As we move to getting the country back on it’s feet we have to assume that the Covid virus will be normal part of our lives, both at work and at play, going forward. I’m wondering why we aren’t hearing anything from OSHA regarding any new safety standards for the new future workplace with Covid as an ongoing factor in the working environment? Seem that this should be a top priority in the reopening of our country.
The key to getting people back to work in large numbers is going to be testing. People who test negative and are together pose no threat to each other.
Any good business owner doesn’t want this virus taking down their business or their employees and will take numerous steps to prevent a potential disaster from happening. OSHA will be the caboose of the safety train, while the owners, should be the engineers.
The thing is that there is NO reason people who do not have the virus, which is the majority of us, cannot be in contact or close proximity to each other. A reliable,quick and efficient means of testing is the key.
The reason OSHA exists is because we have a meat packing plant owners, to give one example, who ran their trains off the tracks in pursuit of profit above all else.
In an economy driven by service jobs…the issue isn’t only worker safety… there is convincing customers that it is safe to receive services. This is a likely reason why we will not see the rapid return to normal that many are hoping for.
Last week the CDC issued recommendations to the food packing industry. And each point was a suggestion and not a must be. Certainly I think that the owners will take steps so that their people will be willing to come back to work. But I also think that some important things might be ignored.
Its a long time since Upton Sinclair wrote “The Jungle” but unfortunately his concerns seem to still be appropriate. A lot of immigrants employed in those plants; people who are easier to take advantage of… even when they have legal status in the US.
I don’t understand why a business owner would settle for reaping such a short run vs the financial benefits of doing things aligned with long run thinking?
If everyone were “good” there would be no need for law and regulation. And for all those who are more concerned about profit than about goodness, their workers suffer when OSHA is relegated to the caboose.
I guess I am envisioning a world in which businesses might have to invest in testing equipment, if it can be done quick enough, that they have on site to verify the people coming into their building are free of the virus. What is the other option, keeping their business closed forever? Even when we get a vaccine, vaccines are not full proof. We have flu vaccines and people still the flu.
The reason that we still have flu is that it mutates every year, so the vaccine is always a year behind.
And yes, we need to get back to work. But now that we are learning more about this little bugger the better equipped we can be to avoid it. It is looking like it is far more passable then the flu virus. And that is scary stuff.