for their unwavering courage, presenting an inaugural Heroes of the Workforce/Arbeters Heldn Award to the New York Professional Nurses Union (NYPNU) on Thursday, October 7, 2021.

NYPNU represents the nurses of New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital, one of the first hospitals in the US to find themselves on the frontline of the pandemic with their ER and units rapidly filling beginning last March. Because of workers like those represented by NYPNU, many more people are alive today.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to all of those here in New York City and across our country who valiantly served on the frontlines of this pandemic," said Ann Toback, CEO and Executive Director of the Workers Circle. "In particular, we recognize the NYPNU Nurses for their unwavering courage in the past months, and their commitment to providing lifesaving care and support to thousands of patients. And we recognize NYPNU, their union, which provides a platform for its members to collectively speak out and take action on critical issues, including patient safety, power in the workplace, and speaking out against injustice in the greater society around us."

"A nurse, at their core, is an advocate," says Kathleen Flynn, RN, President of the New York Professional Nurses Union. "We know how to read the signs and when intervention is required. Patient advocacy doesn't end at the bedside. We champion for safe patient care in all forms. Fighting for safe staffing and addressing racial disparities in health care are just as necessary and lifesaving as a vaccine. This recognition from the Workers Circle is a great honor and an acknowledgment of an ongoing partnership - it takes all of us to build a better world."

During the past year, NYPNU members championed for an increased national response to the ongoing pandemic and advocated on behalf of racial justice and worker rights, which are core values and tenants of the Workers Circle's history and mission.

The organization's first-ever virtual benefit will be held at 8:00 pm ET (with a special VIP event for sponsors starting at 7:30 pm ET). The event will feature top-notch musical entertainment, special guests, and other surprises.

While the event is free, the Workers Circle encourages donations to support the organization's youth activism programs.

For more details, to become a sponsor, or learn about ways you can honor the frontline workers in your life or pay tribute to the memory of someone you lost to COVID, visit https://www.circle.org/virtual-benefit-sponsorship.