EMPLOYER RESPONSES TO CORONAVIRUS

AETNA AMBULANCE: COMPANY RESPONSE COVID-19

Hello Dave,

Thank you for reaching out. This will be a challenge to be sure.

The ambulance employees are well well trained to to deal with infectious disease. They are are taught proper PPE (personal Protective equipment) in their programs and use it daily. in addition they receive annual OSHA training on Bloodborne pathogens, infectious control, N95 fit testing and now retesting if necessary. The employees are provided:

N95 Moldex respirators

Nitrile gloves

protective procedure gowns

face shields

Bio bags

surgical masks

Vionex hand sanitizer

Antibacterial gel

Citrace spray disinfectants

Isolation body suits with boot covers

Negative pressure capable ambulances

In addition to the standard PPE and body isolation equipment, the ambulances are being washed daily and equipment is sanitized after calls. Our office is being cleaned with key areas disinfected daily. Thermal scanners have been purchased for all of our paramedic units to identify patients with fevers. We have daily meetings with DPH, city officials, hospital staff and medical control, fire departments and police departments to develop a standardized, methodical and calm approach to COVID transports. This is being shared with staff and updated daily. 

As of now there have been a few false alarms with no COVID transports. He have a closed loop feed back system with our local partners to inform us of any confirmed COVID patients. Any patients with cold, fever or flu like symptoms are treated as suspected until proven otherwise. Any suspected exposure will trigger incident reports to our infection control officer and medical control at our hospital. The CDC recommends first responders and health care workers self monitor for fevers above 100.4.  Proper body isolation should prevent exposure.

This is a fluid situation that will change daily. I suspect it will get worse. Any updates are passed on to the employees and all are calm and professional. 

If you would like to meet, please let me know,

Mark Hannegan

Director of Operations 

Aetna Ambulance

860-756-6650

ALLAN S. GOODMAN: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Keeping the workplace safe

Encourage your employees to…

Practice good hygiene

• Stop handshaking – use other noncontact methods of greeting
• Clean hands at the door and schedule regular hand washing reminders by email
• Create habits and reminders to avoid touching their faces and cover coughs and sneezes
• Disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, tables, desks, and handrails regularly
• Increase ventilation by opening windows or adjusting air conditioning

Be careful with meetings and travel

• Use videoconferencing for meetings when possible
• When not possible, hold meetings in open, well-ventilated spaces
• Consider adjusting or postponing large meetings or gatherings
• Assess the risks of business travel

Handle food carefully

• Limit food sharing
• Strengthen health screening for cafeteria staff and their close contacts
• Ensure cafeteria staff and their close contacts practice strict hygiene

Stay home if…

• They are feeling sick
• They have a sick family member in their home

What every American and community can do now to decrease the spread of the coronavirus

AMR: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Dear Dave:

As we move forward amid the current COVID-19 crisis, I wanted to provide you and your organization with current information about some of the Company’s actions in response, particularly as they relate to employees who are represented by your organization.  

To address the numerous challenges the Company and our employees face during this crisis, we believe it is critical that the Company and its employees have as much flexibility as reasonably possible to ensure we maintain our commitment to our patients and the communities we serve.  As you know, most or all of our CBAs include provisions whereby the parties agreed that in the event of disaster or catastrophe outside of the control of the employer causing disruption to normal operations, the employer would be temporarily relieved of obligations under the CBA relating to certain matters including scheduling and shift changes.  The parties also agreed that for employees deployed to work as part of an employer-sponsored response team effort, the terms of the applicable CBA would be suspended including any employer obligations relating to wages, hours, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment.  As I trust you can understand, the Company deems the current COVID-19 crisis to be such an event.

