NAPSA's The Installer - July 2020

Visit NAPSA’s Covid-19 Page at https://www.powersweeping.org/covid-19/

The Official Newsletter of the North American Power Sweeping Association

What’s in The Hopper?

1 President’s Message 2 Them’s Fightin’ Words: Employment and Protesting 3 Cities Resume Ticketing for Parking Violations 4 CDL Drivers & Drug Testing 5 Your Profession in Entertainment 6 Pandemic Practices: Reduce Fleet Exposure 7 NAPSA Congratulates

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Schwarze Industries TYMCO, Inc. Elgin Sweeper Company Nite-Hawk Sweepers Victory Sweepers Visual App United Rotary Brush Corp.

Stewart-Amos Sweeper Co. 1-800-SWEEPER Old Dominion Brush Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc. World Insurance Associates

Call for Content

THE HOPPER, the official newsletter for NAPSA, warmly welcomes article ideas, content, and photos submitted by members. Don’t be shy. This is your newsletter. Send content, high-resolution pictures, and ideas to the attention of the editor at info@ powersweeping.org.

July - August 2020 | Vol. 4 | Issue 2

Help Us Help You!

By Scott Duscher

I hope that everyone is or has come through the COVID-19 pandemic okay. I don’t know about you, but I had more emails regarding the exact same things than I can count.

I want to answer a question you may have: What is NAPSA doing for me? To address that exact question, let me start by saying that if you join the gym to improve your health and you do not go to the gym, then don’t blame the gym!

If you don’t see the connection, let me explain. The last “A” in NAPSA stands for association. An association is defined as: 1) a group of people organized for a joint purpose; or 2) a connection or cooperative link between people or organizations. That said, we made a concerted effort to contact our membership via phone, text, and email. We wanted to know what you were doing that was working and what you need to know. The response was weak. Help us help you! Using the gym analogy again, when you sign up at the gym and they say what do you want to work on, would you just tell them, “Guess, and if you’re wrong, I’ll tell people what a bad gym this is?” To that individual I say, “Grab a box of Kleenex and read on.”

So, let’s see what the NAPSA gym has done for the health of your company. We have created SweeperSchool for training owners,

managers, and drivers. When you needed to keep people on the payroll through all this and did not know what to have them do, did you train?

Hint, you have to go to it.

You should know by now that NAPSA created the standard for the power sweeping industry with the stamp of approval from ANSI. NAPSA, with the creds of this standard, reached out to CISA. The Cyber Infrastructure Security Agency connected with Homeland Security. Those are the folks in the federal government that make the list of essential services! We wanted our industry to be identified as such at the federal level. And guess what?

They revised the list to add cleaning under transportation. This being done mid-pandemic! We sent the information out to our membership.

So, unlike other sweeping groups that told you about essential services, we changed them for our industry.

We created a new web page with related COVID-19 information.

We sent out links for free webinars.

Our advertising campaign kicked off in May. The last one I wish to mention here is we are in the process of partnering with a health insurance provider. Our thought was that the pandemic will probably create an increase in insurance, and we wanted to bring our members an affordable option.

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Them’s Fightin’ Words: Employment and Protesting

By Karen M. Smith

In these days of racial angst and political tumult when protesting appears synonymous with looting and destruction of property, millions of angry citizens are taking to the streets to demand justice, equitable treatment, and respect. Many of those protesters may find themselves unemployed and object to the termination of their employment by citing the First Amendment protection of freedom of speech.

But do they have a leg to stand on?

The Freedom Forum Institute notes that 86 percent of Americans think free speech is more important than protection from offense and fail to understand that the “First Amendment only protects your speech from government censorship.” In short, political speech is not protected under federal employment laws. Some categories of speech receive no legal protection at all: true threats, blackmail, defamation, obscenity, child pornography, fighting words, solicitations to commit crimes, incitement of imminent lawless action, perjury, plagiarism, and treason.

Employees may suffer the consequences of their personal expression off the clock if their employers deem that expression injurious to the company’s brand and reputation, writes Rich Bellis for Fast Company. Such expression includes social media, which is why many employees do not “friend” coworkers and maintain personal social media accounts disassociated from accounts easily associated with 2 | The Hopper

their jobs and employers.

