A group of over 80 Milwaukee businesses has banded together and written a letter to the members of the Milwaukee Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett calling on them to enact the "MKE Cares" ordinance, a city-wide masking policy, which will be voted on by the Common Council later today.
The letter expresses support for the proposed mask requirement and its enforcement provisions, citing that without a city-wide mandate, employees cant be assured of a safe work environment.
When worn properly over the nose and mouth, facial coverings can slow the spread of the respiratory droplets that carry the virus that causes COVID-19. The respiratory droplets of an infected person disperses the virus when they cough, talk, sneeze or breath. Facial coverings stop that spread at the nose and mouth.
Among the businesses that signed the letter are Fiserv Forum, Marquette University, Colectivo Coffee, Lowlands Group, Pabst Theater Group and others.
A similar letter drafted and sent two weeks ago created some momentum behind the "MKE Cares" ordinance that was submitted by District 14 Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic.
You can read the full letter below.
As Milwaukee businesses and organizations, we are writing in support of the proposed “MKE Cares” ordinance (#200426) that the Common Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee endorsed on Thursday.
As the Covid-19 pandemic grows in Wisconsin and rages across the country, now is the time for the Common Council and mayor to enact this life-saving measure.
Without a city mandate, many customers will not be willing to come to our businesses. Compliance with requirements a business may establish will be inconsistent at best without a city requirement. Our employees can’t be assured of a safe work environment. And the risk is much higher for new outbreaks, which could result in new stay-at-home orders that put us out of business for good.
We support the mask requirement for indoor areas and outdoor areas licensed to our businesses, and we are in agreement with the requirement for masks to be worn outdoors in non-business locations within six feet of non-family members.
We also back the enforcement provisions, which are no different than laws we already manage and enforce to ensure that customers refrain from smoking and that they wear shirts and shoes in our establishments.
We believe the passage of this ordinance will result in the vast majority of people complying voluntarily, as they have already done for 10 years with Wisconsin’s no-smoking law. With this law on the books, we will have leverage needed to educate patrons about the requirement or ask them to leave if necessary.
Milwaukee residents and businesses cannot afford to wait for you to act. We urge council members to vote in favor of this legislation on Monday and for the mayor to sign it into law as soon as possible.
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