Chamber Executive Wisconsin News Digest
April 16, 2020
Good
morning #ChamberWorld! #Lookforthehelpers! Listen to the good news! Start the
Recovery! Make a small win today and huge wins tomorrow! Build the future now!
It's going to be a GREAT day!
What Every Chamber Executive and
Board Member Should Read First Today: The Path to Recovery: Via: Bob Harris and
Bill Pawlucy
|
#Lookforthehelpers:
SC Johnson and Save the Children Join Forces to Equip a Generation with the
Life Skills to Battle COVID-19 and Future Public Health Threats
With a goal of enabling this generation
of children to better protect themselves and their communities, SC Johnson and
Save the Children are partnering to educate and enable children worldwide to
cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. This new partnership will focus on helping
children and their loved ones respond to this and future public health threats.
SC Johnson is donating $1 million to
help vulnerable and marginalized children around the world. This donation will
support Save the Children programs that shine a light on the importance of
personal hygiene and handwashing with the goal of slowing the rate of transmission
and limiting the impacts of the pandemic on children and their families
globally. SC Johnson will support Save the Children’s global response to this
pandemic, including efforts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain,
China, India and Mexico.
“We all must work together to equip our
younger generations with the information and tools they need to protect
themselves,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “I am
incredibly grateful the teams at SC Johnson and Save the Children were able to
quickly form this global partnership, with our shared goal of safer and
healthier children and families now and in the future.”
“Save the Children is proud to partner
with SC Johnson in helping ensure the world’s most vulnerable children have
access to hygiene information, education, nutrition and social-emotional
support amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Janti Soeripto, President and CEO of
Save the Children. “The new world we’re living in reinforces the importance of
powerful partnerships like this one, which bring us together as a global
community for the safety and well-being of children and families around the
world.”
In addition to promoting the importance
of good hygiene habits, this partnership also provides much needed support to
help manage and overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by:
Supporting children’s emotional needs
with educational and psychological support as children struggle to deal with
the stress and anxiety during these challenging times.
Addressing food insecurity by providing
meals and food vouchers to families.
Educational support by providing books
and other materials to support learning at home
The partnership will also launch a joint
social media campaign that allows parents and caregivers to engage children to
share and amplify personal hygiene tools, tips and techniques. Details of this
campaign will be announced shortly through both organizations’ social media
channels.
The partnership, announced today,
coincides with a doubling of SC Johnson’s contributions – from $5 million to
$10 million – to support pressing public needs and those battling the virus on
the front lines. Read more: S.C.
Johnson
Wisconsin Manufacturers
& Commerce (WMC) Coronavirus (COVID-19) Business Resource Center
 |
 |
Wisconsin Manufacturers
& Commerce (WMC) and Wisconsin Safety Council continue to monitor the
situation related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and are in contact with
members, national partners and government agencies.
What is COVID-19?
According to the Wisconsin
Department of Health Services website (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/disease/covid-19.htm),
people who have confirmed COVID-19 infections have a range of symptoms, from
people with little to no symptoms to people being severely sick and dying.
Symptoms can include:
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness
of Breath
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) believes that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in
as few as two days or as long as 14 days after contact with someone who has
COVID-19.
Please see the below
resources relating to the virus:
Latest News
U.S. Chamber Launches “Path Forward” Program to Lead
Conversation on How America Can Return to Work
The Chamber on
Monday announced the “Path Forward” program, an initiative to address how
Americans and businesses can return to work safely, successfully, and
sustainably.
The program includes a comprehensive framework of considerations, an event series that will feature diverse
viewpoints from the public and private sectors, and recommendations on the
practices and policies needed to begin a phased process to bring the full
American economy back to work.
“How America
reopens will be the result of unprecedented coordination between business and
government, and the planning must begin now. We need new processes and rules
that reflect the realities of the pandemic,” said Chamber President Suzanne
Clark.
In a letter sent to members, national associations, and
state and local chambers across the country on Monday, the Chamber outined
considerations across three different areas:
The event series launches today at 3:00 p.m. with Dr. William
Hanage, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of
Public Health. Register here.