Accordingly, effective immediately the Company shall temporally invoke the local and national disaster provisions of the collective bargaining agreements your organization has with operating subsidiaries of American Medical Response, Inc. With the declarations of emergency announced Nationally and by most States, invoking these provisions allows the Company the flexibility to work with employees to adjust work schedules, assignments and other elements of daily work life so that employees can make accommodations to address their personal needs and still be available to work.  Additionally, those provisions allow the company to modify work schedules, work times and other daily working conditions to also adjust to the ever-changing needs of our patients and communities during this unprecedented time in our work lives.

In addition to the above, there are on-going situations that have created the need to seek employee volunteers to augment staffing or to provide specific services that we have been tasked to perform by Department of Homeland Security around the country.  Because of this, it is likely that in one or more of the operations where your organization represents AMR employees, there may be staff from other locations working side by side with your members.

Last, for your information, I have enclosed a copy of the Company’s most updated Coronavirus Disease (COVID -19) pay practice guidelines.  As events change, this policy may be modified or changed back to the standard operating procedures when the National Emergency is no longer in effect, and/or as demands in certain regions change.

Sincerely,

David Banelli

Vice President

Labor Relations

Global Medical Response

DATTCO: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Dave,

DATTCO had taken precautions in all our terminals, including wiping down common surfaces with disinfectants, providing our employees with cleaning products to wipe down their buses, and having materials in the workplace to facilitate more frequent hand washing.  Unfortunately, we had to take the necessary step of laying off our drivers and monitors last Friday, due to the unprecedented closing of all our schools through 3/31/20.

DHL: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Express U.S. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Date: March 13, 2020

From: Laurice Bancroft, Lajnesia White

To:  DHL Express U.S. employees

Dear Colleagues,

We continue to work diligently to ensure we are taking the right course of action to protect our people, our customers and our operations as the COVID-19 outbreak unfolds.  We understand that this is a concerning time.  Our FAQ’s are being updated daily.  Here are the actions we have been taking over the last few days.

DHL Visitor Restrictions and Screening

Effective immediately (until otherwise notified), please adhere to the following:

In-person face-to-face meetings with internal visitors (i.e. DHL employees who do not normally work in one’s specific building) or external visitors (including vendors or job interview candidates) should be replaced  by virtual meetings. However, this does not apply to customers visiting front-counter lobby locations for service.

If an in-person meeting is deemed “business critical” (as determined by your local SMT), the meeting may take place provided a visitor form is completed and approved by the designated DHL facility/country visitor approver before the visit. The designated approver will review:

Why a virtual meeting is not feasible

Check against the latest list of highly impacted (Type A and B) countries and regions found on the DPDHL website. Details can be found the FAQ’s.

Emergency Cleaning Vendors

Four national companies are on call to assist in any scenario where we need to sanitize an area or location.  Details can be found here and in the FAQ’s.

Fleet cleaning

A regular deep clean of all fleet is now established.

Customer Communications and Field Sales Guidelines

Customers are reaching out to understand DHL’s position on the outbreak along with reassurance that we have business continuity plans in place.  Click here for talking points and contacts for escalations.

Suspected and Confirmed Cases.

For any suspected or confirmed cases, please escalate to USexptaskforce@dhl.com. Refer to this decision making tree and scenario based document.

Pickup and Delivery: Customer interactions

Use this job aid to assist our couriers in how to handle customer refusing to sign for packages.

Combatting anxiety

While it’s natural to have some anxiety about any major disease outbreak, worrying too much can be counterproductive. Fortunately, there are things you can do to put your fears at ease.

Get your information from trustworthy sources, such as the CDC. Stories in the news and on social media often overinflate the risk associated with illnesses like coronavirus. To ensure that you’re getting accurate and reasonable information, stick to sources like:

The World Health Organization who maintains up-to-date information about the current COVID-19 outbreak here. You can find information from the CDC here.

Look at the statistics to get some perspective.  Most people who get the coronavirus develop flu-like symptoms, such as a fever, cough, and body aches.

