PERSPECTIVE: What Is “Essential”?

Date Posted: March 26, 2020

Posted In: COVID-19 Updates, Discussion, Ideas, White Papers, Workforce,

PERSPECTIVE

by Tom Finan, Executive Director, Construction Forum STL

Taking my dog for a morning walk in Forest Park from our apartment on Oakland Avenue this week,  I was struck by scenarios I saw that called to mind the conundrum facing our industry’s leaders as they attempt to set a course in the  wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exiting my apartment complex just before dawn, I saw carpenters buttoning up a drop ceiling as they readied the first floor of an office building for new tenants. Further up the street, a construction fence had been erected and laborers were on site, as a former fast food outlet was being converted to additional space for an auto dealer. Across the intersection, Spire workers were preparing for a day of replacing gas line. In Forest Park, laborers and operating engineers were working on a restroom complex parking lot. 

The questions raised in my mind by observing all this activity were, “How does our industry do its part to arrest the spread of COVID-19? With construction already limited or effectively curtailed altogether in other major metros, how do we determine which construction activities in the St. Louis Region are ‘essential’?”

“The Extent of Non-Essential Activities”

Early this week we ran an article from Construction Dive, OPINION: Shut Down Nonessential Jobsites to Protect Workers: A Superintendent’s Perspective on ConstructForSTL. Dr Christopher King submitted a comment. King, who was raised in the construction industry and worked in it as a teen, is director of the Center for Environmental Education and Training and the Great Plains OSHA Education Center at St. Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice.

“Thank you for publishing this sane and vital editorial,” King wrote. “We all need to be concerned about the extent of non-essential activities of all kinds; far too many workers are not isolating.  Some labor unions still have office workers reporting for work! This is madness.

“It is critical that we are all united at this time with a single purpose in mind: protecting our health care system.  We can only do this by staying healthy, and isolation is the only effective tool available. Seeking to reduce economic loss is short-sighted, as losses will be far greater if the outbreak is protracted.

“The men and women of the construction industry have a reputation for being those you can count on to get a job done, regardless of the challenges set before them. They also have a reputation for being civic minded.  Now is the time, your community needs you to step-up to this challenge,” Dr. King concluded.

Back to the Dictionary

I asked the Forum’s go-to person on workforce matters, Dr. John Gaal, for his take on the “essential” issue. Dr.  Gaal served the STL construction industry for 40 years.  Since his “retirement” in early 2019, he has focused his considerable energies on projects and organizations promoting work-life balance and mental health; combating substance abuse and promoting recovery; and educating on suicide prevention. His response:

“Faced with this seemingly simple question (What is essential?), I took a step back and considered what the dictionary version of the word means. Used as a noun it means, ‘something necessary, unavoidable.’ As an adjective, it means ‘of the utmost importance, indispensable.’ In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, I see the word most often used as an adjective (e.g., essential service, essential employee, etc.).

“With this in mind, I offer to you an example of how the state of California defines essential employees. The California definitions are listed by sectors: Health Care/Public health; Emergency Services; Food & Agriculture; Energy;  Water & Wastewater;  Transportation & Logistics; Communications and IT; Other Community-Based Government Operations; Critical Manufacturing; Hazardous Waste;  Financial Services;  Chemical; and Defense Industry Base.

“Please note that this is a 14-page document delineating each of the 13 sectors mentioned above. Therefore, if you are someone who believes there is an obvious or easy answer to the proposed question above, I suggest you read this document.

“Not to make light of the situation, and with all due respect, to quote Bob Dylan, ‘The answer is blowin’ in the wind.'”

How Government Defines “Essential”

There is no federal definition of what is considered an essential business in the COVID-19 scenario. The Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, has outlined various industries that are likely candidates, but it has no power to dictate what states and cities ultimately do. Many states and cities — with a few exceptions — have exempted construction firms and crafts from sheltering-in-place orders.

In Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce,   a document issued on March 19 along with an attached Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response, CISA spells out 16 industry sectors and gives examples of “essential” infrastructure workers in those sectors.

Construction is mentioned specifically four times — once in the memorandum where it gives examples of, “workers who conduct a range of operations and services that are essential to continued critical infrastructure viability…”; in the Public Works section of the guidance under “critical or strategic infrastructure”; and two mentions under communication infrastructure.

While not mentioning construction specifically, maintenance of Public Works is dubbed essential by CISA. Plumbers and Electricians are singled out as trades that are essential to maintain safety in the Public Works sector.