Future events,
which will occur on Mondays and Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. for the next
several weeks, will explore potential barriers to reopening, such as
childcare and transit; complex questions about immunity and liability; and
ways employers can incorporate screening, social-distancing, and other
approaches into the workplace.
Wisconsin
Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC COVID-19 Employer Toolkit
COVID-19 EMPLOYER TOOLKIT(download the full
toolkit here)
Employers and workers are
in unchartered territory in responding to and planning for COVID-19. Everyone
is balancing how to stay safe while continuing business operations. This online
toolkit will help your business with the latest and most relevant information,
and will provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. We
will continue to update this with new information as these issues develop.
COVID-19 RAPID RESOURCE
TEAM
WMC Staff stands ready to
assist you with your COVID-19 questions. Please reach out to the following with
your questions for assistance.
CHRIS READERHR, Health Care, Workforce
Questions
Senior Director of
Workforce & Employment Policy
CORY FISHTax, Logistics, Legal
Questions
General Counsel and
Director of Tax, Transportation & Legal Affairs
BRITTANY ROCKWELLSmall Business, SBA Questions
Director of Small Business
Advocacy
SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF
LOANS
Small businesses are among
the hardest hit in this crisis. As a result, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has
put together a comprehensive Coronavirus Small Business Guide that breaks down
the newest federal programs and aid for small businesses and step by step
guides for applying for SBA assistance. Additional guides have been published
by the SBA and by the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business &
Entrepreneurship.
U.S. Chamber of
Commerce Coronavirus Small Business Guide
The U.S. Small Business
Administration Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
One of the most asked
about topics is Unemployment Insurance. Employers want to know what is
available for workers they have to layoff or furlough, and workers obviously
want to know how to apply to receive assistance for their families. Current
Wisconsin law provides a maximum benefit of $370 per week for benefits, and the
federal CARES Act provides an additional $600 per week in temporary additional
benefits until July 31, 2020.
WI Department of Workforce
Development Unemployment COVID-19 Public Information
FEDERAL PAID LEAVE CHANGES
The Families First
Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provides new paid sick leave benefits
for employees of companies with less than 500 employees, new FMLA benefits for
some employees to care for children now home from school due to COVID-19, and
more. To help everyone with compliance, the Department of Labor has issued
extensive guidance on the FFCRA. DOL also has a page established with
additional resources, such as HR posters that contain information employers are
now required to post.
WORK SHARE
Work Share. A current state solution
to help employers avoid layoffs is the work share program. Under work share,
employers are able to retain staff by keeping a work unit, typically of 20 or
more workers, employed at reduced hours, and the workers are able to receive
unemployment benefits for the portion of hours they had reduced. WMC has also
asked lawmakers to consider easing the requirements so small employers are also
able to utilize the program. See the DWD Fact Sheet to determine your
eligibility.
▶ DWD Work Share Fact Sheet
FEDERAL CARES ACT SUMMARY
The Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed by President Trump on
March 27, 2020 to provide direct financial relief to businesses and employees.
It includes items like loans for small businesses, changes to SBA loans,
payments to individuals, expanded unemployment benefits, work share benefits,
and paid leave changes.
▶ WMC Summary of CARES Act
▶ U.S. Senate Committee on
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act
STATE RESPONSE
Wisconsin Department of
Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm issued the statewide “Safer at Home”
order on March 24. The order defines which industries are considered “essential”
and may therefore remain open. WEDC has been the lead state government agency
for helping businesses understand what the order means for employers.
▶ Governor Evers Shelter in Place Order
▶ US Dept. of Homeland
Security Guidance on Critical Infrastructure Workers
▶ WEDC COVID-19 Business Resources
WMC RESOURCES
WMC is leading the way on
relief and recovery policy in the state. We released a comprehensive agenda to
address economic continuity, business liquidity, employee assistance,
regulatory & liability relief, transportation & logistics, and health
care priorities.
▶ WMC Relief & Recovery Agenda
▶ WMC Summary of CARES Act
#ChamberSong ---A song to
make you smile: "Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles
Daily Herald report
Updated3/24/2020
12:09 PM
We're going to
try to inject a little positivity in the paper (and on dailyherald.com) with a
daily "Song to Make You Smile."
