Essential Workers - Expendable Workers

Meat processing workers, janitors, health care workers, transportation workers, retail and grocery workers, food workers, and many other categories of workers are often called "essential workers" who do "essential jobs."

However, they're really just low-paid, expendable workers who can be replaced almost immediately if they fall ill or die. Nobody knows their names. Nobody cares who they are. Instead, they are eminently replaceable.

They are the people who are essential to keeping others fed, moved from place to place, and provided with a clean environment for their comfort and safety.

They are essential, certainly, but are not valued highly. If they were, they would be better paid, respected, and treated with respect.

If they are essential, then perhaps we should treat them with the respect they deserve for doing essential jobs.

You think?