Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-04-20)

◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek April 20, 2020

33

● Citysystemswerealreadystrappedfor

cash—andthencamethecoronavirus

MassTransitRisks

ADownwardSpiral

JeffreyTumlinandhisstaffattheSanFrancisco

MunicipalTransportationAgencyspentSaturday,

April4,poringoverrostersandroutemaps.The

agency,whichoperates theMunisystem,had

alreadyhaltedserviceonmetrolinesandtrolley

carsinresponsetosocial-distancingprotocolsand

a ridershipdeclineofasmuchas83%somedays,

comparedwithnormallevels.Now30%to40%of

busoperatorswereexpectednottoreporttowork

becauseofsicknessorhealthconcerns.Without

enoughdrivers,Tumlinandhisstaffrecognized,

citywidebusservicewouldsoonbeunfeasible.

OnApril6,TumlinannouncedthatMuniwassus-

pendingabout75%ofitsbuslines.“Ineverthought

I’dsaythis,”tweetedTumlin,a truebelieverinpub-

lictransportationasa socialunifier.“Pleasedon’t

takeMuniif youhaveotheroptions.”

Thetollofthecoronavirusonairtransportation

is wellknown:It’semptiedairportsandpushedcar-

rierstobankruptcy.Masstransitemploysalmostas

manypeopleasairtransportintheU.S.,according

totheBureauofLaborStatistics—andit’salsoina

perilousstate.Whiletheairlines’catastrophefol-

loweda decadeofrecordprofits,transitridershipin

theU.S.since 2014 hadalreadybeendeclining,a

THEBOTTOMLINE Somepublic-sectorworkersarestillgoing

intotheoffice,eventomakephonecallsorprocessmail.Workers

andunionssaythisputsthematrisk.

therapist.“Themorepeopleyoubringin,themore
exposuretheycanhave,orwecanhavetothem.”
Ina VAofficeinFayetteville,Ark.,unionleaders
say,theagencyis requiringdozensofemployees
whoworkonthephonealldaytocontinuecom-
ingintotheoffice,wheretheysitinclosequarters
astheydispatchpeopletovisitveteransathome.
Complaintsfromstaffandunionleadershave
goneunaddressed,saysDonChaffin,vicepresi-
dentofa localbranchoftheAmericanFederation
ofGovernmentEmployees.“Ithinkwe’reopen-
ingourselvesuptobringingthepandemic to
Fayetteville,”hesays.“Theattitudeseemstobe—
God,I hatetosay,‘Ohwell,’notcaring—butthat’s
whatit lookslike.”
VA press secretary Christina Noel said in
anemailthattheagencyisfollowingguidance
fromtheU.S.CentersforDiseaseControland
Prevention.“VAis maximizingteleworkwhenpos-
sible,whileensuringit hasadequatestaffon-siteat
itsfacilitiesinordertomeetthedailyclinicalcare
needsofveterans,”shewrote.
TheNationalLaborRelationsBoard,thefederal
agencythatenforcesprivate-sectorlaborlaws,has
continuedtorequiresomeofitsownstafftoshow
upinpersontoperformfunctionssuchascheck-
ingthemail.Ina March 16 memo,theNLRB’s
chairmananditsgeneralcounselannounced
that,whilemostemployeeswouldtelework,field
officeswouldstayopenforlimiteddailyhours.
Employeeswhowere“neededtohandlemail”had
tocometotheoffice.
“It’sa verybackwardspolicy,”sayslocalunion
PresidentMichaelBilik,anNLRBemployeewho’s
sickwiththevirus.AfterBloomberginquiredabout
thepolicy,theagency’sgeneralcounselsentstaffa
memoonMarch 27 sayinghe’ddecided“toallow
regionaldirectorsdiscretionindetermininghow
in-comingmailwillbehandled.”Agencyspokes-
manEdwinEgeeconfirmedonApril 13 thata “skel-
etoncrew”stillprocessesmail.Hesaidtheagency
wastrying“tobalancethedualgoals”ofenforcing
thelawandprotectingstaff.
Whilesomegovernmentofficeshaveaccess
topersonalprotectiveequipment,cleaningsup-
plies,andhandsanitizers,thesearen’tavailable
ordeemednecessaryeverywhere.A lawsuitin
Alaskaallegessomestateemployees“havepur-
chasedandinstalledmakeshiftplasticshieldsto
provideseparation” as they labor in areas that
keep them less than 6  feet apart. In the com-
plaint, filed on March 24, an Alaska chapter of
the American Federation of State, County &
Municipal Employees accuses the state of fail-
ing to apply its health mandates and policies to

its own workers. According to the suit, employees

have been required “to work around and gather

around more than 10 people” at a time.

Becca Whitman, a juvenile probation officer at

the state’s Department of Health and Social Services,

says management has ignored her questions about

why she needs to come into the office when she now

works only via computer and phone. “We’re just

teleworking from our office,” she says.

Asked about the allegations, a spokesperson for

the governor’s office noted that a judge had denied

the union’s request for a temporary restraining

order in the case. The litigation remains ongoing.

�Josh Eidelson and Polly Mosendz