Courts give “wide latitude” to employers who claim such damage, because people associate employees with the companies for which they work. If your employee wearing the company logo is seen engaging in an activity that you believe negatively impacts your business, you are within your rights to terminate his employment.

The First Amendment also protects “the right of the people to peaceably assemble,” notwithstanding COVID-19 lockdown orders and social distancing. In short, says Lexology, “While the First Amendment undoubtedly protects an individual’s right to attend a lawful protest, it affords no protection from the employment consequences of attending the protest.” What that means is that you can’t be arrested or incarcerated for protesting in a “peaceable” manner, but you can lose your job. Some states and municipalities may afford employees greater protections than granted by federal law for engaging in lawful activity off the clock. If you get arrested, then expect to lose your job. Be cognizant of your local and state laws protecting employees who exercise their freedom of speech before terminating their employment.

Despite current evidence to the contrary, not all protests focus on racism and discrimination.

Federal labor laws protect employees exercising their rights to advance their “mutual aid or

protection.” Flipping the bird at a reviled politician isn’t protected, but protests involving expression regarding wages and working conditions are.

Another issue of employer response to employee protesting concerns equitable treatment. To be blunt, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Be consistent in your response to employees’ political expression, or you may open the company to litigation based on discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects employes from discrimination in the workplace. “Companies could be in violation if they crack down on certain employees but not others who engaged in the same behavior, or if they treat participation in Black Lives Matter protests differently from participation in other protests, like the Women’s March.” writes Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz for the Chicago Tribune.

Of course, every action comes with a reaction. Terminating employees for protesting a cause can lead to public backlash.

Starbucks learned that lesson when the company forbade employees from wearing Black Lives Matter accessories and employees rebutted with evidence that the company allowed and encouraged employees to wear LGBTQ accessories. Public outrage compelled the company to reverse that decision. It behooves an employer to exercise care in the decision to discipline or fire employees exercising their freedom of speech. n

Cities Resume Ticketing for Parking Violations

By Karen M. Smith

California, face a double-whammy of double-digit unemployment and the need to keep their streets clean.

Issuing tickets to residents who are compelled to remain at home and who cannot pay the fines just doesn’t make sense. City officials fear that such fines pose significant financial hardship upon residents.

The Long Beach Post News reports that a staff report to the city council of Long Beach states, “Due to the significant financial and economic impacts COVID-19 has had on the community, it is important to balance the need for street sweeping with penalties issued for noncompliance with parking during street sweeping hours.”

One workaround to accommodate increased residential parking on street sweeping days during shelter-in-place orders is for cities to offer free parking at alternate sites – usually at sites that charge for parking. Unfortunately, many residents do not have access

to alternate parking, especially if public transportation has been limited or shut down to comply with social distancing guidelines.

Chicago took a different approach. According to the Chicago Tribune, “The Department of Streets and Sanitation announced March 31 that it wasn’t planning to post no-parking signs for street sweeping during the state’s stay-athome order.” The Tribune reported that street cleaning would continue throughout the city, which would force power sweeper operators to maneuver around parked vehicles.

Regardless of the adjustments made, cities will have suspensions and reinstatements of parking violations announced on their websites. Be sure to link to those announcements on your own company sites to help keep commercial clients informed, especially clients located in mixed commercial and residential neighborhoods. n

Photo courtesy of skeeze via Pixabay.

Large cities support the power sweeping contractors’ work to keep their streets clean by issuing parking tickets to vehicle owners who violate parking restrictions when street sweeping is scheduled. Due to shelter-in-place orders resulting from a nationwide lockdown in response to COVID-19, many cities, including New York City, Denver, Chicago, and Los Angeles, suspended enforcement of those parking violations.

However, state by state, the USA is again opening for business.

As of June 5, 2020, The San Francisco Examiner reported that Mayor London Breed announced enforcement would “go back into effect on June 15.”

New York City suspended alternate side parking (ASP) regulations through June 21, 2020.

ASP regulations notify vehicle owners and operators not to park on days scheduled for street cleaning. The ASP suspension does not affect ordinances pertaining to parking meters. The city’s website offers a download of the ASP calendar in several languages.

After issuing the safer-at-home order in Los Angeles, Mayor Garcetti, too, suspended ticketing cars in residential neighborhoods that require alternate side parking on days scheduled for street sweeping. On May 16, The Latest reported the moratorium on sweeping tickets would end on June 1. The City of Anaheim, too, relaxed parking restrictions on a temporary basis and will reinstate them on June 15.

