During the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers — people who have kept food available, staffed health care facilities and much more — have been recognized because as they’ve maintained critical services, they’ve also risked exposure to the virus. These workers, rightly, have been held up as frontline heroes, people to whom other Americans owed a debt. Politicians stressed how important this work was and continue to do so. Their work is the subject of advertisements, lawn signs and media campaigns.