MPEC represents State employees at hundreds of work locations across the state. Many of these building have poor air quality and members are experiencing serious health issues. 85% of surveyed employees currently have an illness, symptoms or discomfort that are attributed to conditions in their office or building.
During the 2017 legislative session, MPEC proposed legislation that would create an indoor air quality standard for state-owned and leased buildings. This bill did not make it out of committee due to the fiscal note. The state claimed it would cost millions of dollars to perform air testing in all of the buildings. This issue is very important to members, and MPEC is going to continue to fight for a solution.
An indoor air quality committee has been established. The main goals the committee has set are:
- Create an indoor air quality standard to work towards creating safe and healthy environments for state employees to work in.
- Create policies to ensure management is doing regular inspections and needed maintenance, as well as, a policy that requires management to inform employees when there is a health hazard in the building.
- Create a toolkit for members that would include how to ID IAQ issues, how to document them and the processes and procedures associated with the IAQ standard.
This committee will continue to meet regularly to work on tactics and moving the campaign forward. IAQ committees are also being formed at various worksites to work directly on issues affecting those buildings.
If you are interested in forming a committee at your worksite or would like to join the MPEC IAQ committee, email mpec@mpecmd.org, and an organizer will be in touch with you.