FROM THE DESK OF AFSCME COUNCIL 25 PRESIDENT LAWRENCE A. ROEHRIG
State Update
Governor Whitmer Signs Executive Order Extending Capacity for Disaster Relief Child Care Services for Essential Workforce
LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer today signed Executive Order 2020-51, which extends until May 13 expanded capacity for child care services for health care workers, first responders, and other members of the essential workforce providing critical infrastructure to Michiganders during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The order provides temporary and limited relief from certain regulatory restrictions regarding child care services and facilitates the use of certain property for child care services.
“This Executive Order ensures health care workers on the front lines battling COVID-19 have access to child care,” Governor Whitmer said. “With schools closed across the state and babysitters and grandparents staying home and staying safe, it’s critical the men and women risking their health and safety to protect ours have reliable and dependable child care.”
Under the Executive Order, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) is authorized to issue expedited provisional licenses to expand capacity for child care services. It also allows employers, like hospitals, to operate a disaster relief child care center for their employees. Public and nonpublic school facilities can also be utilized for the purposes of maintaining a disaster relief child care center focused on providing services for members of the essential workforce.
Those included in the essential workforce providing critical infrastructure to Michiganders include health care workers, home health workers, direct care workers, emergency medical service providers, first responders, law enforcement personnel, sanitation workers, child care workers, personnel providing correctional services, postal workers, public health employees, key government employees, court personnel and others providing critical infrastructure to Michiganders.
Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.
Midwest Governors Announce Partnership to Reopen Regional Economy
LANSING, Mich. -- Today, Governors Gretchen Whitmer (MI), Mike DeWine (OH), Tony Evers (WI), Tim Walz (MN), JB Pritzker (IL), Eric Holcomb (IN), and Andy Beshear (KY) announced that they will work in close coordination to reopen the economy in the Midwest region.
The governors said, “We are doing everything we can to protect the people of our states and slow the spread of COVID-19, and we are eager to work together to mitigate the economic crisis this virus has caused in our region. Here in the Midwest, we are bound by our commitment to our people and the community. We recognize that our economies are all reliant on each other, and we must work together to safely reopen them so hardworking people can get back to work and businesses can get back on their feet.
“Today, we are announcing that Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky will work in close coordination to reopen our economies in a way that prioritizes our workers’ health. We look forward to working with experts and taking a fact-based, data-driven approach to reopening our economy in a way that protect families from the spread of COVID-19.
“Our number one priority when analyzing when best to reopen our economy is the health and safety of our citizens. We will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education.
“We will closely examine at least these four factors when determining when best to reopen our economy:
• Sustained control of the rate of new infections and hospitalizations. • Enhanced ability to test and trace. • Sufficient health care capacity to handle resurgence. • And best practices for social distancing in the workplace.
“Phasing in sectors of our economy will be most effective when we work together as a region. This doesn’t mean our economy will reopen all at once, or that every state will take the same steps at the same time. But close coordination will ensure we get this right. Over time, people will go back to work, restaurants will reopen, and things will go back to normal. We look forward to working together as one region to tackle this challenge together.”
Federal Update
Governor Whitmer Leads Coalition of Governors to Call on the Trump Administration to Support Additional Resources for States, Localities
Governors Gretchen Whitmer (MI), Tony Evers (WI), and Tom Wolf (PA) sent a letter to President Trump requesting that he work quickly with Congress to support additional resources for all states and localities so that they can address budgetary shortfalls that have resulted from the COVID-19 crisis.
“Without this leadership, the damage to our state economies will be exacerbated by the cuts we know we will be forced to make,” The governors said. “We ask you to heed this weekend’s call from the leadership of the National Governors Association, Chair Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Vice Chair New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and support $500 billion in state stabilization funds that will allow for the replacement of lost revenues and with the maximum flexibility possible so the funding can be used beyond those costs directly tied to COVID-19 related expenses.” In Michigan, initial estimates suggest state revenues could be reduced by $3 billion alone this year - $7 billion over the next 18 months – due to the measures taken to halt the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing by the public and non-essential business closures. These cuts will undoubtedly lead to continued and major job losses in my state, where over 1 million new unemployment claims have been filed since March 15, a 5000% increase over a 4-week period, representing roughly a quarter of the state’s workforce..
Wisconsin is already experiencing major job losses in the wake of COVID-19, with the unemployment rate estimated at roughly 15% of the state’s workforce as of today. Initial estimates indicate that state revenue losses are likely to exceed $2 billion over the next year, and this significant revenue shortfall will damage the state’s ability to respond to the economic crisis faced by our workers and businesses.
In Pennsylvania, leaders are projecting a budget deficit ranging between $4.5 billion and $5 billion. That deficit will make it incredibly difficult to focus our efforts on supporting workers and businesses as we move past the COVID-19 pandemic and attempt to rebuild our economy for Pennsylvania’s middle class. The state has already seen dire impacts to businesses and over 1.3 million unemployment compensation claims, desperately needs federal assistance to ensure that, when this pandemic ends, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is able to get back on its feet.
“As the COVID-19 crisis continues, the health of our people and our economies are dependent on your actions in the coming days and weeks,” the governors continued. “We implore you to act decisively and expeditiously during this unprecedented time for our Nation.”
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the U.S. Department of the Treasury launched its online portal this week to allow eligible State, local, and tribal governments to receive payments to help offset the costs of their response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. This will allow an initial $71 billion to be made available to meet some immediate cash flow needs of state and local governments. However, states will need more assistance to address the magnitude of the crushing impact this virus has had on their economies.