Avoid consuming too many media stories about the virus. Even news from reputable sources can start to feel overwhelming if you look at it too much. If you’re feeling a lot of anxiety about the coronavirus, try taking a break from reading, watching, or listening to stories about it.  Set a limit for yourself on how much time you spend looking at news about the outbreak. For example, you might limit yourself to checking the World Health Organization website for updates once a week, or spending no more than 15 minutes listening to the news in the morning.

Important Preventative Measures 

Do not come to work if sick (COVID-19 symptoms are fever, cough, shortness of breath).  Notify your Manager.   inform your manager immediately of any confirmed tests of the virus.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. For added precaution, keep a safe distance (6ft) from those who have no apparent symptoms. Practice social distancing.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces

Useful information can be found in the links below:

Handwashing Poster

Hand Sanitizer Factsheet

What To Do If You’re Not Feeling Well

Symptoms can include fever, cough and shortness of breath. If you’re not feeling well - stay home.  If you believe you are experiencing Coronavirus related symptoms, please call a doctor to be evaluated, and follow your normal callout procedures.  Please inform your manager immediately of any confirmed tests of the virus.

Information and Frequently Asked Questions

A comprehensive FAQ can be found here.  We have opened an employee hotline for status updates on DHL Express response to the outbreak.  The number is (866)-818-2100. 

Attention Facility Managers

Please ensure every employee, including those who do not have access to DHL e-mail, receives this important message at your next Performance Dialog or Pre-Work Brief.  Please print the FAQs, Poster and Factsheet referenced above and place them in areas with high employee visibility.

Click here for the Leader Checklist which will help you ensure proper hygiene measures are being taken at your facility.

Communications and escalation regarding the outbreak must be directed to usexptaskforce@dhl.com and all employee details confidentiality maintained.

As you aware, this situation is changing on a daily basis and the TaskForce will continue to monitor the position of authorized agencies on prevention and control.  Safety First is paramount.

Kind regards,

Laurice Bancroft                                             Lajnesia White

SVP, Network Operations                              VP, Human Resources

DHL Express U.S                                           DHL Express U.S.

EAST HARTFORD DISPATCH : COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Dave Lucas,

I know you are looking for specific step that employers are taking to protect Local 671 Member as well as the public to combat the presence of Coronavirus. 

East Hartford Town leadership from various departments including the East Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Fire Department, Public Works (Facilities) and the East Hartford Public Schools participates in on-going strategic planning sessions led by the East Hartford Health Department as part  of a community wide preparedness in an effort to protect town employees as well as the public.  We are continuing to actively monitor COVID-19, and commonly known as the Coronavirus disease. 

The following information and items has been shared and made available to all employees:

Made available to all personnel;  EAP approved cleaning supplies and placed throughout each wing and on each floor of the Public Safety complex and advised all employees to frequently clean their work stations.

Facilities Department has increased their cleaning efforts in common areas and high traffic areas in the Public Safety complex.

The town has reminded employees to follow the succeeding practice:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

If soap and water are unavailable, you should use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue.  Put your used tissue in a wastebasket. If a tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces (including railings, doorknobs, countertops, etc.) using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Close contact is defined as being within approximately six feet of an individual.

Stay at home if you become ill.

Symptoms of contagious viruses (including coronavirus) include one or more of the following:

Fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher)

Cough

Shortness of breath

Follow the CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask:

It is not recommended that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

Facemasks should only be used by people who show symptoms of a respiratory illness (including COVID-19) to help prevent the spread of the disease to others.

The Communications Department is a locked facility with extremely limited access to the public.    

We also provide Employee Assistance (EAP) if employee(s) need assistance with issue(s) that arise from this health concern. 

All personnel were also advised that If they have questions about any of the information in this message, to contact the East Hartford Health Department at 860-291-7324.

The Town of East Hartford is also continuing to provide updates on the virus and our preparation efforts as it relates to our community on town website at www.easthartfordct.gov.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Regards,

Deputy Chief Mack S. Hawkins

Chief of Field Operations

East Hartford Police Department

31 School St.

East Hartford, CT 06108

Office 860 291-7597

MONDELEZ: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Dear Union Leader – Dave Lucas

I want to connect with you about our Company’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 situation.