A Medley of Definitions

Given our regional history, it’s not really surprising that we have a medley of definitions regarding what is essential and what is exempt as we come to grips with COVID-19. Here are the definitions, with links to the related documents:

• The City of St. Louis order simply lists “Construction” as exempt from the above requirements.
• The St. Louis County order names as an “essential business” businesses that perform construction services. 
• The Jefferson County order spells out as exempt, Construction, Trade and Infrastructure ( e.g. building, building management and maintenance, plumbing, electrical, HVAC systems, waste/wastewater treatment plants and power generation, Information Technology, and any equipment manufacturer, sales and/or service provider associated for the maintenance of those businesses or industrial equipment, etc.). This includes construction required in response to this public health emergency, hospital construction, construction of long-term care facilities, public works construction, and housing construction…
• St. Charles County skirts the issue of what is essential, saying that residents must and shall remain within their residence or on the property surrounding their residence, except to engage in (a) activities they deem essential to their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, or (b) employment…
• The State of Illinois order exempts Critical trades. Building and Construction Tradesmen and Tradeswomen, and other trades including but not limited to plumbers, electricians, exterminators, cleaning and janitorial staff for commercial and governmental properties, security staff, operating engineers, HVAC, painting, moving and relocation services, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences, Essential Activities, and Essential Businesses and Operations…
• Missouri Governor Parson has been unmoved by pleas from the state medical and hospital associations to invoke stay-at-home. Therefore there are no State of Missouri definitions of “essential” workers in the COVID-19 pandemic.

What’s a Leader to Do? 

Our industry’s leaders  are trying to find their way in leading their organizations’ efforts to help defeat COVID-19,  while parsing what an “essential” role is and protecting their members and employees, as a sampling of conversations showed:

Len Toenjes, president of the Associated General Contractors of Missouri (AGCMO), led his organization in getting out in front of the issue. As the coronavirus situation evolved here, AGCMO quickly mounted a COVID-19 online resource center.

The AGCMO Labor Policy Committee convened meetings with the Eastern Missouri Laborers’ District Council; St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council; the St. Louis Construction Cooperative; and St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council to develop a memorandum establishing safety protocols.

AGCMO also instituted an anonymous COVID-19 hotline. Workers have already identified and reported lapses, such as buck hoists crammed with workers and missing hand wash stations. “It ends up being a zero tolerance situation,” he said. “It’s a place to go, place to report it. There’s no waiting —It’s immediate action.”

Brandon Flinn, business manager/executive secretary-treasurer of the Eastern Missouri Laborers District Council said he needs to be sensitive to both the need of his members to work and the need to keep them safe. Workers who just coming off the bench as Spring starts are reluctant to self-report illness if they have used up their unemployment he said.

“We are monitoring H.R 6201 FFCRA and subsequent legislation passed by congress that would compensate workers who self-report coronavirus infections,” Flinn said. “It would allow them to be honest about illness and still support their families.”

“While a lot of laborers’ work is done outdoors social distancing can be a challenge, it is an attainable standard that can be met with an informed workforce, responsible contractor partners, and the safety training of the unions.

“Regarding what constitutes essential work — I believe that is a question for which you will find many different answers. A business owner who’s building a new manufacturing or warehouse facility; a homeowner whose home is under construction; or managers of hospital facilities, wastewater treatment plants, bridge repair, gas and oil pipelines, and power plants are all consumers of construction who would most likely tell you that they feel construction is an essential service.”

Terry Briggs, executive director of the SITE Improvement Association, which represents site preparation, sewer, paving, and other infrastructure contractors, says that for the most part his contractors’ employees work outdoors, where social distancing is easier. “They’re actually encouraging people to get outside,” he said.

Briggs said that communication needs to extend beyond unions and general contractors. SITE has not been involved in the meetings about COVID-19 collaboration, but that situation is about to change.  Briggs said that his contractors represent about 95 percent of the cement mason hours and 50 percent of the operating engineer hours.

Herb Golterman, president of G&S Acoustics, a manufacturer and installer of acoustic panels, operable walls, cubicle panels, and track, feels that more discernment needs to be used in deploying workers. “It’s not right to ask our carpenters to work on non-essential construction projects while office employees work from home,” he said.

G&S, a third-generation company founded in 1946, has currently split its manufacturing employees into two shifts to allow workers to spread out. There are three persons working in the G&S office, which normally has about 20 workers.

The company, which works across the country, is finding that — despite shelter-in-place orders — the expectation is that product will be delivered.