NORTH BERGEN, NJ (December 31, 2020) – The leaders of the International Longshoremen’s Association; New York Shipping Association, Inc., and Metropolitan Marine Maintenance Contractor’s Association, Inc., recently sent a memo (copy attached) to the ILA workforce in the Port of New York and New Jersey reminding them of the importance of observing all safety to keep everyone healthy against the still raging COVID-19 pandemic.
“The industry is concerned that we may have become lax, and so it is issuing this reminder to ensure that we continue strict observance of all safety procedures to keep everyone healthy,” wrote the ILA, NYSA and Metro in a memo on December 18, 2020, titled “Important Reminder About Covid-19 Safety in the Workplace.”
The majority of ILA workers in this port are employed at terminals in New Jersey and they were reminded in the memo that following safety protocols are not just industry rules anymore, “many of them have been given the force of law by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in Executive Order f192, effective November 5, 2020.”
The ILA, NYSA and Metro are all working tirelessly to keep workers healthy as we await the COVID-19 vaccine.
“To protect themselves and others from contracting COVID-19, everyone in the workplace must wear face coverings and, when feasible, social distance (i.e., maintain a distance of 6 feet from others,” the leaders wrote in the memo. “The industry appreciates all your hard work during these difficult times.”
While the ILA, NYSA and Metro remain compassionate to the sacrifices made by ILA workers, “the last thing the industry wants to do is discipline anyone during these times, but we have to comply with CDC guidelines and make sure we provide the safest working environment possible for the workforce.”
Download the COVID-19 Safety Reminder here
