VIRGINIA CHAMBER LAUNCHES “BLUEPRINT FOR GETTING VIRGINIANS BACK TO WORK” INITIATIVE

 Business community asked to provide best practices and input to ensure consumer confidence and worker safety.

RICHMOND, VA – Earlier today, Virginia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Barry DuVal announced the launch of the “Blueprint for Getting Virginians Back to Work” initiative – a business-led effort to quickly provide guidance on how to get the Virginia economy moving again.

“As our government and business leaders consider how to best recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that they have the guidance to ensure consumer confidence and worker safety,” said Virginia Chamber President and CEO Barry DuVal. “Through our Blueprint for Getting Virginians Back to Work initiative, we will provide recommendations on operating in the current economic climate caused by COVID-19 and how to return stronger than before.”

“The Governor has appointed a business taskforce on COVID-19 and requested input from the business community. We see our blueprint as an important way for the business community to quickly provide his administration with guidance.”

“Intentionally named to complement our business plan for Virginia, Blueprint Virginia 2025, Blueprint for Getting Virginians Back to Work will provide guidance for businesses and policymakers to help move the Commonwealth beyond the term ‘essential business’ to a plan that eventually allows all businesses to reopen.”

To achieve the goal of getting Virginians back to work as soon as safely possible, the Virginia Chamber is launching a series of surveys and engagement opportunities for the business community. We are engaging our full network of support to build a coalition of input with more than 26,000 Virginia Chamber member companies, over 100 local chambers of commerce, industry trade associations and non-profits, and other key thought leaders from across the Commonwealth.

“Many businesses have remained open during this pandemic using precautionary measures like increased remote working arrangements, health screenings at entrances, providing workers with protective gear, rerouting workers through separate entrances and exits, and staggering shifts to limit interaction. Learning from these instances, this blueprint will provide best practices that will enhance their efforts to restore consumer confidence and reopen safely.”

The Virginia Chamber will release its Blueprint for Getting Virginians Back to Work in May, after compiling all the input received. Click here to participate in the survey by May 15 and email policy@vachamber.com to join our coalition or to provide additional input. Learn more about the Blueprint for Getting Virginians Back to Work initiative here.  The final plan, along with a host of other important resources for businesses, will be on our Virginia Chamber COVID-19 Resource Center at www.vachamber.com/covid-19.

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About the Virginia Chamber of Commerce

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce is the largest business advocacy organization in the Commonwealth, with more than 26,000 members. The Chamber is a non-partisan, business advocacy organization that works in the legislative, regulatory and political arenas to act as the catalyst for positive change in all areas of economic development and competitiveness for Virginia. In December 2017, the Chamber released an update to its long-term strategic economic development plan, Blueprint Virginia 2025, which engaged over 6,000 business and community leaders to lay out a plan to get Virginia back to the top of national business climate rankings. Learn more at www.vachamber.com