Dear SPED Member,
SPED has been watching closely the developments over the last few months on the Coronavirus and the oil price war. We held a Town Hall meeting Saturday, April 4, 2020 to discuss it. Here is our general advice to our members:
Obey all Stay-at-Home or Quarantine orders. Absent a treatment, cure, or vaccine, this is the best way for you to protect yourself, family, friends and neighbors.
Levels of business vary across industry and clients. Some have closed offices with little prospect of quick re-opening. Others are busy finishing projects that are too expensive to suspend or halt. Others, like pharmaceuticals, have little change and are short of pipers.
Pipers with online and remote capabilities are still productive. Many employers continue working through CITRIX virtual desktops or send company hardware home and use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Piper’s inherent computer and online work methods and strong home internet access are an advantage now.
If you are laid off, file immediately for unemployment benefits. Because the recession is government-ordered, most governments have special benefits available. There is no shame in collecting these benefits. Besides, being laid-off is part of being a piper.
Ask your employer to continue office and software privileges while furloughed or laid-off. This will give you access to email, CAD software and other applications, allowing you to practice your skills and remain employable.
If you are ready to advance your PPD Level, do it now. If you are asked what you did during a gap in employment, it helps to say you took a course and/or got certified. That makes you look productive. You’re local unemployment benefits office might pay for it, so check it out.
Helpful and informative links:
https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/257
Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
Above all, stay safe!
Regards,
SPED