Some cities, like Long Beach,

Parking citation at Duke University East Campus in Durham, NC. Photo by Ildar Sagdejev via Wikipedia.com.

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CDL Drivers & Drug Testing

By Karen M. Smith

You already know that CDL drivers are subject to drug testing, but do you know the six official reasons when you should test? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) require persons holding commercial drivers licenses and their employers follow alcohol and drug testing rules.

The FMCSA lists what and when drug and alcohol tests should be administered. Standard drug tests screen for the following: marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids, and phencyclidine (PCP).

Pre-employment. Even though an applicant must pass a drug test to qualify for a CDL, employers must also receive a negative drug test result before permitting the CDL driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Although the company may administer a road test to an applicant before drug test results are received, once hired, the CDL driver may not drive for the company until it receives negative drug test results.

Post-accident. A drug and alcohol test is required following an accident, except as follows: the accident results in bodily injury with immediate medical treatment away from the scene or when the damage to any motor vehicle disables that vehicle requiring it be towed away and the CDL driver is not cited by law enforcement. If there’s a human fatality, regardless of fault, the CDL driver must be tested.

Random. Employers are required to conduct random drug testing of their drivers throughout the year. The FCMSA requires, at minimum, that 50 percent of driver positions be tested for drugs and 10 percent be tested for alcohol each

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year. If you’re the sole operator of a one-person business, you must still be tested at random by enrolling in a random testing selection pool as a member of a consortium. Random tests may not be announced in advance, meaning the selected driver must proceed immediately to the collection site.

Reasonapanies to train their drivers to detect the symptoms of impairment in other drivers.

Return-to-duty. A driver who was prohibited from driving due to a negative test or other violation related to drug testing and completes the mandatory return-toduty process with a DOT-qualified substance abuse professional must test negative for drugs and alcohol before resuming driving duties.

Follow-up. Again, this applies to drivers who failed a drug test or who were non-compliant with the process.

Such drivers must pass (receive negative test results) a minimum of six directly observed tests within 12 months of returning to duty. This follow-up period may be extended up to four years.

Some exceptions exist for medically prescribed drugs. Schedules of controlled substances list various opiates and opiate derivatives, hallucinogens, depressants, and stimulants by chemical composition – not brand name – that eliminate a CDL driver from operating a commercial motor vehicle. Legal firm J. J. Keller notes that drivers are restricted from using any drug included in 21 CFR 1308.11 (391.42(b)(12)), regardless of whether the driver takes those drugs legally or not, because they can and do make it unsafe to drive.

The list can be found on the

website of the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division and the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Amendments to the code will appear in the Federal Register. The Food & Drug Administration puts in plain English (and uses brand names) many of the medicines that can impair driving.

A word of caution: although your state may have approved cannabis products for medical use, the federal government still considers them illegal substances. Using CBD drug products will result in a positive drug test. n

NAPSA NEWS STAFF President Scott Duscher/Agua Trucks Executive Director Nancy Terry Editor/Staff Writer Karen M. Smith

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Please inquire at: North American Power Sweeping Association P.O. Box 1166 Lebanon, OH 45036 (888) 757-0130 info@powersweeping.org www.powersweeping.org/contact/

CIRCULATION

As of February 1, 2017, members of the North American Power Sweeping Association may receive THE HOPPER as a part of their paid membership. THE HOPPER is an official publication of the North American Power Sweeping Association and is published bi-monthly.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to North American Power Sweeping Association, P.O. Box 1166, Lebanon, OH 45036, info@powersweeping.org. © 2020 North American Power Sweeping Association

Your Profession in Entertainment

By Karen M. Smith

Hollywood glamorizes many professions from doctors to military operatives to food service.Yet beyond an amusing cameo appearance of a street sweeper at the end of the Fractured Fairy Tales parade following the conclusion of Mr. Peabody’s improbable history lesson, there’s not much mention of this ancient and necessary profession. A little scouring via an internet search engine brought to light three entries worth your attention.

Published in 2012 by Riverhead Books, The Streetsweeper by Australian author Elliot Perlman focuses on two controversial issues: the Holocaust and racism.

