My name is Jerrell R Williams and I work for the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services as a Refuse Collector. I am a proud member of AFSCME Local 3001 and the public services me and my coworkers do to protect the health, safety, and cleanliness of our community. It is great to see our union step up in support of Virginia’s emergency workplace standards addressing the spread of the?coronavirus. The VOSH ETS protected Virginia workers in 2020 and must continue to do so in 2021. I join with my fellow members and Virginians in support of making those temporary standards permanent.  

As a Refuse Collector there are many opportunities to encounter hazardous materials. COVID-19 makes my job even more dangerous.  Across the country, we have heard that refuse and sanitation workers face alarming consequences when they lack access to necessary PPE or were not following the correct guidelines and safety procedures. As a father of two small children, I worry about bringing home something that can seriously harm my children.  

I understand that Virginia’s VOSH Emergency Temporary Standard will expire in January. I ask, on behalf of myself and workers worried about our health and safety, that Virginia’s Safety and Health Codes Board adopt the permanent workplace standard.?We need these protections against the risk of exposure, and employers need continued workplace safety requirements. I urge you to make the permanent standard and all its provisions effective immediately on January 27, 2021.