While scores of firefighters have been quarantined after being exposed to coronavirus, Gene Mitchell, speaking on behalf of union employees, told the Springfield City Council this week that the city isn’t doing enough to keep germs out of city hall. “The administration has considered Plexiglass to be tantamount to a vaccine,” Mitchell told the council via Zoom. “The city has been full of excuses as to why working remotely can’t happen, mainly due to a limited number of laptops and baseless concerns that (union) members would not perform their duties while working remotely,” Mitchell told the council. Mitchell said that union officials since last spring have been telling the city to take more steps to curb the spread of coronavirus among municipal workers by increasing social distancing. Due to technical difficulties, Mitchell’s comments were not audible in council chambers. While a fix was tried, Mitchell, a veteran, sang the “Marines’ Hymn,” which came across loud-and-clear online. We are all in this together, after all, and the battle goes on.
This article appears in Abortion haven 2020.