The latter, especially, hearkens to current societal tensions stoked by the media and Black Lives Matter. The narratives of the protagonists, one of whom is a street sweeper, weave into rich, deep stories of pain and hardship ranging from prison to surviving the Holocaust to the turmoil of the civil rights movement. Deeply moving, passionate, and serious, this book integrates and entwines the struggles of two persecuted peoples and draws similarities between them with a message that they can help themselves by helping each other.

The Streetsweeper is available in hardback, paperback, and in digital format on Amazon.

In 2003, Hillcrest Entertainment released an “R” rated movie titled

The Streetsweeper.

Offering a look at Italian-Americans that doesn’t feature mobsters or the Jersey Shore. In fact, the film was shot in San Diego’s Little Italy. The protagonist of this film is an Italian father, Enzo Morelli, who sings opera and operates a power sweeper on the streets of San Diego for the steady income necessary to send his son to college.

The climax of the story deals with the protagonist’s personal decision when confronted with a choice between keeping neighborhood streets clean and safe during a time of social unrest. Again, the theme resonates, particularly in today’s political climate.

Perhaps not quite literature, Bruiser: A Street Sweeper’s Tale (2007) is an 80-page thread of digital dialogue recounting the stories of a Tennessee street sweeper. Available in PDF, the narrator speaks of “the weirdest/craziest/funniest 8 months of my life” while employed as a street sweeper. His adventures include thwarting a mugger (his first night on the job), mistaking a corpse (the man was not dead), and helping the police bust a transvestite hooker. It only gets better. There’s no charge to read Bruiser; you can find it online here: https:// s3.amazonaws.com/storylog/ bruiser/Bruiser-A-Street-SweepersTale.pdf.

Enjoy! n

President (Continued from page 1) Now, if you’re not receiving these updates and this is the first you heard, then listen up. Fix your spam folder, connect to and like our Facebook page, contact info@powersweeping,org, and update your information!

Remember that part of an association involving a group of likeminded people: well, did you reach out to any members? One call I hear about is what made me bring up this entire rant. While running my business during the pandemic, a member felt I needed know how NAPSA was failing.

This member told me of a call he had with another member. The two felt NAPSA isn’t doing anything for them.

They went on about their challenges and news about COVID-19 as well as how they are dealing with it. Well, to those two complainers, I say, “If your NAPSA affiliation is how you met that other person – and I know it is – well then, Sparky, the association did its job!” My guess is they ended the call blaming their gym for poor health.

Lastly, NAPSA’s board is made up of business owners and managers of the sweeping industry. As such, every board member had their hands full with their own business needs as well as looking for ways to give to our members. We did what we could as fast as we could, but we did not want to lose direction on what we planned to accomplish this year. Thankfully, we have had some members step up and help the board with CSO Municipal course and the as well as the standards committee.

Through NAPSA, I have forged many friendships. This includes both on and off the board. I cannot begin to tell you how important my association with these people is and how much we helped one another. To all those, I say thank you. To those who feel we are not doing enough, let me know. I can take it, I have big shoulders, and, yes, I go to the gym! n

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Pandemic Practices: Reduce Fleet Exposure

By Karen M. Smith

Power sweeper operators don’t have much contact with the public when working, but people are social beings and their contact with other, potentially disease-carrying humans can have far reaching and devastating effects upon a fleet’s drivers. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, trade and professional organizations and governmental entities update and release their best practices for protection of drivers and fleets.

The Minnesota Trucking Association has published online their “COVID-19 Health & Safety Best Practices for Fleets and Drivers.” It follows rules of common sense and touches upon general health, equipment and shop areas where drivers and mechanics congregate, mental health, and

other places where drivers may take breaks for lunch, personal needs, and other reasons. When it comes to COVID-19, cleanliness really is next to godliness. Most practices boil down to rigorous cleaning: soap, water, and a bit of elbow grease handily contain the spread of contagion.

Fleet Business echoes recommendations for social distancing and good hygiene. This means reducing physical contact to mitigate person-to-person transmission of disease and making sure that cleaning products as well as soap and water are readily available and ready-to-hand. High-touch surfaces, such as door handles, steering wheels, seats, etc. should be cleaned before and after each driver’s shift. Ensure drivers have adequate

cleaning supplies within the vehicle.

