‘Safety first. People always.’ Rockland businesses get back to work

As some employees return to work amid the COVID-19 crisis, businesses in the mid-Hudson region are keeping their safety in mind.

News 12 Staff

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May 29, 2020, 9:44 PM

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Updated 1,519 days ago

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As some employees return to work amid the COVID-19 crisis, businesses in the mid-Hudson region are keeping their safety in mind.

News 12 was at Celtic Sheet Metal in Orangeburg where the company’s vice president is “excited about the future.”

"Our employees are back earning a paycheck again,” said Mike Cunney. “Hopefully we will be out of the woods in the next couple weeks and things will get back to normalcy again."

The HVAC manufacturer cut down from about 280 employees to a skeleton crew the last few months and only worked on essential projects, such as the renovation of Grand Central Station. Since coming back, they have installed several protocols to keep workers safe, including temperature checks.

Valentine Electric in Blauvelt is also back up and running. Owner Paul Valentine cut his 20-man staff down to four and was responding only to emergency jobs. Now, he’s back at full force.

"We're doing a lot of swimming pools now,” says Valentine. “A lot of hot tubs, a lot of generators since we opened on Tuesday – extremely busy."

His employees are wearing protective equipment and performing job estimates through video calls.

"We have a very simple motto in Rockland County as we go through this crisis,” says County Executive Ed Day. “Safety first and people always."

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