I am writing to you with urgency to request your vote in favor of the Emergency Temporary Standard/Emergency Regulation 16 VAC 25-220 by the Safety and Health Codes Board.

These regulations are vital to protect the health of workers in meat processing plants who face high levels of exposure to Covid-19. These employees work in close quarters in an environment that, at its best, is filthy. Add to this the dangers of contracting and spreading a potentially deadly virus and the need for these regulations is plain. Protecting workers is a matter of economic and social common sense and also a matter of justice. It also protects the communities in which these workers live and shop. Therefore I urge use to continue on the sensible course and adopt these new rules. However onerous and inconvenient they may be, the consequences of not protecting our workers will be considerably worse.

I request that you pass the standards on June 24, 2020, without hesitation, to prevent further damage to the health of workers and the public in response to this emergency within an emergency. 

Thank you