MMAC wants employers ‘all on the same page’ about coronavirus.
Board will meet by phone to discuss response plans
Milwaukee employers can help slow the spread of coronavirus, but to “flatten the curve” companies need to act together, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Tim Sheehy said Friday.
The MMAC is focusing on the global COVID-19 pandemic Monday for its regularly scheduled board meeting, Sheehy said. For the first time in its 158-year history, MMAC’s board will meet telephonically.
As of Thursday, eight cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the state. One patient has fully recovered.
Mayor Tom Barrett, the city’s health commissioner, the CEO of the Medical College of Wisconsin along with other major healthcare institutions will be on the call with executives from companies across Milwaukee.
Around 150,000 Milwaukee-area employees will be represented on the call to get information disseminated. MMAC member companies employ roughly 300,000 people in the area.
“If we’re not all on the same page we’re not going to be as effective at flattening the curve,” Sheehy said, referring to the strategy of trying to reduce a large number of infections from taking place at the same time.
Employers across the region are worried about the effects coronavirus could have on employees and the greater economy.
“This isn’t a throw up your hands there’s nothing we can do about it. This is a real crisis that we can have an impact on.”
“Social distancing” can play a big role in slowing the spread of diseases. Many offices have implemented work from home measures to reduce the number of employees in regular contact. Institutions of higher education have extended spring breaks and are moving to virtual learning.
MMAC has published guidance and resources on its website. It is also asking for local businesses to share coronavirus response plans that will be published online as well.
Sheehy doesn’t want employers sending mixed messages. The idea is for the city’s business community to address coronavirus with a collective protocol. Sheehy is calling the effort Milwaukee United.
After the Monday meeting, MMAC plans to continue regular calls to connect Milwaukee employers during the global pandemic.
“The importance again of an urgent, focused effort that moves this through in a less debilitating way is the best economic answer as well as the best health answer,” Sheehy said. He has been watching actions taken by the business community around the outbreak in Seattle as an example.
At MMAC, everyone in the office now unplugs their laptop to take it home every night with the ability to work remotely at a moment’s notice. The group has shut down a number of its meetings following guidance of state and health officials, such as a luncheon for around 300 people scheduled for next week.
This is a different situation than, say, a three-foot snowstorm, Sheehy said.
“Milwaukee has a stubborn ‘we can work through anything attitude,’” Sheehy said. He said the mindset around addressing coronavirus has shifted to be more proactive in recent days.
Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Instagram @HauerSarah and Twitter @SarahHauer. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Be MKE at jsonline.com/bemke.