West Virginia bill assures that 911 workers are essential

OPINION:

When you call 911, you assume someone will answer. It may surprise you then that federally, these emergency service professionals are classified as clerical workers. You read that right. According to the federal Office of Management and Budget, 911 operators are in the same category as office clerks, secretaries and taxicab dispatchers.

There is a bill making its way through Congress to change that, but here in West Virginia we do not wait on the federal government to solve problems — we solve them ourselves. That is why my colleagues and I passed West Virginia House Bill 4123 clarifying that 911 telecommunication workers are included in the definition of those individuals who perform “emergency services” during a disaster.

When we introduced the bill in January, we were not thinking about global pandemics, economic lockdowns, protests, riots and looting. We just knew that 911 dispatchers were essential — and I am glad we did because I shudder at the thought that they might not have been considered “essential employees” when our state went into lockdown.

It also has me thinking what it means to be an “essential employee.” Who is essential? Who isn’t essential? Who makes that decision? I have come to realize that our emergency service operators are not the only essential workers in this state. Every West Virginian worker is essential. Every American worker is essential. 

The pundits tell us it must be one way or the other. Lives or livelihoods. But it is not a binary option. Lives and livelihoods are one in the same. People’s lives are dependent on their livelihoods. We must get people back to work. Every missed paycheck means less food in the refrigerator, a medical appointment postponed, a gas tank getting closer to empty and bills piling up. Poverty is not good for our health or our nation’s health.

This is not to say that COVID-19 is not serious or that it should not be taken seriously. We have been taking it seriously. West Virginians and Americans across the states have put their financial health at risk to stay home and flatten the curve. We have been doing our part, but we must be realistic of our goals.

Working people cannot stay home until we find a cure. They cannot wait for a vaccine or herd immunity that could be a year or more away. Looking after one another is how we are raised in the Mountain State, but I do not think being good to one another is a uniquely West Virginian trait. It is the American way. We have been educated on the risks and we know the best practices to stay safe, we are ready to be healthy and productive. 

So, let us stop with these arbitrary phased reopenings and get back to work. Every business is essential to those who rely on it to make a living or derive value from its services. No more lockdowns. No more phases. I trust folks to do the right thing.

Americans need to earn a living — their well-being depends on it. All workers are essential. 

• Joshua Higginbotham is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 13. He is a member of the Small Business Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Committee. Follow him on Twitter @Higginbotham4WV.