COVID 19 Pandemic and Maryland State and Higher Education Institutions
As Maryland looks to reopen its state office buildings and public higher education institutions, ensuring health and safety in the workplace must be the highest priority. AFSCME Council 3 has been demanding testing, personal protective equipment (PPE), plans and emergency pay for essential employees who have been showing up to work daily during this crisis.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the University System of Maryland (USM) have often been slow to react, and inadequately prepared. This has left workers on the frontline without the resources they need to effectively fight the virus, and Marylanders in need of public services unable to access them. Reopening workplaces is far more complex than closing them and it is imperative that occupational health and safety regulations, procedure's, and systems provide the basis for return to work, as well as in situations where work has continued.
In these documents, we outline the necessary steps and best practices that all State Agencies and the USM need to follow to ensure that workers, those they serve, and their families stay safe during this pandemic. We also recognize the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 virus is having on black and brown communities in Maryland. The unprecedented demand for state services exacerbated by racial inequities in healthcare, the economy, and the criminal justice system, means that now more than ever we need every state and higher education employee on the frontline fully equipped and ready to serve Marylanders.
An unprotected worker is an unprotected community.
Please download the full guide here: https://www.afscmemd.org/system/files/covid_reopen_doc__0.pdf
