Call to Action – May 25 Board Meeting

Are you concerned about the Safe Return to Workplace Plan? Do you feel the return is being rushed, given that telecommuting has been working so well? Do you feel your safety isn’t being considered as a top priority? Any other concerns that you want heard?

We invite you to Speak Up at the next EBMUD Board meeting, Tuesday May 25!

Public comment can be provided at the Closed Session meeting at 11am or at the Open Session meeting at 1:15pm. Instructions for providing public comment can be found below and at https://www.ebmud.com/about-us/board-directors/board-meetings/

While the maximum time to speak is 3 minutes, a short statement or expression of concern from a diverse set of employees can carry more weight than a limited number of prepared speeches.

Please speak up, even if you simply state that you oppose or have concerns about the current plan.

Some talking points could be:

• I am in opposition to the Safe Return to Workplace plan. I feel that the return is being rushed.
• Telecommuting has been working and will continue to work. Why not wait to bring people back until children are able to be vaccinated and the Emergency is truly over?
• The District is still reporting positive cases as of [May 19]
• I am required to return temporary equipment, including ergonomic equipment, on June 21, but am still going to be telecommuting for the majority of days.
• I have concerns about parking. BART and most transit agencies are still running a limited schedule.
• The Safe Return to Workplace plan requires employees to purchase ergonomic and computer equipment for home-use when the long-term telecommuting plan has not been released by the District.
• Telecommuting has benefited the District: increased productivity (less disruptions; no fatigue from long commutes); less sick/family sick leave because I can still work from home (fewer missed or rescheduled meetings; assignments are not sidelined to ‘when I return’); less impact on the environment from commuting.
• The Safe Return to Workplace plan does not take into account…

To provide public comment:

• Use the raise hand feature in Zoom to indicate you wish to make a public comment. See this Zoom help page for more info
  If you participate by phone, press *9 to raise your hand
• When prompted by the Secretary, state your name, affiliation if applicable, and topic
• The Secretary will call each speaker in the order received
• Comments on non-agenda items will be heard at the beginning of the meeting
• Comments on agenda items will be heard when the item is up for consideration
• Each speaker is allotted 3 minutes to speak; the Board President or Committee Chair has the discretion to amend this time based on the number of speakers
• The Secretary will inform each speaker when his/her allotted time has concluded

 Submitting written comments or materials:

• Email written comments or other materials for the Board of Directors to SecOffice@ebmud.com.
• Please indicate the meeting date and agenda item number or non-agenda item in the subject of the email. Contact information is optional.
• Please email by 4 p.m. the day prior to the scheduled committee, workshop, special or regular meeting; written comments and other materials submitted to the Board of Directors will be filed in the record.