The virus does have a “shelf life,” by which we mean that the virus will survive outside its host. The type of surface matters. According to Fleet Business, “A study in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that researchers testing the stability of the viruses (SARSCoV-2 and SARS-Cov-1) on various surfaces found SARSCoV-2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19) lasted longest – up to two or three days – on plastic and stainless steel. On copper, viable virus lasted only four hours and no viable SARS-CoV-2 remained on cardboard after 24 hours.”

Automotive Fleet focuses driver safety on personal practices, advising drivers to “avoid using driver lounges or accepting food

COVID-19 shares symptoms with several other diseases. Image created by Boots Pharmacy.

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or drink hospitality at stops.” For the meantime, this includes going against social training and opting for polite distance. In short, don’t shake hands with clients and suppliers.

While the use of nitrile gloves is advised, drivers should be made aware that the virus will live on the gloves’ surface. Failure to change gloves will not protect the person who wears them or anyone else with whom he may come into contact. Equip vehicles with trash bags or wastebaskets where drivers can dispose of soiled gloves, used cleaning wipes, etc.

For those fleet managers who are bringing on new operators, Alchemy Systems advises the use of online training as much as possible.

Obviously, your trainee will have to get behind the wheel and actually drive the vehicle, at which point

NAPSA New Members

CONTRACTOR: Capitol Lot Service, Springfield, IL – Winton Henderson Goodwin Sweeping, Waterford, MI – Christopher Goodwin S & W Shopping Center Maintenance, Walkertown, SC – Mike Scammell Shoreliners Sweeping, Grand Rapids, MI – Brian Todey Szeremi Sweeping Service, Sacramento, CA – Bryan Szeremi Newly Certified Sweeper Operators CSO PARKING LOT: Darryl Brown – Cantel Sweeping Hector Gonzalez - East Coast Industrial Service Chrisuan Bryant – Katsam Enterprises

appropriate protective measures should be observed.

As of this writing, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that transmission of COVID-19 primarily spreads person-to-person through droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. The CDC recommends protecting oneself through simple measures that again reinforce stringent hygienic practices, including covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.

The CDC advises isolation for individuals who exhibit symptoms of the disease: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea. However, not everyone who coughs or

sneezes carries the disease: in many parts of the country, it’s allergy season. Other diseases, like seasonal influenza, share many of the same symptoms as COVID-19. Boots, a pharmaceutical company in the United Kingdom, has posted a chart showing the commonality between COVID-19 and the common cold, influenza, hayfever, and asthma.

The startling overlap easily fools the casual onlooker; however, those who habitually suffer from seasonal allergies like hayfever should first treat their allergy symptoms before panicking with the assumption that they’ve caught the world’s latest plague. “If your symptoms go away and you don’t have other coronavirus symptoms, you are not likely infected with coronavirus,” says Dr. Marc Goldstein, writing for Curist. n

Michael Reaves – Katsam Enterprises Fran Trawick – Katsam Enterprises Mark Wilson – Katsam Enterprises Alfred Grimmett - Pacific Sweeping Michael Lucht – Progressive Sweeping

Rhys Blackerby – Lexington Pavement Sweep Jim Blackerby – Louisville Pavement Sweep Lee Miller – Pacific Sweeping Lakisha Rogers – Progressive Sweeping Aaron Harris – Progressive Sweeping Frank Dudek – Progressive Sweeping Stacy Sowders – Progressive Sweeping Lauren Ivey – Southco Commercial Curb Appeal Cheryl Meyer – Sweep Masters

Richard Larner - Sweep Masters Newly Certified Sweeper Operators CSO CONSTRUCTION: Alfred Grimmett - Pacific Sweeping Roger Gamboa - Progressive Sweeping Contractors Certified Sweeping Manager Graduates Charles Joseph – All Care Sweeping Ryan Bentley – Armstrong Sweeping Eric Norris – Armstrong Sweeping Chris Dick – Katsam Enterprises Lois Mueller – Katsam Enterprises David Parks – Katsam Enterprises

Certified Sweeping Companies Version 2.0 All Care Sweeping, Leawood, KS Katsam Enterprises, Fenton, MO Lexington Pavement Sweep. Lexington, KY Louisville Pavement Sweep, Louisville, KY Pacific Sweeping, San Marcos, CA Sweep Masters, Moss Point, MS

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P.O. Box 1166 Lebanon, OH 45036

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