Use this page as your official SEIU Local 105, COVID-19 work, health, and safety toolkit. This page will be updated as we receive more information and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), federal, state, and local health officials. (If you have additional resources that you would like to see provided, please email media@seiu105.org.)
Click on the following links to access informational resources.
✊ Union Resources
- SEIU COVID-19 National Resource Toolkit
- SEIU’s 10 Step Guide to Preventing Coronavirus in English, Spanish, and in Amharic.
- SEIU’s Quick Facts Guide for Janitors
- SEIU’s Quick Facts Guide for Security Officers
- SEIU’s Quick Facts for Healthcare workers in English and Spanish.
- SEIU’s Cares Act information in English and Spanish.
🏔 Colorado Resources and Information
- Rental Assistance Information – If unable to pay rent due to financial hardships caused by COVID-19, click here for information on rental assistance.
- 🩺 FREE COVID-19 testing locations in Colorado
- 💜 Colorado DPHE Public Health recommendations
- 💛 Colorado Emergency Medicaid Assistance Information in both English and Spanish
- 🌽 Colorado Food Assistance Program
- 💌 COVID-19 Sample Letters to your Employer – If you or a loved one has tested positive for the coronavirus, click here to view sample messages you should send to your employer letting them know that you have tested positive for covid-19 in English and Spanish.
- Colorado COVID-19 Cash Payments – The Colorado Dept. of Labor & Employment has begun issuing one-time stimulus payments of $375 to Coloradans facing economic hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to read more details on your eligibility.
🩺 Unemployment Resources
- ▶️ Click here to visit coloradoui.gov to file for unemployment insurance.
- ℹ️ If you do not qualify for unemployment, click here to view your unemployment resources in English and Spanish.
Video on how to apply for unemployment in Spanish.
🏠 Latest Colorado COVID-19 Guidelines
▶️ Latest statewide orders on COVID 19, State Dial
▶️ Colorado Vaccine Information and Status
Latest Denver COVID-19 Guidelines
▶️ Latest Denver Restrictions and Orders
😷Colorado’s Recommendation on Facemasks
- ➡️Click here to learn how to create your own facemask in English
- ➡️Click here to learn how to create your own facemask in Spanish.
🌍 International and Federal Resources
During this crisis, our union will fight to demand that:
Our janitors, security officers, and airport workers are on the frontlines of protecting the public and their families from this crisis. The workers who sanitize downtown office buildings, restrooms, remove trash, care and move passengers in wheelchairs, protect our buildings and wipe surfaces on airplanes should have access to the right equipment and protective gear.
Caregivers such as all employees in healthcare, mental health, nurses, and home care workers have dual responsibility to care for their patients and clients, as well as protecting themselves and their families. Employers must ensure they are complying with prevention and/or containment best practices and that all healthcare workers are receiving training and have the proper protective equipment (PPE) for their roles to prevent the spread of the virus and stay healthy.
Employers must have proper safety protocols in place to protect employees, provide critical employee training, and set up contingency plans should working people see their workplaces closed or their hours scaled back if this health emergency grows. We have already begun outreach to employers and key local leaders to ensure they have plans in place to be able to monitor the crisis as it evolves, and so that we can represent our members effectively.
Paid leave and overtime compensation must be protected and expanded. For working families across Colorado, every dollar counts. Many people simply cannot afford to take unpaid sick time without that pay; they may not be able to afford their bills or put food on the table. In addition to paid sick days and affordable health insurance, workers must be compensated for any overtime work they perform and wage replacement programs must be available for when they are out of work.
This crisis shows we are all in this together. It puts into stark relief the fundamental union value of solidarity. For example, workers lacking paid sick time is not only bad for that employee–it increases the risk to our entire community. Non-union janitors or airport workers or healthcare workers who lack an effective voice on the job also puts all of us at greater risk. Finally, COVID-19 does not care about what race you are–so our union must stand strongly against any attempts to stigmatize any group of people as that is both wrong and can make the crisis worse.
What do we do next?
Remember, COVID-19 is preventable, but only if we know the facts and have the equipment we need to keep our communities and our workplaces safe. Share this online toolkit with your friends and family and stay tuned for more updates.
If you have any questions or see more needed resources, training, or planning at your worksite, please contact your Steward or Organizer. We will be doing our best to answer those questions and protect our members and our communities as we all grapple with this emerging threat to our public’s health and rapidly evolving situation in the coming weeks.
Healthcare Member Line 303-727-8018
Airport Member Line 303-727-8074
Property Service Member Line 303-727-8066
Sincerely,
Ron Ruggiero, President, SEIU Local 105
