The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is asking Bay Area employers to sign the “Cut the Commute Pledge” that extends teleworking for employees and maintains air quality progress after shelter-in-place orders are eased.
Employers who sign the pledge would commit to extend teleworking by at least 25 percent of employees if their work allows it. Employers would also vow to include a formal work-from-home policy as part of the employee benefits package in attempt to improve both the air quality and quality of life for Bay Area residents.
In the first seven weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bay Area saw a 32 percent reduction to CO2 emissions. This is in large part due to the significant decrease in vehicle traffic, as transportation is the top source of air pollution in the region.
“The pandemic has shown us that remote work is possible and productive for many while offering an alternative to traffic gridlock and mega commutes – leading to open roads, healthier air and happier employees,”
said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the BAAQMD.
Benefits of cutting the commute also include cost savings for employers and employees, improved employee recruitment and retention, improved work-life balance as well as the increased ability to adjust business as part of a disaster recovery or emergency plan, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
More control by Big Brother, don’t sign your rights away.
Yabut before the pandemic we were all discussing here the poor quality of the highways, long commutes not to mention pollution. We wondered why more workers in this tech age couldn’t telecommute or why some of the big companies didn’t just lease some of the vacant business buildings for satellite offices around the Bay Area to reduce traffic and commutes. After a couple weeks of the pandemic I even heard one young worker tell another at a local park that he didn’t want to work an 8+ a day job anymore.
These guys go in the same waste basket as the health department and county Board of Supervisors. They have over stayed their welcome. We will vote for candidates who will strip you of your regulating authority. You will be lucky to be allowed to broadcast public service announcements.
That is wonderful. Way to go.
errrrrr
so now the scamming air district
is imposing policy
wow
so no politician wants to say it so they make the air qaulity scammers tell employers to what they should do …….with nothing in return accept a push to socialism yet again
so this state is now imposing to employers a national socialist agenda
seems they did this in germany in 1930 as well
here we go again
I don’t understand your point. Based on the article, this is a voluntary pledge. It does not appear that anybody is forcing an agenda.
I volunteer to ignore it since it is meaningless.
hmmm so i wonder how bart is going to feel about a democrat entity stripping them of commuters
oh thats right its all the same game ….
bart loses riders it takes more of our tax money
and the state gets to dictate to employers
nice maneuver gavin……your so smart arent you ….yes you are ……yes you are
And property management companies like Bishop Ranch will lose even more tenants and $$$. If they haven’t already, they will be laying off employees soon.
I’m sorry, but this just reaks of big government out of hand.
Don’t get me wrong I’m all for clean air, but adding this together with all the big government takeover of 2020 this just makes me sick.
The founding fathers of America must be rolling over in their grave. But they better be careful not to make too much noise otherwise the Marxist rioters will desecrate their tombs
This is a voluntary pledge through sparetheair.org. There is no government regulation involved. How is this “big government takeover?” Also, since you are for clean air, how would you suggest we approach it?
@Kettle
Do you really think companies need to be told to keep letting their employees work from home? No, Kettle, they do not; and those companies most definitely do not need to sign anything that says they “commit to” or “vow to”. If it’s voluntary, why sign commitment papers?
@Cyn
I am not sure if I follow you…it is a voluntary commitment. They are not be told to do it and there is no indication that if they do sign and fail to follow through that there are repercussions. Also, if a company wants to continue having employees work from home without signing, they can. I would think the main reason a company would sign is positive publicity and that a pledge (hopefully) shows a real commitment.
When the socialist opportunities arise.. don’t sign it!! They’ll have more control if businesses agree. Businesses can make up their own minds.
I’ve been working from home full time since the pandemic started it’s great. No commute to Bishop Ranch in San Ramon on 680. I teleconference meetings in my pajamas, get all my laundry and dishes done on breaks, and my dog is much happier.
But the multinational financial services group I work for has been planning for this for years so it was easy to transition all (most) employees to full time from home. I have so much free time now I started a couple side business pulling in some nice extra income.
Reduce BAAQMD budget by 2/3 and reduce its job to data collection and let the cities do any enforcement at the local level.
this headline should tell all voters how ridiculous america looks to our enemies
China summons U.S. ambassador to discuss ‘bullying’
can not believe they said this with a straight face
america is seen as weak and if you think oh we are not at war we should be sympathetic and anti aggressive and passivists
this says it all as to how we are seen …..the world is a always evolving tense tumultuous power vacuum ….
america is about freedoms and choice ….while socialists communists want all the power like the democrats
they hate us because we serve as a beacon of hope not servitude
now with the foolishness of voters and the again foolish open boarder support who ever rolls in attitude
and the democrats verbiage of bully and hate
the world has taken notice as well as our enemies and they are slamming it in our faces ……like when a older kid ….takes the little kids hand and makes him hit himself and says why are you hitting yourself
china is doing this to us ……as the democrats push us into socialism so they can be good little backstabbers and hand us over to china …..
stop letting the democrats slap you with your own hand …..
wake up ……look around ….nothing is better under the dem regime
I could imagine many employees welcoming working from home. Employers don’t need to sign any pledge, they can just change policy. Yes, public transportation and large business parks will suffer with this change. I guess these business parks could be dismantled and redeveloped into much needed affordable housing. Except, if everyone flees California due to the socialist policies and high, then that would not work.
Work from home is fine. I would guess In most cases it’s a blessing. I just don’t like the air board telling anyone anything. They lost me when the spare the air thing shifted focus from the refineries and real polluters and started telling me when to drive, bbq, or burn wood.
Sam
I am with you. The air board telling me anything makes my guard go up – telling me I can not BBQ or burn a fire.
But hey, if I could work from home all the time, that might work out for me. Cuts the mileage on the vehicle way down.
Some how it seems that they are trying to figure a way to charge us per a breath. They already got us to buy water that is poisoned, next is the air! Haha
Usually I complain about the air district but if they can make it so I don’t have to go back to commuting I’ll be happy to stop burning tires on Spare the Air days
Wow – watching people complain about Working From Home for people who can do it being some type of dystopian government control is just hysterically funny.
I’ve worked from home for over 12 years now – haven’t been into an office that whole time – I can’t even imagine going back to a commute.
So there’s an adaptation employers and their employees came up with to keep businesses going, employees safe by limiting exposure and these CLOWNS want to horn in, take credit and sounds like take control ? ? ?
Ya know, bet this agency would be more efficient with 18% fewer management employees.
A friend has an office job for the state up in Sacramento. She was told that they will continue to work from home thru the end of the year.
Cut this department ASAP.