Detroit Three, UAW Launch Coronavirus Task Force

Most white-collar types working for domestic automakers will be able to limit exposure to the rampaging coronavirus by sealing themselves off at home, relying on computers, phones, and Skype to carry on the business of making cars. But those whose livelihoods involve the physical building of cars are a different story; they have to come into work, so long as the plant stays open.

With this in mind, the Detroit Three and the United Auto Workers joined up to create the COVID-19/Coronavirus Task Force — an effort to lower the risk posed to assembly plant workers.

Heading up the task force is the shiniest brass from each entity: UAW President Rory Gamble, Ford Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Hackett, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, and Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley. Backing them up are the respective UAW heads assigned to each automaker, joined by the medical staff of each automaker and their manufacturing and labor leadership teams.

“This is a fluid and unprecedented situation, and the task force will move quickly to build on the wide-ranging preventive measures we have put in place,” said the Detroit Three leaders in a joint statement. “We are all coming together to help keep our workforces safe and healthy.”

As for what this means on the ground, the task force’s recommendations and responsibilities are pretty much what you’d expect of any still-functional workplace in the grip of an infectious disease outbreak. Things like the repeated sanitization of commonly-touched surfaces, previously-announced “enhanced” visitor screening, safety protocol for exposed workers, and the same thing for workers who actually show symptoms. Break times, food prep and availability, and employee education will be other focuses.

Sounds mundane, but there’s little else a company can do, aside from temporarily laying off workers while providing full pay — something many would no doubt prefer under these circumstances, but that’s a slightly different issue.

“As the joint task force identifies enhancements, each company, together with the UAW, will provide regular updates to the workers in their facilities,” the automakers stated.

[Image: General Motors]