After a series of individual meetings with top executives at the Detroit Three, the UAW says it is encouraged by industry adoption of stricter COVID-19 protocols than …
After a series of individual meetings with top executives at the Detroit Three, the UAW says it is encouraged by industry adoption of stricter COVID-19 protocols than the Center for Disease Control and Prevention now requires. In recent days, the CDC abruptly revised its manufacturing recommendations that employers test asymptomatic workers possibly exposed to coworkers who test positive for the highly contagious disease. Doctors at the CDC no longerrecommend testing such people. General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have all agreed to continue stricter protocol that requires testing and quarantining of any coworker who may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive, UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg confirmed to the Free Press. Union workers have said they’re concerned for themselves and family members at home. “The safest thing for UAW members and the facilities they work in, is to continue to test based on exposure to someone who tests positive regardless of whether they have symptoms or not,“ UAW President Rory Gamble told the Free Press. „It is an abundance of caution, but it protects UAW members, their families and their communities from the spread of the virus,“ he said. „After discussion with the joint task force, it just may prevent an outbreak that impacts their bottom line as well. It’s a win-win to ignore the CDC relaxing of protocols and do what is safest for both our members’ health and the company’s operations.” The UAW represents approximately 150,000 members employed by the Detroit Three. COVID-19 protections were not included in labor contract negotiations in 2019 because the disease had not been identified as a worker safety threat. As a result, UAW leaders are working every day with auto company executives nationally to track and implement safety protocols in the plants that impact both salaried and hourly workers, Rothenberg said.
