“Essential” Means Underpaid and Unprotected

What we owe the people we rely on during the pandemic

Credit: RichLegg / Getty Images

If someone tells you that you’re “essential,” you’re going to want to run the other way. Because “essential” now means underpaid, unappreciated, sacrificial, and there to serve everyone else.

In the future, definitions in the dictionary are going to need to include what…