Glendale’s Community Newspaper
www.glendalestar.com
Vol. 77 No. 19
May 6, 2021
Glendale Chamber introduces new task force
INSIDE
This Week
BY LAUREN SERRATO Glendale Star Staff Writer
THE VOICE OF BUSINESS
The Glendale Chamber of Commerce created a new task force to further enforce equality, which includes an LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in the city of Glendale. The ordinance would prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. The task force will be responsible for promoting and speaking with business leaders, community leaders and other stakeholders to educate and build support for the ordinance. “What’s exciting is I’ve got more than two-thirds of my chamber board directors who are engaged in this task force that represent a kind of broad group of indus-
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try segments,” said Robert Heidt, president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce. “Their purpose is going to be understanding LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, what it is about equal protections and working to engage a broad selection of our stakeholders across the community, and how we can craft an ordinance that protects all people in Glendale equally.” In Arizona, eight other cities have passed nondiscrimination ordinances. The state, however, has no statewide law barring discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing and public accommodations. As Glendale is the largest city in the
West Valley, Heidt said this task force is in no way special treatment toward the LGBTQ community, but rather, it’s a way to ensure protection and equal treatment for everyone in the workplace. “We as a community are recognizing there’s different needs within different segments of our community. But one of the needs around the LGBTQ community has not been met, which is protection in the workplace, accommodation and things of that nature,” Heidt said. “The goal would be for us as a group to work through what this will look like, moving towards working with the city to adopt a nondiscrimination ordinance that includes all people, including LGBTQ. SEE CHAMBER PAGE 8
WV business community looking beyond pandemic BY ILANA LOWERY WESTMARC
As COVID-19 vaccines continue to roll out and restrictions are lifted by Gov. Doug Ducey, CEOs are facing pressure to make decisions about when and how professionals will return to office work. Reports say that by midsummer, a good portion of the working-age population should be vaccinated, which will play a significant role in how and when employees go back to work. “Because of such hopeful signs, CEOs at companies that remained all-remote (during the pandemic) are starting to think seriously about how and how much to bring their employees back to the office, and how
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OPINION..................... 14 SPORTS ...................... 16 BUSINESS.................. 18 FEATURES.................. 22 RELIGION ................... 24 YOUTH........................ 26 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 27
to best answer questions about policies and timelines their boards will soon ask,” said Dan Ciampa, a former CEO and adviser to boards and chief executives. “They realize that, given all that has happened over the last year, more employees than ever before will work remotely, and for tasks that can be done more efficiently that way, investments in technology are necessary,” he said. Roughly 20% of workers will remain remote employees, according to several studies. However, if the past year has taught us anything, it is that nothing is as straightforward as it may appear, and returning to “normal” will be a long, arduous process.
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In a Feb. 25 Harvard Business Review article, Ciampa said that with all of the uncertainty about what lies ahead, it is important to avoid steps that either will create unrealistic expectations or limit options. Experts agreed. Kyle Freese, Ph.D., MPH, chief epidemiologist at Phoenix-based health technology company STChealth, and Dr. Scott Hamstra, chief medical officer at STChealth and a practicing infectious disease pediatrician, have been consulting for various organizations throughout the country, designing and implementing return-to-workplace strategies. They encourage business owners to seek
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