Air Filtration on Campus

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Colleagues:

From the start of the pandemic, the Chapter has regularly interacted with the UB’s Departments of Employee Relations and Environmental Health & Safety regarding air quality issues.  

Our recent efforts in pursuing those issues led the campus to issue the following article – http://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2021/07/addressing-hvac.html

Despite achieving several small victories, we are aware that air quality concerns will continue to arise … particularly as the Delta Variant continues its march through the population.  

Working with our colleagues in UUP’s Buffalo Center Chapter, we have researched how and when employees might need to utilize personal/office-sized air filtration systems.  We have also confirmed that the campus has received state and federal COVID relief funds that can be used to purchase personal/office-sized air filtration systems.  

With that knowledge in hand, we approached UB re the process employees should utilize if/when they believe they need to utilize a personal/office-sized air filtration system.  In short, the request for one of these units should be made to the employee’s direct supervisor.  However, it would behoove the requesting employee to describe why the request is being made.  What is lacking in the workspace/office that necessitates the use of one of these units?  Or, what is it about the employee’s specific circumstances that necessitates the use of one of these units?  Providing relevant information should make it easier for the employee’s supervisor to obtain an office-sized air filtration system for their use.

UB’s Department of Employee Relations has confirmed that the requests should be made by employees through their immediate supervisors.  Employee Relations has also confirmed that the campus has already purchased a number of these systems for employee use.

If you have any questions regarding the requesting of personal/office-sized air filtration systems, please contact Nick Whitman, the Chapter’s Labor Relations Specialist.  Mr. Whitman’s email address is: nicholas.whitman@nysut.org

Also, if your request for an office-sized air filtration system has been denied, please contact the Chapter/Mr. Whitman as soon as possible.

And as always don’t hesitate get Intouch with me via email (pglick@uupmail.org) or call 716 829-2505

Thanks,
Phil


Philip L. Glick, MD, MBA, FACS, FAAP, FRCS (Eng.)
President of UUP Buffalo HSC