It's designed
to help lift you out of your coronavirus funk.
Important COVID 19 Resources
Business
State
Federal
Health
State
Wisconsin
Department of Health Services Phone number --- 608-266-1683
Federal -
- Symptoms
- How to protect Yourself
& Others
- What to Do if You are
Sick
- People at Higher Risk
for Severe Illness
- Healthcare
Professionals
#Lookforthehelpers:
New Richmond Chamber Member: FREE Wills for Workers – Providing Peace of Mind
for our Frontline
Wills for Workers is
a relief program available to healthcare providers and first responders
(paramedics, police officers, firefighters, etc.) in the St. Croix Valley, who
are on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
These
heroes are risking their health and welfare every day to help and serve others
in the community. Now it is our turn to give something back and give them one
less thing to worry about as they fight this disease. That is why, if you are a
healthcare provider or first responder – servicing or living in the St. Croix
Valley our firm is offering FREE basic Estate Planning
Services, including:
· Wills
· Powers of
Attorney
· Healthcare
Directives
· HIPPA
Releases
· Electronic
Authorizations
Our Estate Planning team delivers
custom estate planning services specific to individual needs so you can enjoy
peace of mind both during and after this pandemic.
Encouraging Message from NYC Doctor (via the
Oshkosh Chamber)
Encouraging message from NYC Doctor
- 10 minute video. Frontline physician gives us sound advice, makes the
disease a little less scary, and gives us hope. Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce
- Apr 2nd, 2020
The following video link was
provided by US Senator Ron Johnson - link to
video. The video was made by a New York City doctor, David Price. From his
front-line experience in the nation’s coronavirus hot spot, Dr. Price gives us
sound advice, makes the disease a little less scary, and gives us hope by
empowering us. He helps put things into perspective as we weigh the human costs
of the disease and our response. What makes the video so powerful is that Dr.
Price is one of the heroes treating COVID-19 patients almost exclusively, and
he’s not scared. Instead, he’s confident he will not catch the disease because
he knows how to prevent it. Price’s advice: COVID-19 is transmitted primarily
from the hands to the face. So be aware of your hands at all times. Keep them
clean by washing often and using hand sanitizer. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE. If
you’re sick or vulnerable, isolate yourself. In order to prevent overwhelming
our health care system, go to the hospital only if you’re short of breath.
Maintain social distancing. Feel free to use a face mask, primarily to train
yourself NOT TO TOUCH YOUR FACE. But aerosolized transmission is far less
common, so you don’t need an N95 face mask. Reserve those for front-line health
care workers.
Look to the helpers:
Wisconsin Businesses Pivot To Help Health Care Providers During Pandemic
Area Companies Providing Tents, Making Masks, Hand Sanitizer
While many Wisconsin businesses have closed to slow the spread of
the new coronavirus, some companies have shifted gears to help hospitals and
health care workers.
Health care providers across the country have reported ongoing and
dire shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) including hospital gowns,
face shields and respiratory N95 face masks.
Last week, the Wisconsin Hospital Association reached out to the construction trades through the
state Department of Workforce Development and Wisconsin Manufacturers &
Commerce asking them to donate any unused N95 masks to their local hospital.
Dozens of smaller businesses have stepped up, too.
Family-owned company Canopies, a Milwaukee-based event rental
company, would normally be booked with spring weddings and parties. But the
COVID-19 pandemic halted business until owner David Hudak contacted Advocate
Aurora Health.
The health care provider, which has hospitals in Illinois and
throughout eastern Wisconsin, is now contracting with Canopies to provide tents
to its hospitals in both states.
The tents are being used as a triage area before patients are
taken into emergency rooms, Hudak said.
"It’s really great to be part of something that is helping
during this crisis," Hudak said. "It’s also good to know that I don’t
have to lay off my guys during this. We would have had to shut down completely
— for an unknown amount of time."
After seeing footage of health care workers putting sandwich bags
and bandanas over their faces because masks weren’t available, Jalem Getz, the
CEO of Milwaukee-based clothing retailer and personal styling company,
Wantable, decided to use his large customer-base to help.
On Tuesday, Wantable launched a program called Sew Good to Give It Back.
