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Unions and residents urge Essex County to protect employees during storms, call for policy changes

Essex County Board of County Commissioners · March 26, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Union leaders and residents told the board that county employees were required to work during a severe snowstorm despite governor and law-enforcement advisories to stay off roads; they urged the commissioners to convene labor and safety committees, consider an ordinance setting closure/delay thresholds, and reinstate personal/vacation time used by affected staff.

Union representatives and community members used the meeting's public-comment periods to press the Essex County Board to change how the county responds to severe weather.

Chris Taylor (representing IBW local) and David Weiner (president of CWA Local 1081) said county executive and law-enforcement statements urging the public to stay off roads conflicted with county operations that required many nonessential employees to report to work the next morning. They described blocked parking lots, unsafe walking conditions, and workers forced to pay or be docked for time they could…

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