August 18, 2020 - All Assistant Business Managers who work out of the Union Hall in Langley have returned to work at the office, effective Monday, August 17, says Brother Doug McKay, Business Manager of Local 258 IBEW. The office remains closed to members and visitors.

"We are maintaining our COVID-19 safety protocols at the office where administrative support staff have remained working throughout the pandemic and we’ve added further protocols to accommodate the additional staff," he says, "Social and physical distancing is our priority and we are fortunate we have enough space in our building to effectively provide that for everyone. We have also introduced one-way travel in our hallways to prevent close contact when moving from one area to the next."

Hand sanitizer is available everywhere and staff have been reminded of the importance of frequent handwashing. Wearing a mask is mandatory if anyone is unable to maintain physical distance, with both cloth and paper masks available. Break times have been assigned and staggered to limit the number of staff in the lunch room at one time. And enhanced and more frequent professional cleaning and sanitizing services are being provided.

“It’s been 5 months since we’ve had our full complement of staff working out of the Union Hall, and it’s great to see and hear everybody again,” says McKay. “We’ll see how long this lasts as we’re hearing the reports of the COVID-19 case numbers rising. It’s good to know we can effectively provide member representation and services with ABMs working remotely in case we have to do this again.”

No cases of COVID-19 have been reported by staff and everyone is aware they do not have to come to work if they are feeling unwell.