Using Your Voice Makes Us All Safer: Taking Concerns to Management
While we encourage members to report concerns to our union when they need assistance, members who feel comfortable may also take concerns directly to management.
Below is a great example (published with permission) of a member who emailed management directly (copying a Local 328 staff rep) to voice his concerns about how his department has been handling the COVID-19 situation.
If you’ve shared concerns in this way and would like to share your story, please reach out — we can post your email as a blog post (with or without your name).
Good Morning,
From my understanding , this email only paints a gloss over of what has been thought of already by our team members. There is no direct action on how you are ensuring our safety and security. There is also no time table of when you will be implementing these changes and how you are deploying safety precautions. We have asked several times of when things are going to change as well as what is going to change; this email isn’t reassuring. The only thing you have not outlined is our safety regarding regular “close calls” with individuals who don’t know how to socially distance; this includes employees who feel free to step behind our desks at any given moment. You have not stated how you are going to accommodate those who are at a higher risk if they are to contract this virus.
We have asked for noncritical desks to be closed during this time. We have asked for Plexiglas or some protective shield be installed at critical desks. We have asked for a skeleton crew or rotation of our schedule so we have the option of working part time while also being paid when we are not at work to protect our wages and income. This email only tells us what we have already asked for. This gives us no new information on what exactly is being done on our behalf.
Are we getting paid additionally for risking ourselves further such as overtime or hazard pay since we deal directly with the public? Are we being trained for Decedent Affairs and being paid additionally for that considering that it has become more hazardous for our safety during a pandemic?
We pride ourselves on showing up for work and doing a thankless job that I think all of us can say we love doing. We work diligently and professionally and with heart. But how long do we have to wait for action to be done when nearly every other critical department has been given decisive action and care weeks ago? When will that begin for us? You have not asked us what we thought of being deployed to do other tasks such as the Central Labor Pool. You have not considered our care or our wellbeing through this process. If you had, you would be on the front lines daily with us, not just now but form the beginning. Only then you would understand where our concerns stem from and that what we are asking isn’t much. In fact, it isn’t anything in the scheme of things of during a pandemic outbreak.
We have watched the news, we have seen local as well as global stories about how this affects people across the board; young, old, healthy, sick. Why aren’t we being taken seriously? Why are we being thrown to the sidelines? We have families, we have lives and we have ourselves to be worried about as well.
We are asking that you respond with a schedule of when you plan on rotating the schedule, when you plan on installing a shield at critical desks, when you plan on training and paying for Decedent Affairs protocol. We expect your answer soon.
Respectfully,
Wyatt Welch
Concierge Services