Our overall approach to this evolving situation is being guided by two overarching principles--- prioritizing the health and safety of our employees and workplaces, while also ensuring business continuity.

We are continuing to follow public health guidance provided by the relevant authorities in our markets, including the CDC in the United States and the World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition, I want to highlight key guidance to our employees in the U.S.:

Smart Contact (“Social Distancing”)

Within our organization, we have implemented a policy of “smart contact” (or “social distancing”).  This is a set of basic preventative measures to help stop or slow down the spread of COVID-19. These include:

Eliminating hand shaking, kissing or hugging as greetings

Reducing meetings to <10 people

Using a larger room than needed to allow for extra space

Staggering break, lunch and shift times where possible 

Keeping track of where each individual is in the building at any given time and all contacts with others

Reducing or eliminating as much as possible all shift, line and job rotation to decrease the number of contacts between employees per day or week.

Keeping away from large gatherings of people

Maintain approximately 6 feet of distance between people, workstations, tables in break rooms and desks which may face each other 

Guidance on Self-Quarantine OR If Feeling Sick

All colleagues and partners, family members or those living in the same household who have travelled for business or personal reasons to those geographies most affected by the crisis (currently China, Italy, South Korea and Iran) must follow a 'self-quarantine' process for 14 days once they return (i.e., do not come to any MDLZ location).

Regardless of recent travel history, if anyone experiences symptoms including fever, cough, runny nose, headache, sore throat, respiratory distress, and/or a general ill feeling, they must immediately contact their local health provider, their manager and should not come to work until they feel better.

Sources of Payment and Attendance Discipline

We will work with our union representatives and our employees to ensure that absences related to this situation are covered by paid sick leave programs and/or other payment sources, so that no one is in a situation where they must make a choice about coming to work sick due to personal financial concerns.  

In addition, we are holding any attendance discipline in abeyance at this time as we continue to monitor this evolving situation.  Until further notice/circumstances change, we will not be issuing attendance discipline to anyone who is out of work due to illness or quarantine related to the COVID-19 situation.

Reinforcing Good Hygiene Practices

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and US government authorities such as the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) have provided guidance on simple measures to help protect from infection from this or other viruses, including:

Wash hands frequently with soap/water or a sanitizer

Cover mouth and nose with arm/elbow when coughing or sneezing

Maintain distance from people who are coughing or sneezing

Protocol for Visitors, Contractors & Consultants

Earlier this week, we implemented a protocol whereby all visitors, contractors and consultants must enter through the main reception area of our facilities, follow already existing sign-in procedures and, in addition, answer a few additional screening questions. Any individual who does not pass the screening questions will be denied entry to the building.  

Thank you for your engagement, support and cooperation as we navigate through this evolving situation, with the focus on putting our people first, while also maintaining business continuity. 

Please reach out to me with any specific questions or concerns.

Pam

O&G: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

SUBJECT: EMERGENCY LEAVE GUIDELINES THROUGH END OF MARCH

Sent on behalf of the Oneglia Family and O&G Officers and Directors

The world health community continues to monitor closely the “coronavirus disease 2019” (COVID-19). While maintaining day-to-day business operations remains a priority, we are committed to maintaining a safe workplace and adopting practices to protect the health of employees, our loved ones, customers, visitors, and other business partners.

Locally, we have spoken with the Torrington Area Health District and we have reviewed both the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) and the Connecticut Department of Public Health websites for additional information. I have attached important information for your review.