The company is crowdsourcing at-home sewing volunteers to create and donate
face masks.
After completing a survey, seamstresses are sent everything
they need, including a prepaid return label. Wantable will inspect the masks
and send them to health care providers, first locally, then statewide and even
nationally.
In just 24 hours, Getz has been pledged nearly 8,000 masks.
"If we can grow it to even 10,000 or even 20,000 masks per
day, we can have an incredible impact," Getz said. "A true and
incredible impact and trust that Wantable is going to get the masks in to the
hands of those people who need it. This could be two weeks, three weeks, two
months, we don’t care, we’re really focusing on this."
In Horicon, the one-man operator of Tornado Brewing has developed
an edible hand sanitizer.
Dennis Erb said doing so is the same process as making moonshine —
his hand sanitizer has 80 percent alcohol. And so far, it has been a hit with
customers and companies that can’t find hand sanitizer elsewhere.
"There are a lot of places inquiring," Erb said.
"The U.S. Postal Service, a couple blood donation places and assisted
living facilities."
Erb said after the coronavirus pandemic ends, he will continue
making the hand sanitizer.
"Being a hand sanitizer in a time of need is one thing, but I
didn’t realize how much people actually like the product," Erb said. Read
more: Wisconsin
Public Radio
SBA: Faith Based Organizations May Apply for Assistance
Ashley D. Bell - SBA Region IV Administrator
Entrepreneurship Policy Advisor for the White House Opportunity & Revitalization Council
Faith is a pillar of hope, and for many Americans it has been a powerful reason for their continued success during these challenging times. The Administration, along with SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza and other SBA leaders, recognized the need to support faith-based organizations and have clarified their ability to participate in the Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Programs.
Faith-based organizations may apply regardless of their religious identity or activities, and will be considered to the extent they are eligible as outlined in the CARES Act as passed by Congress, signed into law by President Trump, and implemented by the Paycheck Protection Act Interim Final Rule.
“During this global pandemic the SBA stands behind every business, non-profit and faith-based organization,” said SBA Regional Administrator Ashley D. Bell. “We recognize the importance of keeping staff employed and keeping businesses and organizations operational as we push through these difficult times."
FAQ's for Faith Based Organization Applications
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is designed to keep small business staff employed and provide small businesses with capital through lending institutions, with support from the SBA. The PPP’s maximum loan amount is $10 million with a fixed 1% interest rate and maturity of two years. SBA will forgive the portion of loan proceeds used for payroll costs and other designated operating expenses for up to eight weeks provided at least 75% of loan proceeds are used for payroll costs.
Paycheck Protection Program Information: www.SBA.gov/paycheckprotection
To Find a PPP Lender: www.sba.gov/paycheckprotection/find
(or contact your local SBA District Office for a current list of SBA lenders participating in the program here)
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program provides qualifying small businesses and non-profits with working capital up to $2 million with low interest rates and terms extending up to 30 years and includes an advance payment portion.
Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program Information is here.
Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and
Community Profiles: The best Chamber Partner in Wisconsin
Town Square Publications, a
division of the Daily Herald Media Group, is a national chamber custom
publishing group that specializes in developing partnerships by producing
high-quality print and digitally integrated publications along with other added
value programs dedicated to creating relevancy for local chambers of commerce
and other membership focused organizations interested in raising non-dues
revenues.
Town Square Publications
parent company, Paddock Publications, has over 100 years’ experience of print
product development and dedicated customer service in communities throughout
the Midwest. Our experience allows Town Square Publications to offer you
attractive royalty and non-dues revenue share streams, provide direct
distribution of your custom designed printed publications, including digital
and mobile integration, and all with the quickest turn-around times available
in the industry. Town Square also offers multi-media maps in both print and
online formats, both with our No-Cost guarantee. More information: Town Square Publications
Chambers of Commerce and
member focused organizations serve as a valuable resource in the local
marketplace. The networking opportunities and representation with a wide
variety of diverse businesses in your community is the catalyst of a successful
organization. For further information about Town Square's publishing
partnership with chambers of commerce and our No-Cost guarantee and Earned
Revenue Share Program, To request your chamber publication or map proposal,
contact Town Square Chamber Proposal
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.