Like you, Global Partners has been closely monitoring, adapting to and responding to COVID-19. Our first priority is the health and safety of our employees, customers and communities.
The goods and services we deliver are critical to the infrastructure of the broader New England region —from the fuel that we distribute to keep homes warm and hospital generators running to the basic food and goods we provide at the neighborhood level.
On Saturday, March 14, I provided an overview of the measures we are taking to combat the spread of the virus. That letter can be found here. As the situation has rapidly evolved, I would like to provide an update on our additional steps.
Based on the most recent guidance from the CDC and state health authorities, we have decided to require all office-based employees to work from home. Home based work began today, March 18. We believe this is necessary to keep our personnel safe and healthy in order to support our retail and terminal infrastructure. We have implemented a Sick Time leave policy for all employees to ensure our team has the support they need through this time.
Retail
Guidance related to food and retail business is evolving very rapidly.
Beginning March 12th, we began implementing changes to include additional sanitation measures and social distancing. Additional measures include:
- Ceased the following amenities at our truck stop locations: showers, truck driver lounges, laundries & game areas.
- As of this writing, all states have implemented new rules stating that all food service establishments are to provide take-out and delivery only. No on-premises consumption of food is permitted. Our Retail team acted very quickly and took immediate actions to comply with this order, including blocking off our seating with signage and ensuring they have enough take-out supplies.
- At our Alltown Fresh markets we have implemented curbside delivery
- We are in constant communication with our suppliers to ensure we are well stocked with essential goods.
- We continue to practice outstanding sanitization and cleaning practices at all our locations.
Terminals
- At all our Terminals we’ve instituted new procedures to enhance social distancing to keep our employees, customers and partners safe.
- We’re also proactively working with the states where we do business to ensure we can get critical fuel to hospitals, first responders, and other emergency personnel.
- We continue to practice enhanced sanitation and cleaning practices at all our locations.
For over 75 years, we’ve focused on community, safety, and delivering essential goods and services to our customers. These values, and the recommendations from the CDC and WHO are guiding our response to COVID-19. We recognize this outbreak is impacting daily lives, and the uncertainty is unsettling. We are committed to supporting our communities through this unprecedented time.
To read more about our response to COVID-19, find a March 14, 2020 letter from our CEO, Eric Slifka, here.