Further, we ask everyone to cooperate in taking steps to reduce the transmission of communicable diseases in the workplace. Employees are directed to:

Stay home if you are experiencing any signs of flu-like symptoms, especially fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, or fatigue

In case of fever, you must be symptom-free for 24 hours before returning to work (without using fever reducing medications)

Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds; if soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol (for field sites without running water, we are aggressively addressing this issue and will provide additional information under separate cover)

Cover your mouth with tissues whenever you sneeze and discard used tissues in the trash

Clean frequently touched surfaces

Many times, with the best of intentions, we report to work even though we feel ill. If you are experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms, O&G provides paid time (ETO) to compensate employees who are unable to work due to illness. Use your ETO. Please reach out to your immediate supervisor directly if you are ill and have a concern about available ETO time. We are here to support our employees during this time.

Employees who report to work ill will be sent home in accordance with these health guidelines. During this period, we will not require a healthcare provider note for employees who are sick with acute respiratory illness to validate the illness or to return to work.

And while we do not offer formal telework arrangements, we will consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests from employees to work from home particularly if someone is under required quarantine, under self-imposed quarantine, and/or caring for a sick immediate family member or because they need to care for children due to a school or day-care closing as we recognize the importance of work flexibility during this time.

We will continue to provide ongoing updates on this rapidly changing situation.

Thank you for your help in containing the spread of this virus and other communicable diseases.

Beth

SCIENTIFIC GAMES: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Mr. Dave Lucas

Secretary-Treasurer, Local Union No. 671

22 Britton Drive

Bloomfield, Connecticut 06002

            Re: Scientific Games

Dear Mr. Lucas:

This letter responds to your letter dated March 11, 2020 regarding various questions relating to COVID-19 (commonly known as the Coronavirus) which the International Brotherhood of Teamsters posed to Scientific Games (“SG”).  The following numbered responses match the numbered questions in your letter.

The health and wellness of our employees is and will always be the highest priority of SG.  Accordingly, SG formed a crisis management team to deal with COVID-19 and communicated with employees regarding same.  By way of example, please see the attached emails dated January 31, 2020, February 12, 2020, March 3, 2020, and March 11, 2020 issued regarding COVID-19.  Periodic updates will also continue to be issued.

The SG Environmental Health & Safety (“EHS”) team is educated on the above referenced protocols.   We are also following the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”)   The EHS team is dedicated to updating our employees and providing updated guidelines, as appropriate, in an effort to keep employees safe. 

The SG employees at the Rocky Hill facility have received the following types of supplies:

3M N95 disposable respirators

XL Nitrile disposable gloves

L Nitrile disposable gloves

Purell hand sanitizer

Lysol disinfectant spray

70% isopropyl alcohol

Disposable hand wipes

Employees have been instructed to thoroughly clean all shared workstations before and after use.  We have also provided a Glove Safety Procedures, copy attached, to all union members.

The EHS Team would handle any reported cases (inclusive of contact tracing) and relay any reported cases to the local health departments and other authorities as appropriate.

Employees are instructed to contact the HR Service Center regarding symptoms of and/or exposure to COVID-19.  The HR Service Center will coordinate with the EHS team as needed.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Reinhardt

TOWN OF WINDSOR LOCKS: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

UCONN FIRST TRANSIT: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19

Hi Dave,

At First Transit UConn we are following quite a few precautions right now for the health of our drivers and passengers, most of which we have always had in practice.

Continuing to have disinfectant wipes available to drivers throughout the day and out in the lot during morning pull-out

Continuing a weekly inside and out cleaning program on our vehicles in coordination with our customer

Continuing to have hand sanitizer at our dispatch desk and throughout the building, including restrooms

Ensuring restrooms remain fully stocked and clean

Ensuring that nightly cleaning continues in our customer-owned facility

Disinfectant spray is on order to be used daily on touch surfaces in our vehicles

We are working with the customer to establish a nightly disinfecting program for all vehicles used.

Coordinating with First Transit regional team and other locations to stay on top of best practices

Location management is closely following all news and official recommendations related to the coronavirus

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Ryan Visci

UPS: COMPANY RESPONSE TO COVID-19