Dear Senator Sinema,

In order to recover from this pandemic, working people across the country need one thing: a recovery plan that is as big as the crises our families are facing. We need a plan that creates millions of good jobs, provides care to those in need, protects frontline communities from the injustices they face, and presents real solutions to the climate crisis.

But right now, our recovery is on the chopping block, and the current bipartisan infrastructure bill is far from enough. Republicans in Congress are threatening to gut the investments our communities need. To stop them, Democrats in Washington are fighting to deliver a $6 trillion bill that actually meets the scale and scope of the crises we face -- but it will only pass if every Democrat in Congress votes for it.

Senator Sinema, our recovery depends on your vote. We’re calling on you to vote for the reconciliation bill your Party is fighting for, commit not to shrink the $6 trillion package by a single dime, and help our restaurants, workers, the farmers we support, and the families we feed recover from this pandemic.

As a lover of food, wine, and restaurants yourself, we hope you will hear our plea and respond with urgency. The American Rescue Plan provided some support for workers and small businesses, but too many of us are one layoff or hospital bill away from collapse.

The past year has made one thing clear: businesses and the workers are only as well as the communities we’re in. And in Arizona and across the country, there are communities whose economic future depends entirely on the bill that Democrats are fighting for -- the bill that we’re calling on you to support.

We know you understand just how important restaurants are. Restaurants reflect and honor our culture and traditions, and create space for our community to celebrate, mourn, and nurture relationships and nourish each other.

But Senator Sinema, our restaurants can’t survive without your help. We need care and relief, and we need it now. We can have good, dignified jobs with wages that let us pay for rent, groceries, tuition and so much else. We can have the child and elder care we need to support our families, and the healthcare we need to get well and stay well. We can repair the historic harms dealt to frontline communities and make sure all of our neighborhoods are resilient to future climate crises threatening our air, water and food.

This Summer, Congress has a historic opportunity to get our country back on track, and invest in working families nationwide. The Democratic Party, your Arizona constituents, and our coalition of food and beverage workers are calling on you to commit, here and now, to voting for our recovery.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned