Commentary: Public employees keep services going during pandemic
It has been a year since Delawareans and the rest of the world became aware of COVID-19, and during that time, we have seen the devastating impact of this virus on our families and communities.
In that time, the public has become cognizant of the importance of essential and front-line workers and how their work keeps everyone safe and healthy. These workers, many of whom work as public employees, are our neighbors and friends living and working in our cities. These essential and front-line workers are some of the members of Council 81 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), one of the largest and most diverse public sector labor unions in Delaware.
We would like to thank all the public employees who have kept our state, counties, cities, towns and universities open and moving forward over the last year.
In our cities and towns, public employees have continued to pick up our trash and keep our streets clean. In the city of Wilmington, a majority of the employees in the sanitation department contracted COVID-19, and not one resident missed a trash pickup day, and the streets were cleaned on time. From the city of Wilmington to the city of New Castle to the city of Newark to the town of Smyrna to the city of Dover, public employees have worked tirelessly to ensure that you never had disruption in service. They made sure that public parks were open and safe, so residents could use them to safely visit with friends and families outside. Public employees in our cities and towns continued to work to maintain the same level of services.
In New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, it was no different. In New Castle County, our libraries have continued to provide services, including checking out book bundles hand-selected by librarians, printing services and continued programming for children and teens. Paramedics in New Castle County and Kent County continued to answer the call, which became increasingly more important and yet more dangerous during the height of the pandemic. In Sussex County, the public works employees continued to ensure that water safety was a priority. These municipal workers are only a small portion of the public employees in each county who have continued to work during a pandemic that has ravaged the state of Delaware.
The University of Delaware and Delaware State University make up an important part of the fabric of Delaware. Even when both schools went virtual last spring and the fate of the fall semester hung in the balance, public employees kept up with the maintenance of every building and the campuses. When it became apparent that students would be allowed back on campus and in the dorms, public employees ensured the dorms and classrooms were ready and safe. It was public employees who ensured that buildings — including research labs, computer labs and other facilities vital to both universities — were operational the entire time. It was public employees who made sure professors had access to classrooms and to Wi-Fi when teaching went fully online to finish the spring semester, and it was public employees who disinfected classrooms and common areas when the University of Delaware became ground zero for the pandemic in the First State.
While public employees in cities, towns and counties have continued to work throughout the pandemic, state employees have as well, and have routinely taken on an increase in their workload to provide valuable service to the citizens of Delaware.
At the Department of Health and Social Services, public employees worked hard as they saw an increase in the number of applicants who have applied for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid benefits because of the number of citizens who saw their jobs disappear in the private sector. When the state moved from a pop-up testing site model to more permanent sites, it was the public employees at the State Service Centers who started pulling double-duty, ensuring the safety of those coming in for testing and those who were there for routine visits. Nurses and certified nursing assistants working in state facilities have worked with COVID-19 patients, and they have done so without complaint.
At the Department of Labor, where public employees have shouldered the brunt of the public’s ire for a system that was overwhelmed with unemployment claims and had never seen that kind of volume, it was public employees who worked overtime, seven days a week, around the clock, to process claims as quickly as possible. They continue to process claims, as Congress weighs whether to pass more COVID-19 relief. Their jobs are not done.
At the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, public employees have continued to go into the field to check on our most vulnerable population. They have placed their own safety on hold, while taking custody of children who may or may not have COVID-19. They have sat and consoled a child through the toughest time in their lives, putting themselves and their own families at risk but doing so to keep other children safe.
Delaware Department of Transportation workers have continued to make our roads safe, whether it is responding to an accident on Interstate 95 or clearing snow from U.S. 13. The men and women at DelDOT have never quit working to keep our roads safe for everyone.
This pandemic is not over, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we can start to see it — but we’re not there yet. While some people are getting restless and are making demands of our elected officials, it is important to recognize that our public employees have never stopped working. They have continued to maintain and, in most cases, increase the level of services to which we are all accustomed.
When you get up in the morning and your toilet flushes, thank a public employee. When you can drive on a road that has been cleared of debris or snow, thank a public employee. When your loved one has been taken care of at one of our state facilities, thank a public employee. When the universities remain safe and buildings maintained, thank a public employee. When you can still check out books, have storytime with your grandchildren and print important documents at the library, thank a public employee. When your trash is picked up on time, the city and town roads are clean, and our water is still safe, thank a public employee.
These services that have been provided and that we rely on every day, and perhaps take for granted, make our lives easier and come to us because of public employees. For the work of public employees, we owe them a debt of gratitude.
Remember to say thank you today to all public employees.
Michael A. Begatto is executive director of Council 81 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
